Throwing up under water.

[JessicaDodge]

No, There is no vertigo. Just the nausea and vomiting. Also, no there was no surge on my certification dives. and Very little on my later ones. The cert dives were done in some springs, and a aquarium. Do surge or rough seas or any of that kind of thing.

Jessica

 

[DocVikingo]

Based on your descriptions, I rather suspected that vertigo was not involved.

It's very possible that this may resolve on its own with increased experience, but in the meantime it would be prudent to follow up on the previously suggested possibilities of reflux, air swallowing & anxiety.

Best of luck.

DocVikingo

 

[redseal]

Our very first open ocean dive (after doing fresh water quarries) was in Key West this past summer. The boat ride to the first dive site was a bit rocky, but with the exception of one diver, none of us experienced any nausea on the surface. Buttttttttttt, about 20-25 minutes into our first dive, at 45 feet, from out of nowhere I was hit with wave after wave (sorry about the pun) of nausea and retching followed. NOT a great sensation: dry-heaving and trying not to breath hold while ascending the line to the surface. All of the divers were barfing for about 15-20 minutes after surfacing, then we were all okay. NONE of the snorkelers had the same malady, yet they were on the surface being buffeted around the whole time we were under the waves. We were all okay during the ride to the 2nd dive site, and back to the dock, just miserable at depth. There was some surge, but again there was no warning, just BAMM! dry heaves at depth.

Nausea that appears during a dive but is absent on the surface, especially on a boat, makes me suspicious about air contamination, especially in the absence of vertigo or disorientation, as well as when it only appears while breathing air via the reg.

Just my $0.02.:mean:

 

[JessicaDodge]

I would think it was bad air if it didn't happen on several differant dives with several differant air supplies... and each time I was the only one sick. Not likely contaminated air I think..

Jessica

 

[redseal]

If it's happened to you (and only you) on multiple trips with different air supplies, then clearly you are the consistent factor, not bad air each time.

Maybe you're receiving subliminal messages from hungry fish waiting for their "chum" to come swimming with them!

Seriously, I hope you find a solution, whether it's burping and belching prior to descent or some type of antinausea medication (I've heard ginger helps, and is non-sedating).

Good luck

 

[DocVikingo]

In her post of 11/03/02, Jessica stated, "On the first dive it was about 15 mins into the dive that I started feeling sick. The second dive it started a little earlier. (though I didn't actually vomit.) Both of the other dives were at the very beginning... like 3 or 4 mins under. I also felt sick on my certification dives (done with a different place and different air) I don't know that there was a problem with the particular air, others breathed it fine."

Given that she has experienced this phenomenon across times & places, and that other divers using air from the same fill stations were unaffected, there appears no reason to suspect contaminated air. There is also the matter that bad air fills (e.g., fouled with gaseous hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide) seem to be a relatively rare occurrence in the industry.

Jessica also says, "I feel fine once I am back on the boat. Or after I vomit. On my last dive I did it right away just to avoid the nausea while under water and I felt fine."

It would be expected that the diver breathing contaminated air remain ill at least for the duration of use, and not just until vomiting once.

Moreover, contaminated air often would be expected to result in other complaints, such as headache, dizziness & impairment of consciousness. Jessica makes none of these.

Taken as a whole, the evidence discussed above is not consistent with a bad air fill hypothesis.

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[DocVikingo]

"(I've heard ginger helps, and is non-sedating)."

See the current thread on ginger here ----> http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16484&highlight=ginger

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[redseal]

Thanks for the referral to your earlier posting. I tried the ginger capsules for two boat dives and found it 50-75% effective. I too am reluctant to use Dramamine or any sedative type antinauseant before doing any activity which requires clear-headedness...that certainly applies to diving, at depth.

A colleague swears by the new serotonin inhibitor Zofran-ODT; her daughter used it quite successfully on an Alaskan cruise when she felt seasick. It dissolves under the tongue so you don't have to worry about swallowing it and then revisiting it. Two problems though: it requires a prescription in the USA, it's not FDA approved for this use (not that this is a major concern as many drugs are used for "off-label" indications), and it's expensive as hell:>$30USD per tablet. {I guess that's three problems is you consider the FDA thing a problem}

I suspect that we'll consider ginger, the Relief Band, and keep a Zofran as an "ace-in-the-hole" for next boat trip and "sea" what happens!