seasick + ean32 + 100f = dangerous?

[alphonsis]

I've been reading the threads on preventing seasickness and how seasick meds affect oxtox susceptibility. However, I was wondering how the physiological symptoms of being seasick may affect the safety of a "deep" dive on ean32.

I recently got pretty sick in a smallish boat in 8-12' swells. I opted to thumb the dive and stay sick at the surface than hit a pinnacle in 80-100' on ean32 because I wasn't sure about the implications on safety of diving that close to recommended limits for po2 while pretty severely sea sick.

Is there any truth to my concerns? My body was pretty weak from the vomiting, and I lacked the coordination to check my gear thoroughly, let alone run a buddy check. Now, once we got back to a protected cove, I recovered pretty quickly, within minutes. So it is conceivable that I could've gotten below the surge and hung out by the anchor line to gather myself before I went deeper.

thoughts?

 

[Dive Junky]

Very often we are told to get in the water because we will feel better. most often this is true. Unfortunately if we have been vomitting chances are we are dehydrated which isnt good. very often we are weak physically and mentally, another bad reason to dive.
Not sure about the connection between higher po2 levels and sea sickness. Perhaps another member can comment on it. Either way you did the right thing. If you dont feel right dont dive.

 

[stimpy4242]

I would have to agree, regardless of the cause of the symptoms, the symptoms themselves tell you not to dive. If you can't complete a buddy and gear check on the surface, you are already at risk as you go to the anchor line and hang out. What if knowing you didn't do your gear check your reg had been pressurized from say a previous dive, but you did turn air off. So you decended think you had air because the first breath came fine and then two breaths later your gas is gone and if you were too uncoordinated to do stuff on the surface would you have been able to do it in a panic situation? Would you dive down and not up, waste time going to your octo only to realize it is connected to same airsource? Would you have thought of breathing air from your BCD, did you have any in it...so again regardless of the cause the symptoms dictate a no dive situation...

With that said, usually seasickness meds are either in a class of antihistamines or belladonnas. Dramamine is an anti-histamine and transderm scop (scopolamine). The only relation I can draw from oxtox and these would be to say, and this is a stretch, that the same reason you might not dive using sudafed which clears sinuses, sorta the way an anti-histamine can dry up secretions and perhaps clear sinuses, could allow the effect to wear off below and secretions to start again thus trapping air, and stretching even further like a contortionist here, you could be trapping the high partial pressures of oxygen pushing 1.6 if we pushed the ean 32 depth and then if you managed to trap enough of that you might oxtox...bottom line, NO OF COURSE NOT! I don't know of any relationship to it.

As an additional caveat, these drugs are often given pre-surgery as it helps patients get over the nausea and vomitting that might precipitate post surgical procedure. I am sure they use oxygen in those rooms too, hmm, but maybe in that case death vs oxtox, oxtox wins...but its something to think about, I am pretty sure they are doing ok.

 

[TSandM]

The chemical mechanisms of sudafed and anti-nausea agents are entirely different. Sudafed does the same kinds of things as adrenaline, and makes cells more "irritable". The anti-nausea agents do not do this. They can cause drowsiness and sedation, which is why it's recommended to try them on land (or on a boat when not diving) before taking them underwater.

Acute vomiting, as occurs over a few minutes on a tossing boat, is unlikely to affect one's volume status significantly. If you're spending hours in transit, unable to drink and throwing up, that's another story.

The bottom line is, if you don't feel well enough to dive, you shouldn't; but many people who suffer from motion sickness find that it resolves once they are in the water.