Severe swollen Uvula on my last dive.

[Rudyh]

At the end of August last year on my last dive in Cozumel (palancar reef) when i came out of the water I had a really hard time swallowing. The back of my throat was so raw and irritated and my uvula was so swollen. It took three to four days until it was normal again. I'm told it comes from the dry air in your tank but i have never had this happen to me before. Any thoughts because i'm going on a cruise in three weeks and plan on diving Grenada,St.Croix and St.Thomas. Thanks for your help Rudy.

 

[Jax]

Given the short term, I suggest you call DAN: DAN | Mission


Nonemergency medical questions
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[Bubbletrubble]

Having a dry mouth/throat after a dive is fairly common.
Having a swollen uvula, to the extent that it's difficult to swallow, is not very common.
It is possible that severe dryness in the mouth/throat may have been caused/aggravated by breathing dry tank air, but it's important to rule out other treatable causes.

Were you taking any prescription or over-the-counter meds at the time of the incident? If so, which ones and had you taken them before?

Did you rule out other possible causes of the inflammation (tonsillitis, bacterial or viral infection, dehydration)?

At the time you experienced the issue, it probably would have been helpful to see an ENT or other physician.
I suppose, at this point, consulting with DAN couldn't hurt...but I'm not sure how helpful it will be.

 

[lionfish-eater]

Hi your swollen uvulla was caused by your constant swallowing, which pulls and tugs on the uvulla, engorging it. I have had this happen to the point where I felt like I was gagging on it. The first time it happened I thought I had a lump of phlegm in my throat, but when I tried to spit it out it just layed on my tounge( it was over an inch long). Stop swallowing and it wont happen again. I carry individually wrapped hard candy in my dive pouch for such occasions. It also happens to me sometimes when I sleep on my back in very dry rooms. I went to the emergency room the first time it happened and they were not very helpful, suggested benadryl or something equivilent. It is not an allergic reaction or anything more complicated than the fact that it was squeezed and pulled by the swallowing. I have also had suggestions to use artificial saliva or whatever they sell for dry mouth. I like to offer a piece of candy to other divers at depth, just to watch their expressions as I slip one into my mouth.

 

[Rudyh]

Thanks for your input. Thinking back i had the driest mouth i've ever had. I couldn't buy a drop of spit.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

If this "uvula thing" never happened before on your other 25+ lifetime dives, you should be asking yourself: "What was different about this last dive?"

If the cause was, in fact, breathing dry tank air, why didn't it occur on any of your other dives?

Dry mouth is one of the most common anticholinergic side effects of antihistamines.
To stave off seasickness, lots of divers take Bonine (meclizine) or Dramamine (dimenhydrinate), both of which are antihistamines.

I'll reiterate one of my previous questions. Were you taking any medications (e.g., for seasickness, for allergies) at the time?

The sucking-on-hard-candy trick is a good one for dry mouth, particularly when you are topside. Exercise care if you decide to do this to address your dry mouth issues while diving. Something to be aware of is that it is possible for the piece of hard candy to turn into an airway obstruction. There's a very low chance of this happening, but you would be SOL if it occurred while you were at depth. FWIW, I'm not aware of any scuba accidents that have involved a diver choking on a piece of candy.

 

[TSandM]

It's really quite unlikely that your uvula was swollen due to dry air or repeated swallowing. After all, if repeated swallowing did it, we'd all be in trouble after Thanksgiving dinner!

It is much more likely that you had an irritant or a viral infection -- there are some that produce amazing uvular swelling, as do some medications/allergies.

 

[DocVikingo]

It's really quite unlikely that your uvula was swollen due to dry air or repeated swallowing. After all, if repeated swallowing did it, we'd all be in trouble after Thanksgiving dinner!

Thank you.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[Hatul]

I agree with Bubble that you should not be sucking on candy while diving. I've not read any reports of this, but the risk of aspiration is just not worth it. You don't want to end up as a case report.

 

[Natator64]

Found this old thread when trying to find out why I had a swollen uvula after my last dive.

With me it wasn't medication or illness, so I'm one of the people agreeing with the "dry air" being the issue. I also know I as dehydrated on this dive, but couldn't be bothered once kitted up to go back to the car for a drink and didn't think much more about it at the time.

However, I've only had this happen twice in over 600 dives and this got me thinking.

Both times this has happened have been in the last 10 dives. What has changed? I got a new regulator. I'm not sure about the first time but hen it happened yesterday I, later, realised I'd not adjusted the little lever that adjusts how easily air flow commences (the
Integrated Venturi Switch). I had it on the hardest to breathe setting, to avoid freeflow prior to the dive, as being a new reg I simply forgot it had such an adjustment. I no wonder if I'd also forgotten to reset it on the previous dive the the same problem. ith it on the "harder" setting I'd have had to "suck" harder to get airflow and I could see this affecting the uvula.

Just a thought for others who experience this. If I find I have this problem again I'll report back on if I had adjusted the lever or not.

Any other thoughts appreciated.