Sinus and Bleeding Questions?

[wscato]

Just have a few questions. I went diving on the night of July 22. I was feeling fine then. We went about 40 ft. for about 10 minutes and then came back up to 15 - 20 ft for the rest of the dive. My mask started leaking and I think a little water went down my nose. I felt fine the rest of the night and Saturday morning. I left early Saturday Morning for a trip to our Hunt Club on the coast and when I got there I got a terrible headache in my eyes and my sinuses started to hurt real bad. As the day progressed I was hurting worse. I took some sudafed around 4:00 and by 6:00 I was spitting some blood and was blowing blood out of my nose for a good hour. Later that night the pain kept getting worse and I took some ibuprhophen and my ears were slighlty hurting and my throat was sore. I also think I may have had a fever but didn't have a thermometer. During the middle of the night I woke up sweating, but felt better. Today, my throat is slightly sore, no blood, no headache and my ears slightly hurt. I'm back home as well. This is the first time I have had anyhting like this happen. I have logged a little over 40 dives.

Could have going from 1000ft above sea level to 3Ft below cause this?
Water down the nose?
Or what?

Will I be ok to dive next Sunday.

I also think i's time to buy a new mask. I had a good seal with it but noticed some stress marks near the nose. I guess form age and use (8 years old).

Any thoughts or suggestions will be apreciated.

 

[J75]

The bleeding is most likely due to the sinus problems you were having. One of my dive buddies bleeds frequently, but she also suffers from sinus problems regularly. She bleeds both during the dive, and occasionally when the dive is over. She takes decongestants to help relieve the headaches, and often this prevents the bleeding. But decongestants can affect each person differently, so you will have to experiment or talk to your doctor to see what works for you.

Good luck,
J.

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Just have a few questions. I went diving on the night of July 22. I was feeling fine then. We went about 40 ft. for about 10 minutes and then came back up to 15 - 20 ft for the rest of the dive. My mask started leaking and I think a little water went down my nose. I felt fine the rest of the night and Saturday morning. I left early Saturday Morning for a trip to our Hunt Club on the coast and when I got there I got a terrible headache in my eyes and my sinuses started to hurt real bad. As the day progressed I was hurting worse. I took some sudafed around 4:00 and by 6:00 I was spitting some blood and was blowing blood out of my nose for a good hour. Later that night the pain kept getting worse and I took some ibuprhophen and my ears were slighlty hurting and my throat was sore. I also think I may have had a fever but didn't have a thermometer. During the middle of the night I woke up sweating, but felt better. Today, my throat is slightly sore, no blood, no headache and my ears slightly hurt. I'm back home as well. This is the first time I have had anyhting like this happen. I have logged a little over 40 dives.

Could have going from 1000ft above sea level to 3Ft below cause this?
Water down the nose?
Or what?

Will I be ok to dive next Sunday.

I also think i's time to buy a new mask. I had a good seal with it but noticed some stress marks near the nose. I guess form age and use (8 years old).

Any thoughts or suggestions will be apreciated.

Why not break this post into two parts...You were diving and perhaps suffered a sinus barotrauma. That could explain the headache, sinus pain and bleeding.

However...(second part)...Your report headache, sore throat, possible fever, night sweats. Now, if you hadn't been diving and got the same symptoms what conclusion might you draw? How about you're getting sick! Possibly a cold or flu.

Back to the diving...there is a certain time period prior to getting sick but after you have come into contact with an infectious agent. This is the prodromal period.

I suspect that perhaps you were unaware that you were beginning to get sick during your dives. This caused some congestion with led to a sinus barotrauma and sinus bleeding. By the time you were aware that you didn't feel well, what ever infectious agent now was well entrenched and perhaps predisposed the injured sinus tissues to a secondary infection.

In all likelyhood, your diving had no cause or effect on your illness...why assume that the diving ("This is the first time I have had anyhting like this happen. I have logged a little over 40 dives.") caused you to get sick? The diving may have contributed to the bleeding because you were becoming congested.

Remember, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck and looks like a duck....it's probably a....DUCK!

BTW, ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen, etc. can affect bleeding, so can certain herbal remedies like echinechia and garlic. IMHO, aspirin is the worst offender. A better choice in this case would have been acetaminophen (Tylenol)...it is about equal in pain killing effect, doesn't affect bleeding and is not anti-inflammatory.

"Will I be ok to dive next Sunday."...No one knows...If you don't feel well don't dive. If you are still congested, don't dive. Don't mask the symptoms of an illness with a pain killer or a decongestant just to do your next dive. Dive smart rather than often.

Feel better.

Laurence Stein DDS