What was that pain I felt in my forehead?

[bxd23]

Hello,
Recently in my dive while at around 10m I felt a localised pain (like pricking with a needle) near my left eyebrow. But it subdued slowly and I was able to complete my dive. Can anyone tell me if it is related to sinus? How can I prevent this in future?

NB:- My descent was a bit too fast because I was a bit overweight and I have a very slight deviation in nasal septum.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

Was the water cold? Did it feel like a "brain freeze" (when you drink a very cold drink quickly on a hot day)?

 

[bxd23]

Was the water cold? Did it feel like a "brain freeze" (when you drink a very cold drink quickly on a hot day)?

Nope. Nothing like that. It was something like a sharp localised pain just over my left eye under the eyebrow.

 

[Steve_C]

Could have been a touch of migraine. Or a spasm of a blood vessel. I get a pang every once in a while but not very often. Have for at least 50 years maybe longer. For me not dive related. Just life.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba.]

My money is on a sinus squeeze. It is part of the whole process of clearing your ears. When you do that, you are also clearing your sinuses, and if you don't do it well enough soon enough, you can feel a pain right where you describe. The facts that you descended quickly and the pain went away are consistent with a sinus squeeze. You are a little bit lucky in that it did not cause some bleeding in the sinuses. That can happen, in which case you will end the dive with a little blood coming out your nose. That is not serious. The problem is that if you are on a dive trip, you are likely to get a little bleeding for a while after that, until it heals properly.

 

[Phil_C]

I would agree with an equalisation problem. The you have air channels and tear ducts running over the eyes and through the skull to the ears so if you had a slight blockage or cold and went down a bit fast you probably had an equalisation issue.

If it cleared during the dive it was probably just a bit of mucous causing the blockage and you didn't feel it when you came up at the correct rate.

One of the reasons they don't recommend using sprays and so on to dry up mucous and clear your sinuses to allow you to dive, it can 'wear' off and allow mucous to build up during the dive and cause a reverse block on ascent. - Phil.

 

[The Chairman]

I am not a medical doctor, I fix sick networks... but it sounds like a sinus squeeze to me too. I get them from time to time based on what's in the air. Sometimes I surface with a bit of blood in my mask too. I've never worried about it.

 

[DevonDiver]

This should really be in the dive medicine area, if a qualified medical opinion is desired.

Given that the pain presented on descent, the hyperbaric compression trauma (squeeze) will always be a primary consideration. The frontal sinus extends farther across the face than most people might assume; right along the eyebrow ridges.

As others have suggested, some trapped mucous there could create a 'bubble' that doesn't equalize and then causes pain. Pre-dive nasal/sinus flushing with a saline spray can often work wonders.

If tempted to use decongestant - do so 24 hours before diving. Open up the passages and use saline to wash through. Don't dive on decongestant though - for the sake of reverse blocks etc.

I get a little congestion (allergic sinusitus related) if I have to visit Manila sometimes. The air pollution there is horrific. When I return home (to Subic Bay), I make sure to open up my sinuses and flush repeatedly with saline. It gets rid of the thicker mucus and dried up gunge... that results from the air pollution in the city. Same if I visit dry and dusty places, after long flights (dry air) or when using air-con overnight in an otherwise humid and hot climate. I avoid air-con for that reason, despite living in the tropics.

Beyond the obvious culprit, there could be many other issues.

 

[tech_diver]

I would also bet on sinus squeeze. I've had occasions where it felt like an ice pick in the forehead or under the eye.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

This should really be in the dive medicine area, if a qualified medical opinion is desired.

Good point, I didn't notice it was in Basic. I just moved it to diving medicine.