OP
Amber
Contributor
ROTF:goofy:
I've done it once.....I definatly wont be making that a habbit.
I've done it once.....I definatly wont be making that a habbit.
Sudafed
- Thread starter Amber
- 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
YorkDiver
Guest
Sudafed is one of the drugs thoroughly tested by DRDC (used to be DCIEM) in Canada and proven to be relatively safe for diving with. As a navy diver it is only one of 2 drugs that we are allowed to dive with (the other is regular strength Tylenol).
If you want and give me some time I will try and get some of the documentation for you on the subject after the New Year and they all go back to work.
If you want and give me some time I will try and get some of the documentation for you on the subject after the New Year and they all go back to work.
luvdiving
Contributor
Maybe I shouldn't, but I get stuffy after the first dive, every time. I have been doing it for years (almost 950 dives), with no problems. I couldn't do liveaboard diving without it. So, if not Sudafed, what should I do?:boom:
djhall
Guest
I asked my pharmacist about this, and they recommended the 12hr Sudafed which they swore would not wear off during a dive. I have often read that you should not use Sudafed to dive because it might wear off during the dive and cause a reverse block. Is this really an issue with the 12hr variety????
It has been brough to my attention (thank you, DiveBuoy) that perhaps I should clarify this question. The 12hr Sudafed would be taken an hour or so before the dive solely to maintain dryness during the day's dives. I DO NOT dive with a cold. But, well, sometimes I find myself with a bit of sniffles or perhaps a slightly runny nose (usually only when I slept away from home the night before, interestingly enough). On a dive vacation, I hate to call a dive because of a runny nose, so I take a 12hr Sudafed. I don't think I would have a problem diving without it, but I don't like the thought of my nose leaking into my mask, somehow becoming congestion under pressure, or having fluid blown into my ears while equalizing.
It has been brough to my attention (thank you, DiveBuoy) that perhaps I should clarify this question. The 12hr Sudafed would be taken an hour or so before the dive solely to maintain dryness during the day's dives. I DO NOT dive with a cold. But, well, sometimes I find myself with a bit of sniffles or perhaps a slightly runny nose (usually only when I slept away from home the night before, interestingly enough). On a dive vacation, I hate to call a dive because of a runny nose, so I take a 12hr Sudafed. I don't think I would have a problem diving without it, but I don't like the thought of my nose leaking into my mask, somehow becoming congestion under pressure, or having fluid blown into my ears while equalizing.
Jarhead
Contributor
Besides the reverse block: Antihistimines increase the oxygen transfer from the lungs to the blood. IF you are diving with Nitrox (near its MOD) it increases your chances of a CNS Ox Tox hit.
Jarhead
Jarhead
BillP
Senior Member
Howdy Amber:
No, it's not necessarily a bad thing.
If a diver is concerned about their Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) "wearing off" during a dive, then they absolutely should not dive. I don't mean they shouldn't dive on Sudafed, or they shouldn't dive with congestion- I mean they should not dive at all ever because they're simply too stupid to dive. A diver who can't figure out how to time their Sudafed for a dive is also too dense to figure out how to keep from running out of air during a dive or even avoid running out of gas in the boat on the way to the dive site.
OK, I'm kidding- sorta. Your pharmacist is right, djhall. A 12 hour (or 24 hour) Sudafed "taken an hour or so before the dive" will not "wear off" during the dive*. IMO, the whole "wearing off" argument is a straw man that has no validity (except in cases of gross stupiditiy), but is easy to knock down to make a point. Now what is a valid concern is that the Sudafed will be inadequate for the dive to begin with. Just as you'd be dumb to plan a 350' dive on air with an aluminum 80 or to try to take your 18' runabout from Miami to the Bahamas using ¼ tank of gas, it would not be wise to rely on Sudafed to clear congestion when you're too congested to dive in the first place. The Sudafed might not be adequate to clear the congestion, even though it's working as designed, and you could suffer a squeeze or reverse block and barotrauma injury. I have no problem with using Sudafed to assist with clearing when you could dive without it, but taking it to enable diving does have risk.
About oxygen toxicity and Sudafed, there is a theoretical concern. Pseudoephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant. High partial pressure of oxygen is also a CNS stimulant. Theoretically combining the two might increase the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity. (However, caffeine is also a CNS stimulant and has the same theortetical concerns as pseudoephedrine, but the only laboratory evidence indicates that it significantly reduces the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity.) IF you're approaching the oxygen exposure limits for recreational diving on an enriched air dive, then you should be aware of this theoretical concern. But if you're making a 40' dive on air, fuggetaboutit. Sudafed should create no significant increased risk of oxygen toxicity in that situation. On pseudoephedrine and diving DAN says:
"In normal, healthy divers breathing air, occasional use of pseudoephedrine at the recommended dose is probably safe. This presumes that the drug has been taken during periods when no diving has occurred and that no undesirable reactions have occurred. However, one should avoid chronic (daily) use when diving, and it seems reasonable to avoid the drug entirely if diving while using oxygen-nitrogen mixes where the PO2 during a dive might exceed 1.4 ata, the current recommended "safe" open-circuit scuba limit."
IMHO, DAN is a very careful and conservative organization.
HTH,
Bill
*Keep in mind that pseudoephedrine doesn't work instantly so it won't help much if you take one right before entering the water. Also, a "12 hour" pseudoepherine doesn't have it's "full effect" for the full 12 hours. When I take Sudafed to help with clearing I time it so my dives will be well within that 12 hour period.
The above information is intended for discussion purposes only and is not meant as specific medical advice for any individual.
No, it's not necessarily a bad thing.
If a diver is concerned about their Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) "wearing off" during a dive, then they absolutely should not dive. I don't mean they shouldn't dive on Sudafed, or they shouldn't dive with congestion- I mean they should not dive at all ever because they're simply too stupid to dive. A diver who can't figure out how to time their Sudafed for a dive is also too dense to figure out how to keep from running out of air during a dive or even avoid running out of gas in the boat on the way to the dive site.
OK, I'm kidding- sorta. Your pharmacist is right, djhall. A 12 hour (or 24 hour) Sudafed "taken an hour or so before the dive" will not "wear off" during the dive*. IMO, the whole "wearing off" argument is a straw man that has no validity (except in cases of gross stupiditiy), but is easy to knock down to make a point. Now what is a valid concern is that the Sudafed will be inadequate for the dive to begin with. Just as you'd be dumb to plan a 350' dive on air with an aluminum 80 or to try to take your 18' runabout from Miami to the Bahamas using ¼ tank of gas, it would not be wise to rely on Sudafed to clear congestion when you're too congested to dive in the first place. The Sudafed might not be adequate to clear the congestion, even though it's working as designed, and you could suffer a squeeze or reverse block and barotrauma injury. I have no problem with using Sudafed to assist with clearing when you could dive without it, but taking it to enable diving does have risk.
About oxygen toxicity and Sudafed, there is a theoretical concern. Pseudoephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant. High partial pressure of oxygen is also a CNS stimulant. Theoretically combining the two might increase the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity. (However, caffeine is also a CNS stimulant and has the same theortetical concerns as pseudoephedrine, but the only laboratory evidence indicates that it significantly reduces the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity.) IF you're approaching the oxygen exposure limits for recreational diving on an enriched air dive, then you should be aware of this theoretical concern. But if you're making a 40' dive on air, fuggetaboutit. Sudafed should create no significant increased risk of oxygen toxicity in that situation. On pseudoephedrine and diving DAN says:
"In normal, healthy divers breathing air, occasional use of pseudoephedrine at the recommended dose is probably safe. This presumes that the drug has been taken during periods when no diving has occurred and that no undesirable reactions have occurred. However, one should avoid chronic (daily) use when diving, and it seems reasonable to avoid the drug entirely if diving while using oxygen-nitrogen mixes where the PO2 during a dive might exceed 1.4 ata, the current recommended "safe" open-circuit scuba limit."
IMHO, DAN is a very careful and conservative organization.
HTH,
Bill
*Keep in mind that pseudoephedrine doesn't work instantly so it won't help much if you take one right before entering the water. Also, a "12 hour" pseudoepherine doesn't have it's "full effect" for the full 12 hours. When I take Sudafed to help with clearing I time it so my dives will be well within that 12 hour period.
The above information is intended for discussion purposes only and is not meant as specific medical advice for any individual.
BillP
Senior Member
Could you quote your sources, Jarhead? Sudafed is not an antihistamine, and I'm not aware of either Sudafed or antihistamines affecting "oxygen transfer from the lungs to the blood". Also, I've not heard of antihistamines increasing the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity.
TIA,
Bill
OP
Amber
Contributor
Well since I am not certified in enriched air..yet..it seems as if I have nothing to worry about. Like some other people have said, sometimes my nose gets a little runny or stuffy just before a dive, even when I'm not sick (fresh air and sunlight..get it off me, get it off me!!) 
ut:
And I'm pretty sure my intelligence level is high enough to plan my dive in the time range BEFORE the sudafed wears off.
Thank you Bill
ut: And I'm pretty sure my intelligence level is high enough to plan my dive in the time range BEFORE the sudafed wears off.
Thank you Bill
djhall
Guest
:rofL:
Now, lets see. I took my 4hr Sudafed about 3 1/2 hrs ago... but I took 2, so I should be okay for 8hrs. I checked the fuel... We've almost got 'E'xtra, so were a long way from running on 'F'umes. Check my gas management... skipped the usual TacoBell breakfast for a bran muffin. Ya know, I can see why ya'll are so concerned about this... I'd never hear the end of it from my dive buddies if I made an uncontrolled bouyant ascent with an expanding gas bubble in the back of my suit! Now, just gotta check my dive plan.... Making a night dive an hour before we fall back from daylight savings time, get in the water, dive to 100 feet, stay for an hour until the watches say the time went back, and surface with no decompression requirement! Man, I can't believe I didn't think of the sooner... It's genius! I'm ready to dive!
Similar threads
