OP
Got vertigo? Go hug yourself!
- Thread starter FuzzyNutz
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
With vertigo, you sometimes can't tell where up and down are. Theoretically, if you are stressed from vertigo, you will be retaining some air in your lungs, and if you cross your ankles (so you can't fin) and hold your arms against your body (so you can't scull), after a short time your lung volume should bring the top part of your body up with your legs or knees dropping down. Then you know which way is up. I try to link this tip to exhalation bubble movement as well. So if a diver suffering vertigo can get head up and watch bubbles, s/he can get a "fix" on which way is up and which is down so that the vertigo might be overcome.
Ayisha
Contributor
I have to also disagree with vertigo being no big deal.
I've had vertigo due to acute labrynthitis many times on land, never while diving. I had it daily for 6 weeks when I first got it almost 4 years ago following a poorly treated sinus infection, then 3 times since. Most of the times were mild, but 2 were severe, causing me to drop to my knees suddenly after looking down, with everything spinning so fast I couldn't see anything, and vomitting shortly after. I remembered to have my head in a neutral position and it stopped. The most severe time had been once when I woke up and the room was spinning so fast, I couldn't see anything. I could see stars and black, that's it. My head was turned to the side, I closed my eyes. It continued even after I opened them. I was nauseous and finally remembered to put my head in a neutral position and it immediately stopped and then within seconds I threw up.
Putting the head in a neutral position u/w may help. So with the face looking straight ahead, not to the side or up or down. I'm not sure if that will help with u/w vertigo, but it's worth a try. It's pretty terrible on land. I can't imagine how bad it would be u/w when you have no idea which way is up, can't see, feel your body is spinning, and feel nauseous.
I've had vertigo due to acute labrynthitis many times on land, never while diving. I had it daily for 6 weeks when I first got it almost 4 years ago following a poorly treated sinus infection, then 3 times since. Most of the times were mild, but 2 were severe, causing me to drop to my knees suddenly after looking down, with everything spinning so fast I couldn't see anything, and vomitting shortly after. I remembered to have my head in a neutral position and it stopped. The most severe time had been once when I woke up and the room was spinning so fast, I couldn't see anything. I could see stars and black, that's it. My head was turned to the side, I closed my eyes. It continued even after I opened them. I was nauseous and finally remembered to put my head in a neutral position and it immediately stopped and then within seconds I threw up.
Putting the head in a neutral position u/w may help. So with the face looking straight ahead, not to the side or up or down. I'm not sure if that will help with u/w vertigo, but it's worth a try. It's pretty terrible on land. I can't imagine how bad it would be u/w when you have no idea which way is up, can't see, feel your body is spinning, and feel nauseous.
RonFrank
Contributor
My buddy Dan rescued a new diver who blew an eardrum and then swam to the bottom where he continued trying to descend into muck. Dan grabbed him and forced him to the surface which was only 20' up. Impossible to know what would have happened had Dan not been there, but he may have saved a life that day.
Kryssa
Contributor
I have had vertigo twice and I haven't been diving very long. Never deep or long dives and both times in warm water. It's a terrible feeling. Both times I immediately thought "is this what bad air feels like? am I about to pass out and drown?" ugh... just thinking about how it feels freaks me out. I don't get motion sickness, but vertigo makes me feel like I'm going to throw up.
The last time was in March. I was on a guided dive off a boat in Roatan. I almost thumbed the dive. Instead, I held the DM's hand. He asked me if I was okay, and I signed "okay" "something's wrong" "just a little" "okay". I didn't know what else to sign. I don't want to go up, but I want to hold your hand for a few minutes... haha. Everything was okay in the end.
My husband and I have now developed a sign for vertigo. I flutter all my fingers in front of my face. I think I might let dive guides know it in the future too.
I'll also try hugging myself in the future. I'll try almost anything really.
The last time was in March. I was on a guided dive off a boat in Roatan. I almost thumbed the dive. Instead, I held the DM's hand. He asked me if I was okay, and I signed "okay" "something's wrong" "just a little" "okay". I didn't know what else to sign. I don't want to go up, but I want to hold your hand for a few minutes... haha. Everything was okay in the end.
My husband and I have now developed a sign for vertigo. I flutter all my fingers in front of my face. I think I might let dive guides know it in the future too.
I'll also try hugging myself in the future. I'll try almost anything really.
freewillie
Contributor
I've had vertigo once on land and boy did that suck. I was on family vacation driving HI 1 near downtown Oahu and started to feel strange. Pulled off the highway and felt the car start spinning. Was able to get to side of the road next to Waikiki beach. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and stay very still. That won't be too good underwater.
Vertigo has multiple causes and is not always but can be an inner ear disturbance. In white out situations like skiing where you can't determine the horizon it can happen as well. Underwater with few visual cues you can be disoriented.
Your eyes are actually your biggest cues for balance. Ever felt like your car was moving at a stop then come to realize the car next to you is actually moving, not you? Same thing can happen underwater.
Hugging yourself may give you the physical and tactile sense to help your brain get oriented. Personally I find touching something like using my ski pole to feel the snow works better. Fortunately haven't had that experience but finding a visual clue to orient myself then a tactile clue would be the first things I do.
Vertigo has multiple causes and is not always but can be an inner ear disturbance. In white out situations like skiing where you can't determine the horizon it can happen as well. Underwater with few visual cues you can be disoriented.
Your eyes are actually your biggest cues for balance. Ever felt like your car was moving at a stop then come to realize the car next to you is actually moving, not you? Same thing can happen underwater.
Hugging yourself may give you the physical and tactile sense to help your brain get oriented. Personally I find touching something like using my ski pole to feel the snow works better. Fortunately haven't had that experience but finding a visual clue to orient myself then a tactile clue would be the first things I do.
OP
FuzzyNutz
Contributor
Well, vertigo is actually a symptom, not a condition in itself. Therefore, there are a number of triggers that provoke the reaction. If you rupture the oval or round window in the inner ear due to barotrauma injury, vertigo is pretty much a given, and it's true vertigo that may persist even out of the water. For transient vertigo in the water (alternobaric vertigo, which is relatively common), it's usually a middle ear thing, with unequal pressurization of the two ears (which may be caused by wax buildup, deviated septum problems, eustachian tube disfunction, congestion, etc.). Sensory deprivation can cause feelings of vertigo, and in diving this can happen in murky or dark water, for example. Stress, such as swimming against a current and breathing hard, can produce high levels of carbon dioxide, which might give a diver a light-headed feeling along with vertigo. Nitrogen narcosis can result in vertigo. OTC drugs might have narcotic effects at depths that cause a feeling of vertigo. Vertigo underwater is always risky, so self-rescue in terms of recognizing the feeling and having some strategies for dealing with it are important.
I've been on dives where everything is moving in weird directions due to surge -- the kelp, me, sand, suspended things -- and the visual cues were enough to induce vertigo or motion sickness.
I agree that vertigo can be BAD. So bad that, while it won't hurt you in itself, you may end up doing dangerous things because of it. I sometimes get severe vertigo when cold water enters one ear canal; now I always wear a dry hood attached to my drysuit, and that has mostly solved the problem.
The only reason I can see for 'hugging yourself' is if there's no other reference points to grab onto.
mike_dippert
Registered
Somebody earlier said they got vertigo from a reverse squeeze. Would this be possible to get in an 8ft pool? I have pretty bad congestion due to allergies. During my OW class, I was kneeling on the bottom of the pool (head was probably around 5ft max), we did our ascent skills and when I got to the surface I had extreme tunnel vision and dizziness. It lasted about 5 seconds (seemed like forever though). On later (slower) ascents, I could hear my ears equalizing. At the time I figured it was a minor reverse squeeze due to swollen nasal passages, but in less than 8 ft of water?
Similar threads
