Veins Bulging in Arms?

[Revid1]

Just completed a my second day of diving in Cozumel. Came up after the second dive and thought my arm felt tight in bend of the elbow (inside). Took off the wet suit and found my veins on both arms were pertruding in that area. When I raise my arms above my head the bulging veins go away. Called DAN and they said it wasn't DCS related. Both dives were long, close to an hour. My suit fits tight and I dive with my arms crossed, so maybe there was some problem there? It has been 12 hours and it has went down some, but not completely.

I will go to a doc when I return to the states. Is it ok to resume diving? I did 3 dive the first day and 2 dives the second. Thanks.

 

[cwkline]

What suit are you using and is it yours? If the suit is too tight it could be restricting veinous return, causing them to bulge.
Maybe this should be moved to the Marine Science and Physiology thread? Or maybe Lynn could answer better. I will not tell you it is OK for you to dive, but I probably would. Even though I have a medical background (paramedic from '80 to '85) I am a plumber now so you should probably ignore medical advice from me.
Safe Dives
Charlie

 

[gcbryan]

It sounds like your suit is too tight.

 

[Gen San Chris]

Get checked out my friend, lets hope its nothing but its better not to take a chance on something wierd like that!
Good luck to you!

 

[highlandfarmwv]

Everyone's antecubital veins fill when they use their arms alot or have something tight above them (tight wetsuit, BC, sleeve, etc). Nothing to worry about. That's how lab technicians get blood--they put something tight around your arm. When you hold your arm up, the blood drains out easier. It is a normal phenomena.

Don't go to your doctor, he'll laugh you out of the office. You just probably never noticed that normal occurance!

 

[funkcanna]

Don't go to your doctor, he'll laugh you out of the office.

No offense highland but this is horrible advice to give someone on an internet forum.

You have no idea what this is and a diagnosis is impossible sitting in front of your PC. While I agree you are probably right in saying its a tight wetsuit, I dont know for sure and telling someone not to go get it checked based on your opinion of a forum post is extremely careless.

 

[Revid1]

Thanks for the replies. I still have the same symptoms almost 24 hrs later. I would think that a tight suit would mean they would return to normal by now? It is my own suit that I have used for years, just hadn't dove since last year. Think that I'm going to bag this trip since they are not returning to normal.

 

[Garrobo]

I at one time had a related problem. My hands would tingle because the arms in my wetsuit were too tight. My arms are exceptionally large for my body, sort of like an ape. So I cut the arms off at the shoulder and haven't had the problems since. (The arms of the wetsuit that is.)

 

[HatchetJoe]

Sounds like the wetsuit is too tight in the arms, also happens on shorties with the oring type seals. If not crossing your arms helps try it.

Remeber the old joke where the says to the Doc my arm hurts when U holed it up like this

Doc replies don't hold your arm like that.

Seriously a buddy had the issue with a shortie, cut the orings to alleviate the issue.

 

[don Francisco]

It's probably not serious, but since you're using the same wetsuit as always and never had the problem before, you should probably check it out, especially since it hasn't recovered in 24 hours.

If you're going home soon might as well wait, but if you still have lots of time in Coz, why not let one of the local docs take a look. There are plenty of good docs on the island, and they're almost all familiar with the implications of diving. For something in the range of $50.00 you'll get peace of mind and maybe able to continue diving.