FuzzyNutz
Contributor
So I'm taking a rescue course online now, and in a list of ways to 'respond to vertigo', it said to "hug yourself", but offered no explanation. Would someone like to chime in?
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Vertigo sucks bad. Very scary. If you are in open water with no reference and it gets bad... I guess you grab yourself and pray. If it happens when you are near a wreck or a rock or an anchor line, it helps tremendously to hold yourself still. It will help to stop the feeling of spinning and disorientation. Hang on, because if it is bad and lasts for any length of time, you will probably be puking within 60 seconds..
If it is caused by imbalance in pressure in the ears, you can try to ascend or descend, depending on what you feel the problem is. If it is caused by a blown ear drum that has allowed cool water into one middle ear, then (they say, it's never happened to me), hang onto something and the vertigo and spinning will be bad for a little while as the water slowly warms up inside your head.
it helps tremendously to hold yourself still
Vertigo, while uncomfortable, isn't THAT bad. Any time I've experienced it it has passed quickly (<a couple of minutes). Chalk it up to one more reason you want to have command over buoyancy. I recall a blue water dive (e.g., bottomless environment of open ocean with no reference) where it happened. When the world settled down I was right at the depth where I started. If you don't have command of your buoyancy, I can see that being an issue quickly. Just keep breathing, stay calm, otherwise the issue you're managing is panic and a runaway ascent/descent, not vertigo.