subcutaneous emphysema risk factors?

[Tommygun53]

Is sneezing underwater a possible cause of pulmonary barotrauma? If you sneeze right after you hit the surface, is this bad to do also?
Ive never heard of this being a problem,but in my open water class a few years ago I had to sneeze like 3 times in a row @10ft , And now im wondering if this would be an factor?


Tom

 

[The Iceni]

Tommygun53 once bubbled...
Is sneezing underwater a possible cause of pulmonary barotrauma? If you sneeze right after you hit the surface, is this bad to do also?

Hi Tom,

If you consider the mechanism of PB it is obvious that anything that raises the intrathoracic pressure above the arbitrary threshold needed to "bust" a lung, to me, it seems obvious that a sneeze may be sufficient under a certain set of critical circumstances (e.g if a weakened lung has already been over-stretched due to an inadvertent/relative breath-hold on the ascent.)

On the surface I very much doubt it.

However, I suspect that, like with the Valsalva manoeuvre, this may give rise to that rare phenomenon the reversal of a left-to-right shunt with the migration of bubbles into the peripheral arterial circulation.

I doubt anyone could give you hard and fast advice on this one. Forego that anticipated second dive of the day, perhaps?

Anyone know a cure for sneezing? ut:

 

[Fathma]

what do u mean by DCI

 

[BillP]

Howdy Fathma:

Welcome to the board. DCI is Decompression Illness. How it is defined depends on who you talk to. Some people consider certain kinds of injuries associated with the the drop in ambient pressure due to ascending from depth to be a "decompression illness". This would include decompression sickness (DCS- e.g. "the bends") caused by dissolved nitrogen in the system coming out of solution, and pressure injuries from expanding gases in the airspaces (e.g. arterial gas embolism/breathing gas bubbles loose in the blood, pneumothorax/collapsed lung, pneumomediastinum/air loose in the mid-chest tissues, subcutaneous emphysema/air loose under the skin, etc.)

Others consider any injury or illness associated with the changes in ambient pressure seen with diving to be a "decompression illness". This would include all of the above plus pressure injuries to the ears and sinuses from not equalizing properly on descent/ascent, etc.

All of this will be covered when you take your certification class. They are uncommon problems, but important for divers to know about so they can avoid them.

HTH,

Bill