moosicman
Contributor
So in all areas of life, there are rules (spoken and unspoken) we adhere to based on how seriously the consequenses are for breaking them (riding a motorcycle without a helmet, not using a seatbelt, smoking {though it is not a law or rule it should be obvious to humanity that humans shouldn't smoke because the affects are direly serious but for some reason fools still do, sorry if this offendeth the unwise smoker/reader and that I ranted a bit there}, locking the house doors when leaving, not running with sharp objects, tearing the "do not tear off" tag of a mattress, etc., etc.,). Obviously, there are rules that you CANNOT break or you will risk life and limb for sure.
So my diving related rule that I want to ask if some still do even though it is recommended and taught that you should not do is this: taking sinus medication to aid equalization. I don't mean in the throws of a cold or legitimate period of atypical congestion but just to help sort of dry up what may normally be there. Usually, I have some initial difficulty equalizing on descent in the first dive that I think is a result of a tiny bit of normal/average congestion in the eustatian tubes. Now after the first dive, I'm doing all that beautiful drainage due to the experience that we all get on the boat with; snot hanging and drooling from the mask and remnants on the nose and face and there isn't much of an issue as I'm decongesting by sheer force of nature. But I'm groove-busting the initial dive for my dive partners (just a little) because we have to take longer than usual just to get down to depth. I'm going to start Neti-potting it a day or two before the dives from now on and see if that helps but I also wondered if any of you go against common recommendations and take a decongestant prior to the dive. Obviously, the risk is a reverse equalization issue should the medication wear off mid dive. I have bumped into a diver or two who say they do but I'm normally a very straight-laced, by the rule book type of individual (it even bugs me when people go IN the OUT door, don't turn their headlights on when its raining, or check out their 21 items in the "20-items-or-less" lane for instance). So I'm a bit trepidatious about this, especially as the serious consequence/risk factor rises. So do you or is this an "absolutely never break" one?
So my diving related rule that I want to ask if some still do even though it is recommended and taught that you should not do is this: taking sinus medication to aid equalization. I don't mean in the throws of a cold or legitimate period of atypical congestion but just to help sort of dry up what may normally be there. Usually, I have some initial difficulty equalizing on descent in the first dive that I think is a result of a tiny bit of normal/average congestion in the eustatian tubes. Now after the first dive, I'm doing all that beautiful drainage due to the experience that we all get on the boat with; snot hanging and drooling from the mask and remnants on the nose and face and there isn't much of an issue as I'm decongesting by sheer force of nature. But I'm groove-busting the initial dive for my dive partners (just a little) because we have to take longer than usual just to get down to depth. I'm going to start Neti-potting it a day or two before the dives from now on and see if that helps but I also wondered if any of you go against common recommendations and take a decongestant prior to the dive. Obviously, the risk is a reverse equalization issue should the medication wear off mid dive. I have bumped into a diver or two who say they do but I'm normally a very straight-laced, by the rule book type of individual (it even bugs me when people go IN the OUT door, don't turn their headlights on when its raining, or check out their 21 items in the "20-items-or-less" lane for instance). So I'm a bit trepidatious about this, especially as the serious consequence/risk factor rises. So do you or is this an "absolutely never break" one?