Feeling a bit dizzy after 6m pool training

[d2001d2001]

hi folks,
I did a 40 mins dive in a pool yesterday. i practiced going up and down a few times to check I can control myself as i'm relatively new to diving.
on my second descent, i was fine, swam in the pool no problems, but when I ascended I started to get dizzy from about 4 metre to the surface. I had to get out. It was a very hot pool and I was wearing a dry suit. There were no other symtoms apart from feeling generally tired. Could this be Decompression sickness? I thought that 6 metres is realatively shallow, and there were no other symtoms?

 

[Still Kicking]

I would think it was most likely some mild inner ear barotrauma. Did you have any trouble equalizing? Did the vertigo pass quickly?

DCS is highly unlikely in 6m but you can definitely get an over-expansion injury (embolism) if you do not have an open airway on ascent and those can be even more serious than DCS.

If you are new to diving and drysuits, it would be a good idea to have a trained person supervising your experimentation.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

hi folks,
I did a 40 mins dive in a pool yesterday. i practiced going up and down a few times to check I can control myself as i'm relatively new to diving.
on my second descent, i was fine, swam in the pool no problems, but when I ascended I started to get dizzy from about 4 metre to the surface. I had to get out. It was a very hot pool and I was wearing a dry suit. There were no other symtoms apart from feeling generally tired. Could this be Decompression sickness? I thought that 6 metres is realatively shallow, and there were no other symtoms?

This seems more consistent with some kind of barotrauma as @Still Kicking noted. I do wonder about a heat-related injury but considering that you felt the symptoms on ascent this seems less likely.

If you are still feeling these symptoms, I would strongly recommend that you go to the nearest emergency room for evaluation.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[d2001d2001]

I would think it was most likely some mild inner ear barotrauma. Did you have any trouble equalizing? Did the vertigo pass quickly?

DCS is highly unlikely in 6m but you can definitely get an over-expansion injury (embolism) if you do not have an open airway on ascent and those can be even more serious than DCS.

If you are new to diving and drysuits, it would be a good idea to have a trained person supervising your experimentation.

Thanks for the reply, I didnt have any trouble equalizing when descending but I did hear sqeeking noises when I ascended on the second run. The vertigo lasted for a couple of minutes. When I was changing I noticed my flem was a bit red when I spat out into a tissue. I feel ok now, been more than 24 hours. Is this something to worry about? I'll do a 4m lake dive in next month and hopefully it should be ok? Maybe is was just stress?

 

[Still Kicking]

Thanks for the reply, I didnt have any trouble equalizing when descending but I did hear sqeeking noises when I ascended on the second run. The vertigo lasted for a couple of minutes. When I was changing I noticed my flem was a bit red when I spat out into a tissue. I feel ok now, been more than 24 hours. Is this something to worry about? I'll do a 4m lake dive in next month and hopefully it should be ok? Maybe is was just stress?

The squeaking indicates slow equalization in that ear and imbalance in pressure in the inner ears leads to vertigo. Once it equalizes, it should be fine.

Does any of this ring a bell from your OW class?

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Thanks for the reply, I didnt have any trouble equalizing when descending but I did hear sqeeking noises when I ascended on the second run. The vertigo lasted for a couple of minutes. When I was changing I noticed my flem was a bit red when I spat out into a tissue. I feel ok now, been more than 24 hours. Is this something to worry about? I'll do a 4m lake dive in next month and hopefully it should be ok? Maybe is was just stress?

This sounds like a combination of sinus and middle ear barotrauma. The fact that the vertigo cleared up quickly is reassuring; it means that you likely experienced a phenomenon called alternobaric vertigo. This can happen when one ear equalizes but the other one doesn't. The different pressures in the middle ears exert different pressures on the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear, which in turn can lead to vertigo.

These conditions themselves are not harmful, but it indicates that you probably have inflammation in the mucous membranes in your sinuses and the back of your throat. Do you have environmental allergies (e.g. pollen, animals) or some sort of upper respiratory infection?

I recommend that you not dive until you can get to the bottom of why this happened.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[d2001d2001]

The squeaking indicates slow equalization in that ear and imbalance in pressure in the inner ears leads to vertigo. Once it equalizes, it should be fine.

Does any of this ring a bell from your OW class?

Thanks, I understand the basics of the OW class, and apprecaite that this could happen

 

[d2001d2001]

This sounds like a combination of sinus and middle ear barotrauma. The fact that the vertigo cleared up quickly is reassuring; it means that you likely experienced a phenomenon called alternobaric vertigo. This can happen when one ear equalizes but the other one doesn't. The different pressures in the middle ears exert different pressures on the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear, which in turn can lead to vertigo.

These conditions themselves are not harmful, but it indicates that you probably have inflammation in the mucous membranes in your sinuses and the back of your throat. Do you have environmental allergies (e.g. pollen, animals) or some sort of upper respiratory infection?

I recommend that you not dive until you can get to the bottom of why this happened.

Best regards,
DDM

Thanks for the details. I did not have a cold and I could breath freely when I dived. Probably just a minor mucous block that resulted in a redish flem. I dont suffer from any allergies.

Thank you people for suggesting it many not be serious. I feel a bit groggy today but will be fine tomorrow.

I think I came up too fast on the second round, as I could hear my ear squeeking. I was driving with an experienced buddy and he went up so I didnt want to be slow. In hindsight, I should have slowed down until the popping went away and come up slowly. I think that would have resolved the issue. How would I get to the bottom of why this happended? My wife is a doctor and she'll just say stop diving. Should I see my local doctor? I think I will dive again in a pool in a few weeks but limited to 2 metres. Then I'll try a 4 metre lake followed by 10 to 20 metres open water.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Thanks for the details. I did not have a cold and I could breath freely when I dived. Probably just a minor mucous block that resulted in a redish flem. I dont suffer from any allergies.

Thank you people for suggesting it many not be serious. I feel a bit groggy today but will be fine tomorrow.

I think I came up too fast on the second round, as I could hear my ear squeeking. I was driving with an experienced buddy and he went up so I didnt want to be slow. In hindsight, I should have slowed down until the popping went away and come up slowly. I think that would have resolved the issue. How would I get to the bottom of why this happended? My wife is a doctor and she'll just say stop diving. Should I see my local doctor? I think I will dive again in a pool in a few weeks but limited to 2 metres. Then I'll try a 4 metre lake followed by 10 to 20 metres open water.

Number one, I'm not going to over-rule your wife

That said, the symptoms you described are consistent with upper respiratory inflammation or some other condition, possibly anatomical, that results in your sinuses and middle ear not equalizing with the ambient pressure the way they should. Inflammation usually resolves on its own but may require medication. Anatomical conditions are more complex. I recommend you start by seeing a diving medical referee in your area. Here's a link to the UKDMC website. Click on "Medical Referees" at the top and you'll find a list.

Best regards,
DDM