Weird dizziness- recommendations?

[vladimir]

How can prolonged use of decongestants contribute?

Afrin, for example, has a warning not to use it for more than three days. Prolonged use can cause a swelling of the mucous membranes that causes "rebound congestion"—basically creating the symptom you were trying to relieve. If you ever rely on Afrin you will find that after a while you need larger (or more frequent) doses to get the clearing effect. It's not clear to me whether the "rebound congestion" is due to the tendency to increase the dose or if prolonged use at the lower dose would also cause it.

 

[DandyDon]

Afrin, for example, has a warning not to use it for more than three days. Prolonged use can cause a swelling of the mucous membranes that causes "rebound congestion"—basically creating the symptom you were trying to relieve. If you ever rely on Afrin you will find that after a while you need larger (or more frequent) doses to get the clearing effect. It's not clear to me whether the "rebound congestion" is due to the tendency to increase the dose or if prolonged use at the lower dose would also cause it.

Ok, thanks. I think the risk is limited to nasal sprays, not oral meds.

 

[TSandM]

It is very unusual to have a cold for a month. I would be more suspicious of either a sinusitis or some type of allergic problem, and it might be well worth your while to see an allergist and/or an ENT doc to get a real diagnosis.

I agree that this sounds like alternobaric vertigo. Although you may be able to mitigate the problem with decongestants, you run the risk that they will wear off underwater, and they have their own issues. Oxymetazoline (Afrin) is well known for having a nasty rebound phenomenon, where the congestion gets worse when the med wears off than it was before you took it.

 

[offroadr1]

Zyrtec is not a decongestant. It is an antihistamine. If you use a Zyrtec D it has a decongestant added (Pseudoephedrine), that is what most are concerned with. I know people that use it without problems, I don't use it myself. Usually when I go on a dive trip the humidity is great for my sinuses and my allergies seem to disappear.

sorry, i meant to say Zertec D! i have to pop one before every dive i do, but i know how i react to it and how long it lasts for me. never used a nasal decongestant though. good thing i guess.

 

[DandyDon]

Does no one else think that he might have just gotten seasick on surfacing...?

The last couple of times (but not before) we've gone out not very far, perhaps fifty metres and at 10m max depth and then surfaced slowly to discuss where we intend to go next. Both times upon getting to the surface (which has been in quite strong surf) I've become very, very dizzy, somewhat disorientated and because of the dizzy, "unsettled" feeling also very sick and close to vomiting. Both times we went underneath again in order to return to the beach, and once we got there it has taken a good 45 minutes to recover- last time I was prostrate on a rock for about thirty minutes before I could move again. Once it passes I'm totally fine.

I don't get seasick, so I don't know if it can continue that long after climbing out...?

Still, getting & keeping the sinuses & ear tubes clear will help - either way.

 

[scubadivingsteve]

Maybe call DAN

 

[Searcaigh]

Go and see a doctor who knows about diving and discuss with him / her

 

[amsalem]

Open question to all: if the vertigo is caused by a reverse block or pressure imbalance between the ears during ascent, will descending a little help relieve the problem? I experienced the same today and felt as if I'm turning round in circles although I was stationary. What I did is take deep relaxed breaths and wait till the "dizziness" was gone.

 

[TSandM]

In theory, if the problem is pressure imbalance, descending ought to help. I don't know that it does -- at least for me, nothing ever stopped the vertigo once it got started, except acquiring a solid visual or tactile reference point. But then again, I don't know that my vertigo was alternobaric, either.

 

[Phil_C]

OK - I do not disagree with the diagnosis of alternobaric vertigo caused by the congestion as being very likely but I also think it is worth considering one other possibility as well that could cause vertigo and motion sickness. The OP says there was a heavy sea swell and surf, the dive was within 50 metres of shore and less than 10 metres.

I often find that if the dive is shallow with a lot of water movement both underwater and at the surface I suffer from motion sickness. I do a lot of night time shore dives and I know if I have done a long shallow dive where there has been a lot of swell, I have had the feeling of still moving for some hours after the dives, and it sometimes makes me feel sick.

Does the OP get same symptons on a deeper dive or when there is no surf to contend with? - P