IM new to this forum, IM not a diver but my son is. I am seeking advice. he has history of sinus issues, on his certifixcation dives to 25 feet he felt lots of forehead pressure, no ear, nowhere else. his headache is on day 2 now. of course we will go to a docotor but any advice on pre-dive approaches to avoid this pain besides equalizing?
Sinus
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flots am
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First, I'm a diver, not a doctor.
I'm not sure what you're talking about when you said "any advice on pre-dive approaches to avoid this pain besides equalizing". There is no way to safely SCUBA dive without equalizing, so I'm hoping you mean "in addition to equalizing".
FWIW, there are 4 pairs of sinuses. Normally, they're all open to the airspace in the nose and mouth, and will automatically equalize with the ambient pressure supplied by the regulator. However it's possible for the openings to any of them to be blocked during ascent and/or descent, which can cause injuries.
Unfortunately, there's no way to know exactly what happened over the internet, and he'll need to go see an ENT in person. Even if the pain goes away, I'd still suggest seeing an ENT, since, as likely as not, he'll just re-injure himself the next time he goes down.
flots.
I have sinus issues as well and also had problems on my first dives.No problems at all with my ears,just sinus areas.
My first attempt at a solution was a prescription from my doctor which did absolutely nothing but cost me $30 plus an office visit.
Next I tried Afrin which helped.I use it about 30-45 min before I dive.
I also use NeilMed Sinus Rinse for a couple of days before I dive.This helps me as well.
I have found the problem seems to decrease the more I dive but some days are worse than others.On the bad days,I've found that descending very slowly is the only way.When I feel the pressure in my sinuses I simply stop or go back up a foot or two to relieve the pressure,then descend slowly again.Some days it may take a couple of extra minutes to get down and some days I have no problem at all.I've also found that starting to equalize at the surface (before submerging my head) is a big help as well.
Definitely consult with a doctor, though there are great people and tips here. I have constant sinus issues mostly on my left side. I've found that 12hr sudafed works wonders to clear out my sinuses and keep me diving with zero problems. My old instructor used to take and recommend the 4hr sudafed (the little red sugar coated ones), he called them dive candy. If that doesn't work try moving on to prescription nasal steroids and/or nasal rinses/neti pots. I don't care for the OTC nasal sprays like Afrin, even one dose typically gives me a rebound effect that is ten times worse than the original problem.
And like 101recon mentioned, the more I dive and the more frequently I dive the easier it becomes for me to equalize and the less sinus problems I have. No idea what the correlation there is, but there's something to it (atleast for me).
Oh and, as typical, if your son starts taking anything make sure to take it a few times without diving to understand how it makes him feel. Even something as benign sounding and common as sudafed, as it is known to increase your heart rate and sometimes your breathing rate. I have had no ill side effects from it, but in a kid depending on his age and weight taking a big 12hr sudafed might effect him a lot more. I'd also recommend taking something like that early maybe 2-3 hours. I have two reason for this, one so that if there are any immediate side effects they will wear off (hopefully) by then and if I am doing a night dive and take it right before the dive or really any time during the day after about 5 or 6pm I find I cannot sleep at night.
And like 101recon mentioned, the more I dive and the more frequently I dive the easier it becomes for me to equalize and the less sinus problems I have. No idea what the correlation there is, but there's something to it (atleast for me).
Oh and, as typical, if your son starts taking anything make sure to take it a few times without diving to understand how it makes him feel. Even something as benign sounding and common as sudafed, as it is known to increase your heart rate and sometimes your breathing rate. I have had no ill side effects from it, but in a kid depending on his age and weight taking a big 12hr sudafed might effect him a lot more. I'd also recommend taking something like that early maybe 2-3 hours. I have two reason for this, one so that if there are any immediate side effects they will wear off (hopefully) by then and if I am doing a night dive and take it right before the dive or really any time during the day after about 5 or 6pm I find I cannot sleep at night.
My son has the same sinus issues. The last time we dove... three weeks ago in The Keys... he got terrible pressure in his forehead on his second dive. Funny thing, his first dive went just fine. So we went to a drug store, bought Sudafed 12 hour, and he took that. Then we took the next day completely off giving him at least 24 hours on the Sudafed. Like mentioned above, he took it many hours in advance just to make sure. The rest of the week diving went just fine. We even dove on the Speigal Grove.
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