sinus + pressure = no diving... grrr

[boostedh23a1]

well i drove 8 hrs took 3 clartin and still cant go below 13ft..
man i was pissed.
what do u guys use for your sinus problems.. i dont thing i wanna dive with some cheap stuff..

 

[cat]

but - on the thankfully rare occasions when I get stuffed up, I use...
hot sauce. Liberally - well ahead of the dive and right before if needed.
Chilis, ginger, pepper - anything spicy enough to get in there and be felt all the way into the sinuses (well some of them) and up the old eustachian tubes (if you can feel the heat all the way to your ears, it's gooood stuff).
Might not work for you but there's no side effects (or interactions with Claritin, etc.) that I know of that might cause problems when diving, so it might be worth trying. Umm - if you don't normally eat spicy food, you might want to break yourself in gently first...

 

[Viv]

Claritin comes in different forms. "Claritin" which is antihistamine only and "Claritin-D" which is antihistamine plus decongestant (pseudoephedrine). If you can tolerate the pseudoephedrine then the Claritin-D may be an option for you.

(Remember, I'm not your doctor )

 

[RichLockyer]

Claritin doesn't do jack for me.
If I have to use something, I'll take ONE Sudafed and maybe follow up with a shot of Afrin. Sudafed has been implicated in tox episodes though, so it is prudent to back off on O2 exposure levels if diving nitrox or deeper on air.
Also, Afrin can be very nasty.... do a quick Yahoo search for "Afrin addiction" and you'll see some stories that will make you swear that it should be banned... it does have a nasty rebound, and I will not use it for more than two days.

 

[Tom R]

These drugs also "speed up" your heart beat, that can't be good either.

Tom

 

[mdr231]

Claritin (and Clarinex and Allegra) is an antihistamine. It blocks your body's response to some allergens. It might avert sinus blockage before it gets started, but won't do anything to relieve already blocked nasal passageways or sinuses. If it's allergy season, I'd use these way ahead of diving day to minimize potential of sinus problems developing. For relieving congestion, though, you'll need a decongestant like Sudafed. I've been using a time-released variant, available by prescription, called pseudovent, in a pediatric dose. I use the pediatric dose because I don't like what a regular dose does to me (or any of these pseudoefedrine drugs)- make me anxious and cause sleep problems. However, it does the trick of clearing my sinuses for an extended period (about 12 hours) which is long enough to avoid the potential of congesting during a dive. Also makes equalizing easy for me. I use it for a couple of days ahead of dive which really clears out the pipes. Note, though, that if I were -really- congested ahead of diving, I wouldn't go diving since there might be an underlying sinus infection- see your doctor. So far, this routine has worked well for me. You should be careful with these pseudoefedrine-based drugs, though, since some people (like me) can be very sensitive to them. I've also read on this board that for sensitive individuals, they might not mix well with nitrox.

This is not medical advice, just my personal experience.

cheers,
Michael

 

[alias10]

Have you tried Flonnaise? Its works really well for me.

 

[greenalien]

I haven't dove with this but.......


I started having sinus infections (and middle ear) 1 yr ago and have had 3 since. I took Allegra, Claritan, and flonase(sp). They never seemed to help. I've seen a specialist and he couldn't tell my why I seem prone to them. And I get hyper on sudafed.

The last time my ears filled with fluid a doctor gave me zyrtec (?) to tilt my ears and keep an infection from forming. It worked great. The fluid left along with any pressure or sinus conjestion. Whenever I get a head cold now I pop one.

I too eat spicy food but my conjestion comes back with an hour after eating.

Good luck.

 

[Arnaud]

boostedh23a1 once bubbled...
i dont thing i wanna dive with some cheap stuff..

Well, maybe, you shouldn't dive at all if you can't equalize. Have you heard of "reverse block"? Not to mention the long term effects of abusing decongestants.

 

[pasley]

DISCLAIMER: NOT A DOCTOR, MEDCIAL TYPE OR EVEN SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.

A friend of mine (a doctor) had a reverse squeeze. He kept trying to clear it, but finally had to surface due to lack of air. Did some damage and had to lay off diving for a while.

So the key is to get at the underlying cause of your clearing problems.

Things to consider:
1. If you have a constant sinus problem, consider talking with a good ENT about it and diving. Sinus surgery may help, or maynot depending.

2. Have you always had clearing problems? It may be a problem with techniques (you don't say how long you have been diving).

3. I usally use a shot of Afrin 4 hours before diving and again just before the dive.

4. To clear the sinus I also have found natual adrinline to work well in clearing the sinus. This can be accomplished in many ways but I prefer a willing companion of the oposite sex. Even if it doesn't work, who complains.:wacko: