When does a cold stop you from diving

[alaxias]

Hi, I currently have a small cold. No fever, no coughing, lungs are clear. I only have to use a kleenex every once in a while but when I do I can breathe normally through my nose. Even when my nose is full, I can still equalize my ears.

Hopefully it'll go away before my diving trip in 4 days but is that the kind of thing that should stop me from diving?

 

[doctormike]

Usually, the limiting factor is whether or not you can equalize your ears and sinuses on descent and ascent. Of course, it is sometimes hard to know this before a dive, but if you can try it out in a pool or just freediving a few feet, you can probably figure out if this will be a problem.

Remember, there is no shame in calling a dive, even after you are in the water. If you start and find that you have a significant problem on descent with a cold (as opposed to some people who always need to take a long time to equalize), it is best to call the dive rather than risk a reverse squeeze.

Best,

Mike

 

[lamont]

the first symptom that i get with a cold (long before i actually get sniffles and sneezes) is that my sinuses plug up completely and i can't equalize. so there's almost no way that i can go diving with a cold.

i did come down with a cold on the flight down to mexico for a diving vacation one time... i first noticed the symptoms in the airplane when my sinuses got a reverse block at altitude in the plane that didn't clear... i went diving anyway over the next week, which was probably a really bad idea, but i just loaded up on sudafed and dealt with the reverse blocks (often they'd last all night until i went to sleep). i retrospect i don't recommend that... there's probably some way to injure yourself doing that...

 

[ScubaInChicago]

Afrin and Sudafedrin are divers best friends at times...Might be nice to let your buddy know your plan so he/she doesn't freak out if you get loopy on the up line....

 

[TSandM]

You can usually do a pretty good provocative test on land -- pinch your nose and Valsalva, or whatever you do to equalize, and see if you can pressurize your ears. If you can do it on land, it's highly likely you can do it in the water. But on the other hand, if you can't get air into your ears on land, you most likely WON'T be able to do it in the water.

You CAN get sinus blocks and squeezes, and they can be horrendously painful, but in the majority of cases, they aren't medically dangerous.

If you are wheezing, you shouldn't dive.

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

I had a cold a while ago, and I thought it had mostly cleared up. I did a shallow beach dive (less than 20'). The entire dive went fine, until it was time to surface. I had a reverse block and I could not go above 10'. It was extremely painful. I descended and did everything I could think of to try to equalize. Eventually, I just had to get to the surface. I did so as slowly as possible, but when I got to the surface I was in agony. After a few minutes on the surface, my head literally exploded. Everything equalized at once, and I ended up in the ER for sinus barotrauma. To top it off, my sinuses became infected from the blood in them and I was in pain for over a month after that stupid 20' beach dive.

So, now anytime I have any sign of a cold, I'll stay on the surface.

 

[lamont]

Afrin and Sudafedrin are divers best friends at times...Might be nice to let your buddy know your plan so he/she doesn't freak out if you get loopy on the up line....

pseudoephedrine/Sudafed may decrease the seizure threshold and may increase risk of oxtox...

one thing that i forgot to mention is that while i was risking a bloody sinus blow-out like OBXDIVEGUY, that i was conscious to not push ppO2s while using sudafed...

everyone seems to be differently built, though... some people can equalize sinuses okay with a cold...

 

[Dr Wu]

When does a cold stop you from diving ?

When my husband or kids have one.

 

[sierra23]

WOW - I am totally blown away by some of these responses!! Yes, everyone is built differently. I think and/or hope that everyone wants to dive safely and be injury FREE. Yes, we all dive for one reason and that is that WE LOVE TO DIVE!! Any health risks involving questionable conditions should be seriously weighed and not push any dive when you don't feel well. You body is TRYING TO SPEAK to YOU and you NEED to listen. I suffered nerve damage to one ear and have permanant hearing lose because of a reverse blockage. I was slightly conjested and equalized with an result of nerve damage. DRUGS are DRUGS and one shouldn't rely on DRUGS fixing a health issue when you are diving. There are other things your body needs to deal with other than DRUGS. Call a dive and you will be diving for many more years. Also, ALWAYS take out travel insurance for trips.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

WOW - I am totally blown away by some of these responses!! Yes, everyone is built differently. I think and/or hope that everyone wants to dive safely and be injury FREE. Yes, we all dive for one reason and that is that WE LOVE TO DIVE!! Any health risks involving questionable conditions should be seriously weighed and not push any dive when you don't feel well. You body is TRYING TO SPEAK to YOU and you NEED to listen. I suffered nerve damage to one ear and have permanant hearing lose because of a reverse blockage. I was slightly conjested and equalized with an result of nerve damage. DRUGS are DRUGS and one shouldn't rely on DRUGS fixing a health issue when you are diving. There are other things your body needs to deal with other than DRUGS. Call a dive and you will be diving for many more years. Also, ALWAYS take out travel insurance for trips.

Sucks to be you...I like my Afrin..... and a fifth before every dive