Vertigo in a pool???

[cougar]

'')
I did a "discover scuba" thingy in a pool in Albuquerque, New Mexico...which although it is at 5,000 feet, it is 2,700 feet lower than where I live. This question is only for curiosity because it never happened again, but at the time I wondered if it would affect my learning to dive.

I had lunch about 12:15. The class started in the afternoon and we didn't get into the pool until 3:30 PM

We messed around with what was very unfamiliar equipment, learned to do mask clearing and ears and eventually ended up at 13 feet laying on the bottom of the pool. I thought this was way cool. Was sorta dispointed when the instructor started to take us gradually to the shallow end of the pool. Had a great time, no problems...swam slowly to the shallow end, stood up (no, not abruptly)...and damn near fell over. Major vertigo, nausea, my daughter said my color was terrible. I had the shakes and my EMT training said this looked a lot like hypoglycemia...but I'd eaten lunch, I was plenty hydrated and this is not a problem I have ever had. I let my daughter drive and an hour later we had dinner...sometime about the time we sat down for dinner I was improving and another hour later I was right as rain..

I've never been seasick and these symtoms have never reoccured, so I have no worries....but I am left with some curiousity as to whether I am the first and only person to get seasick in a swimming pool. **********(':scratch:')

 

[jbd]

I'm doubting hypoglycemia but I'm wondering if possibly you had an ear that wasn't quite equalized or if you had water in contact with an ear drum that affected you.

 

[devilfish]

Verigo in the pool is actually not so rare. Sometimes on first experiance u/w one might have a difficult time focusing on the walls of the pool causing vertigo. With repeated exposures you should be able to adjust your vision.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

I'm not a doctor. This sounds a bit like what my step-mother has experienced.

She sometimes has a sharp drop in blood pressure when she stands up. She describes it as a nauseous, lightheaded feeling. When it is bad, she can even pass out.

Her doctor called it a positional hypotension, and said it related to blood vessels in her legs failing to constrict and force blood up toward her head.

If it continues to bother you, please see a doctor about this. Treatments may be available, and it's better to check it out to be safe.

 

[jbd]

Drew--the condition you mention is what I know as orthostatic hypotension. Cougar seems to indicate this is not the case since she didn't stand up abruptly. You can also experience this by sitting up to quickly from a lying postion(this would apply more to your stepmother than you personally) Its pretty amazing how much of a drop in blood pressure there is. In my experience this seems to affect more women than men.

 

[pipedope]

Not just standing up quickly but from a transition from a fully supported position in the water to a vertical position out of the water.

The advice now in rescue is to lift people out of the water in a horizontal position.

The question for Cougar, are you sure you were well hydrated? Dehydration makes it worse.

michael

 

[devilfish]

The horizontal position when taking unconcious victims out of the water has been around for a long time, however becaus of lack of knowledge seldom practiced. This is to prevent blood rapidly draining from the vital organs and the brain. To lift a victim vertically from the water is like ripping a patient out of shock trousers.

 

[cougar]

Originally posted by pipedope
Not just standing up quickly but from a transition from a fully supported position in the water to a vertical position out of the water.
michael

Hydration...I tend to pay attention to...but the nausea and vertigo came on standing in water up to my neck...in fact it took me a bit to get out of the pool because the feeling was so weird. This does not seem to be an ongoing problem, it is just a bit of a riddle. As a medical professional, I tend to get very curious about things I haven't encountered before. It was also interesting that it took about an hour and a half to resolve and then vanished totally. If only a had a kit with me I would have checked my BGL, BP and a couple of other quick diagnostics. If an ear could have caused this...that could be a possibility. I was slower to get the hang of correct ear clearing than anything else. I've aprpeciated the speculation on this post. I try to learn from all mistakes. Thanks

 

[BillP]

Hi cougar:

Sorry about your trouble. Hope you don't mind if I refer you my reply to Sea Squirt's similar question:

http://www.scubaboard.com/t7260/s.html

HTH,

Bill