Sinus .... cold ... cough Claritin D allowed me to equalize.

[Granny Scuba]

I almost cancelled my dive today….sure glad I didn’t.

Thursday evening I started experiencing some sinus issues. Late Friday night as we drove to Panama City Beach, it started getting worse….runny, itchy cough, green mucus with tinges of blood, head congestion and chest congestion, (I didn’t know you could be stopped up and be runny) . I couldn’t breath, much less clear my ears. I could barely talk, and didn’t recognize my own voice. I was miserable I had serious doubts that I would be able to equalize. We stopped and got some Sudafed PE and that allowed me to sleep thru the night

After scouring this forum for advise, I went Saturday morning to Walgreens and got some 12 hour Claritin D. I have never taken a drug like this. (I did take Sudafed about 10 years ago) I took this at 10AM and a little better. We did two dives in the afternoon. I had no problems equalizing.

I am so happy I was able to Equalize and dive. We had (2) very large sharks swim around our dive site. One man said 14' but my husband said 8 and 10'.

Its now 8PM and my 12 hour Claritin D is wearing off.

Thanks for all the posters who suggested Claritin D, I think it saved my dive.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I'm sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well. It sounds like the pseudoephedrine in the Claritin D helped clear you up enough so that you could complete your dives.

Please note that diving while sick is a bad idea...even if you can take meds that make you feel better:

• Mucus plugs combined with inflammation of the lining of your airways can trap air, which could be dangerous on scuba ascents.
• Viral illnesses may be associated with an increased risk of DCS.
• Meds can wear off while you are underwater (although taking a 12 or 24-hr formulation may mitigate this risk somewhat).
• Your physical stamina will likely be diminished. This hinders your ability to deal with changing conditions/problems during the dive.

Furthermore, it's a bad idea to take meds while scuba diving without first testing them out on land during a non-diving day. On rare occasions, even relatively safe over-the-counter meds can have serious side effects.

You gambled this time, and things worked out. For a recreational diver, it makes little sense to take such chances. We all love being underwater, but it's important to know that it's OK to cancel a dive outing.

Be careful out there. Get well soon.

(Sorry for being a party-pooper. I just don't want you to get hurt in the future. I also want other novice divers reading this thread to understand the risks of doing what you did.)

 

[DandyDon]

I'm with Bubbletrubble on this: You got away with a bad call I think.

Excerpting from Claritin-D Information from Drugs.com

Claritin-D contains a combination of loratadine and pseudoephedrine. Loratadine is an antihistamine that reduces the natural chemical histamine in the body. Histamine can produce symptoms of sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and runny nose.

Pseudoephedrine in Claritin-D is a decongestant that shrinks blood vessels in the nasal passages. Dilated blood vessels can cause nasal congestion (stuffy nose).

Both drugs are popular with divers, my home bud cannot dive without Pseudoephedrine which was the original drug from which Sudafed got its name altho that brand name is now used on other drugs, but - trying them on land first is more prudent. Both can have bad side effects in some.