I had my first actual diving-related injury yesterday, following my last dive of my trip to Grand Cayman. A sinus squeeze followed by a reverse sinus squeeze. I was just a little bit congested--I hadn't thought it was nearly bad enough to not dive. On the descent I felt some increasing discomfort and pressure on my sinus cavity, which went away. I didn't realize it until I surfaced, but I had blood in the bottom of my mask. It had happened the previous day, too, but it didn't hurt, and I knew it was something that could happen sometimes and wasn't too serious.
The worse part, though, was the ascent. (Which, for what it's worth, was nice and slow.) Because there was now air trapped in my sinuses that was expanding with nowhere to go, and as I got near the surface I thought "oh, this doesn't feel good at all". By the time I got back on the boat, I had a moderate sinus headache, and by the time I got back to the condo it was the worst sinus headache ever, mainly on one side. Painkillers did nothing (and my wife had the good stuff, ibuprofen + codeine). I rolled around miserable on the bed for about an hour, while my wife did research. It was getting bad enough that I contemplated calling DAN for advice, but I figured it would pass sometime. Following my wife's research, we drove to the store, got some Afrin and decongestants, and I took them as soon as I got in the car. When we got back to the hotel, I half-slept for about an hour, then I heard a weird squeaky pulsing sound, which I thought was coming from my phone. Then I realized it was the sound of air escaping from my sinuses, and I felt much better. It's still not quite back to normal; it doesn't hurt, but there's a vague discomfort.
I still haven't decided what the lesson is. I had only woken up with a bit of congestion on one side of my nose, which cleared right away, so I still don't think I was ignoring some big warning sign there. But on the other hand, I really should have expected a problem, since I'd had blood in my mask the previous day.
Next time in a similar circumstance, I think I'd use nasal spray just to be sure. If it were much worse, of course I wouldn't dive. And I'll have to move the line of what's "much worse" for me in a more conservative direction.
The worse part, though, was the ascent. (Which, for what it's worth, was nice and slow.) Because there was now air trapped in my sinuses that was expanding with nowhere to go, and as I got near the surface I thought "oh, this doesn't feel good at all". By the time I got back on the boat, I had a moderate sinus headache, and by the time I got back to the condo it was the worst sinus headache ever, mainly on one side. Painkillers did nothing (and my wife had the good stuff, ibuprofen + codeine). I rolled around miserable on the bed for about an hour, while my wife did research. It was getting bad enough that I contemplated calling DAN for advice, but I figured it would pass sometime. Following my wife's research, we drove to the store, got some Afrin and decongestants, and I took them as soon as I got in the car. When we got back to the hotel, I half-slept for about an hour, then I heard a weird squeaky pulsing sound, which I thought was coming from my phone. Then I realized it was the sound of air escaping from my sinuses, and I felt much better. It's still not quite back to normal; it doesn't hurt, but there's a vague discomfort.
I still haven't decided what the lesson is. I had only woken up with a bit of congestion on one side of my nose, which cleared right away, so I still don't think I was ignoring some big warning sign there. But on the other hand, I really should have expected a problem, since I'd had blood in my mask the previous day.
Next time in a similar circumstance, I think I'd use nasal spray just to be sure. If it were much worse, of course I wouldn't dive. And I'll have to move the line of what's "much worse" for me in a more conservative direction.