Sinus Congestion Medicine Before Dive

[dk2943]

My sinuses have never been great. I had some trouble flying, but nothing serious, but when it came to diving, I could not clear my ears. As I said, the DAN recommended ENT specifically recommended Afrin. I had never tried it before. I LOVE it. It opens my sinuses immediately and they stay open. It works far better than any pill I have tried. The only warning is that you cannot use it every day, so I only use it when I dive.

 

[Laustimus]

If you have a clearning problem not a bad idea to start with an ENT, one that knows diving is always better ofcourse but any ENT can be helpful really, but make sure to tell your ENT you plan to dive so he/she knows you can't have tubes. In my case my turbinates get very enlarged if I don't use a regular steroid like Nasacort AQ. Other problems an ENT might find is oversized tonsils and polyps or a deviated septim that can make it very hard to clear also.

As someone else mentioned above the Neilmed nasal rinse is a nice product too. They have a great starter pack at Costco.

One thing to keep in mind about the Sudafed/Afrin, don't take these everyday if you do go that route, just do it for the dives. Taking Afrin everyday can actually start making things worse in the long run.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

A previous poster provided the link to the saline up the nose thread from months ago. That thread made me try the Neti-pot thing and I am now hooked on it. At first I was looking at it as just a diving remedy (use it before a dive) but I tried it a month before I was going on a dive trip and discovered that just using it once in a while wasn't helping me (wasn't hurting, just wasn't helping). So about 2 weeks before my trip I began using it daily and after about a week I was doing great. I have been doing it daily since March and probably the most significant thing I can say is I have not had a head cold or sinus issue since (a normal year for me I would have had at least 2 colds during that period and a good chance of a sinus infection). A couple of times I have had the feeling of a cold comming on, did an extra rinse and it never set in.

 

[KazooDiver]

I think the best is not to use any medication if at all possiable...first it could wear off while underwater and you could be in trouble. Afrin can cause severe rebound where you end up worse then before you started...do not use it everyday. I have been known to use 12hour sudafed and found it works quite well...

But I found using a nasal rinse to be my best option, I use the NeilMed Sinus Rinse squeeze bottle, and found it easier to use than the Neti Pot method. Using this system I have been able to decrease my sinus infections and my use of allergy medication.
Try it as an alternative to medications...

 

[SurDo2]

I see people referring to Afrin as a recommended/chosen decongestant for diving. Is there a specific reason for choosing this brand or will others work just as well (Drixoral, Dristan, Otrivin, etc.) ?

DO NOT take Dristan under any circumstances before diving. At around 80-100fsw/ffw it will turn most people into a blubbering idiot. I saw a near miss with someone on SCUBA while taking Dristan.

 

[CaptainHornblower]

I agree with Sinbad. I do the neti pot and it really helps.