Decompression Sickness (DCS) from a Pool Dive?

[TSandM]

SlapBassist, I don't know where you are located, but you might want to make an appointment with an ENT doc who knows something about diving, if that's possible.

The most common problem that novice divers have with their ears is mild barotrauma. This results in the accumulation of fluid behind the ear drum, and sometimes a little bleeding -- it can look enormously like an ear infection to the untutored physician. Most barotrauma resolves fairly quickly, and there really is no reason why the person can't resume diving when the symptoms have resolved. If true infection supervenes, that requires a longer period out of the water, but it's relatively uncommon.

Severe barotrauma results in persistent vertigo -- a sensation of spinning, which affects one's balance, and can even cause motion sickness. THAT is a serious injury, and should most emphatically be managed by a savvy ENT doc.

I would be willing to bet that your headaches are unrelated to diving, unless you got enough pool water into your sinuses to cause a sinusitis. The dizziness is harder to evaluate over the internet. Please make an appointment with an ENT doc; I would hate to see you miss your certification or your trip because of overly conservative medical advice.

 

[SlapBassist]

Yup, I did just that. My doctor told me I should wait a week before diving (after saying to wait a month initially). But I felt maybe that was a bit conservative, but who knows. I made an appointment tomorrow morning with an ENT that specializes in dive medicine as referred to by DAN, so I will see he says before I cancel my trip etc. I definitely don't want to miss out on this! But I also don't want to cause any more damage either. So we'll see.

 

[261311]

Look at your PADI RDP, At 152 minutes you have to do a 15ft decompression stop for a depth lower than or equal to 35ft. At 205 minutes you have to do a 15 minute deco stop at the same depth. The "highly unlikely" possibility is purely rooted in the philosophy that "yes, I guess it could if you had enough cylinders". Unless you're doing 5 hour pool sessions under water for the second module there is quite literally, no possible way you can stretch that into DCS. Most modules will take 40-80 minutes to complete for physical dives and that's if you don't run close to the PADI danger zone of 500 PSI where your instructor has trained you to return to the surface safely. I'd be worried about being so uncomfortable after 80 minutes through dehydration and even in a heated pool, losing body temperature that you'd want to get out long before DCS struck. These are well within safety margins and allow you to pretty much have a night of partying because by the time you get home and want to have a bit of fun (lets say an hour), even at 85 minutes you're looking at dropping down to pressure group E with full elimination in just under another hour and a half.

Speaking from my own experience as I'm not far ahead of you (mod 5) my first few modules ended in me being tired, dehydrated, slight headaches and muscle pain and a reckless abandon for my own safety to do it all over again in next weeks class as soon as possible. I now no longer feel the same effects as I did when I first started scuba. You have to remember this is an extremely different sensation than exercise above ground. You're breathing compressed air in a pressurized environment performing strenuous activity (contending with over-weighting). See a doctor of course if you're worried but I honestly suggest sitting down, taking a day off and drinking some water and taking care of yourself. The stress you're incurring on yourself of all these possible deadly illnesses probably aren't doing you any good. That's a good way to give yourself a headache in and of itself. If you had ear pain at any point and time and still do, I'd definitely consult a doctor about that, at any depth below 6ft you are looking at things that could be an issue.

 

[SlapBassist]

Hey everyone. So it looks like I'm all good, haven't had any symptoms or anything for the last few days. I got the OK from a dive dr to go diving on my trip and I just finished my Open Water dive certification today! I'm extremely excited . I have some things to work on of course, buoyancy the primary one, but equalization is no longer an issue for me as I haven't had a problem in the last 4 dives. I'm looking forward to many more amazing diving experiences. Thank you all for your advice and support .