Strange experience

[GP]

I experienced something I find very strange while diving this past weekend. Not sure if conditions had anything to do with it but here they are: air temp was 46F, water temp was 43F at the surface and around 38F at 90 ft. I was wearing my Henderson 7mil farmer john wetsuit. Anyway first dive was about maybe 35-40 minutes and the max depth was 77ft. When ascending I noticed a kind of headache type pain in my temples once I reached about 30 ft. It felt similar to a cold headache that you sometimes get when you eat extremely cold icecream, that sort of "cold shock" type feeling. What's strange is that my sinuses were totally clear and I wasn't sick at all and felt great before this happened. My first thought was that it was a sinus squeeze or block of some sort but my ears were cleared and felt fine. I ascended ok though to the surface after the safety stop and felt ok at the surface. We ended up farther away from our entry point than we had antipated so the thought was to take a compass bearing and descend to 10 ft and swim underwater back to the entry point as we all had plenty of air left. I didn't even get to 10 feet and I felt this same pain in my temples again. I had to abort and surface swim back. I was a little concerned. We broke for lunch and a 2 hour surface interval and decided to try another dive. The second dive was to 90 ft and I didn't notice this headache feeling really much at all on the second dive, perhaps a little bit but it didn't hurt like it did on the first dive. On my drive home, from the dive, after about an hour on the road I stopped at a wayside rest to use the can and get out and stretch. I noticed a weird sound when I moved my neck around. It sounded and felt like something was squishing/crunching in my neck but I experienced no pain whatsoever. When I got home I didn't notice the squishing/crunching in my neck at all. I am baffled at what this was.

 

[Aquamaniac]

Im not sure if its the same thing, and I am in no way qualified to answer your questions, but i get an "icecream" headache everytime I pass the 70ft thermocline at the local quarry. Usually its about 50-60 degrees, and I dive wet.
Sometimes it stays longer than other times, sometimes its more intense than others. It usually passes by the time I hit 100 (maybe beacaue I am totally numb by that stage).

Dave

 

[rcohn]

Easy fix for an ice cream headache is to get an ice cap. I always add one when the water drops below 50 F.

I'm not saying you had an i-c headache, that's for the docs to say, just that an ice cap provides a quick cure, as well as extra warmth.

Ralph

 

[O-ring]

It sounded and felt like something was squishing/crunching in my neck but I experienced no pain whatsoever. When I got home I didn't notice the squishing/crunching in my neck at all. I am baffled at what this was.

That would explain the crackling you reported...was there also bulging at the site?

 

[BillP]

There are many potential causes for headaches in divers. Headache on ascent/descent is frequently due to sinus barotrauma. A cold or obvious sinus congestion is not required to suffer sinus barotrauma- it often happens in otherwise asymptomatic people. Decompression sickness or arterial gas embolism can also cause a headache which can vary with depth.

O-ring brings up a good point that the neck "squishing/crunching" you report sounds suspiciously like subcutaneous emphysema (air loose in the soft tissues of the neck)- perhaps from significant barotrauma and possibly related to an arterial gas embolism.

Divers who suspect they may have subcutaneous emphysema should seek IMMEDIATE medical attention. Not all cases of subcutaneous emphysema indicate a significant life/health threatening situation, but it can. If the diver recognizes the problem after they ascend they should proceed to the nearest medical facility or, depending on conditions, the nearest emergency hyperbaric facility. Divers who do not recognize the problem immediately, but in whom the problems resolve spontaneously, should still contact DAN ASAP for advice and appropriate medical referral.

DAN's (USA) emergency hotlines are:

1-919-684-8111

and

1-800-446-2671

HTH,

Bill

The above information is intended for discussion purposes only and is not meant as specific medical advice for any individual. As the "Attn: Please Read" post at the top of this forum explains, this forum is for the discussion of diving medicine topics in general only and is not available as a source for emergency medical advice.

 

[GP]

Jeez, talk about scaring the crap out of me! That seems odd though. How would I develop the mentioned conditions when my dive profile was totally within acceptable limits? I've done dives like these several times and have never experienced the symptoms I had on that particular day. As for an answer to O-Ring's question as to whether I noticed any bulging in my neck...No I didn't. Like I said, when I got home which was approximately a 2-1/2 hour drive from the dive site, I felt fine. Very strange.

 

[GP]

I just spoke to someone at DAN and they said basically the same thing as Bill. They said it was a good sign that I haven't felt any ill effects since Saturday but recommended I call a dive physician in my area which they gave me a name and phone number for. Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[BillP]

Let us know what you find out.

Bill

 

[Scuba]

That seems odd though. How would I develop the mentioned conditions when my dive profile was totally within acceptable limits? I've done dives like these several times and have never experienced the symptoms I had on that particular day.

Current acceptable limits, safety guidelines, DO NOT PREVENT physical or mental complications arising from diving. They merely REDUCE the chance of an occurrence.

GP, you probably know this already, but it is worth to reitirate it for others. Good Luck.

 

[GP]

Scuba once bubbled...


Current acceptable limits, safety guidelines, DO NOT PREVENT physical or mental complications arising from diving. They merely REDUCE the chance of an occurrence.

GP, you probably know this already, but it is worth to reitirate it for others. Good Luck.

Yeah you're right. It's just hard to accept that it really happened to me knowing I didn't do anything wrong other than I probably shouldn't have done that second dive even though I felt fine after a long surface interval and lunch. I learned my lesson and fortunately I wasn't permanently injured. To solidify what you're saying here are some quotes off of the DAN website. The second paragraph is the most likely explanation of what I experienced and why.

Unfortunately, however, even when we follow all the rules for avoiding decompression illness, there are no guarantees that it won't occur. And what is even more perplexing is when you know you haven't violated any of the established rules - and yet find that you're bent. When signs and symptoms of DCI occur after a dive, series of dives or days of diving, and the diver has not violated any safety guidelines, it is sometimes referred to as "unexpected DCI."


Although no one can say for sure, it is more likely that this trapped air - or subcutaneous emphysema - originated from pulmonary barotrauma. Sometimes the lungs are over-pressurized, for instance, when we have difficulty clearing. This can happen when we attempt to put air into the sinuses and middle ear with more force than is necessary. This can actually increase the amount of pressure in the air spaces of the lung, which then allows air to escape through lung tissue, where it can travel up to the shoulder, neck or even the face.Subcutaneous emphysema does not require recompression treatment. However, it is a good idea to be evaluated by your physician to determine the underlying cause of the air bubbles.