Occasionally feel weird after dive

[ihatefindingausername]

There are a ton of forums in here, I hope I picked the right one to ask about this. I've been diving around 3 years and have around 130 dives. Occasionally after a dive I end up feeling a little light heated, dizzy, somewhat nauseus, and maybe even have a small headache. This usually passes after a SI of maybe 45 minutes to hour and normally I feel well enough to dive again after that. But, once in awhile this has caused me to call a repetitive dive because I wasn't feeling 100%. I always drink tons of water before and after a dive so I don't think dehydration has anything to do with this. Does anyone else feel like this after some dives? Anyh ideas what may be causing this? What to prevent it?

 

[chrisgp007]

Hi ihatefindingausername i seem to be also havin that same issue like u and iv only been divin for a yr and so far my dm says its my trim in the water and the doc says its possible due me havin to stress my neck too much underwater, even if i do work on my trim i still have a constant headache after each dive. I too would love to figure what the cause is

 

[bwerb]

Skip breathing can cause CO2 build-up which will give you a major headache and nausea...it's not pleasant at all. It can feel like caffeine withdrawl + food poisoning for a time. I'd suggest that you really pay attention to your breathing rate on you next dive and watch that you keep breathing regularly and deeply to see if the symptoms go away.

 

[Dr Deco]

Hi username:


This sounds like carbon dioxide retention, to me.

 

[zaberman1]

Def sounds like CO2 buildup...take it easy underwater and relax a little bit more. Working on your trim would def help as would some breathing exercises and endurance training. Hope this helps...

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi ihatefindingausername,

Agree this sounds like CO2 retention.

Suggest you try the following:

1. Make sure your reg is in proper tune.
2. If you use a snorkel, make sure it is one with limited "dead space."
3. Breathly slowly, deeply and rhythmically; no short, rapid breathing.
4. Do not "skip breathe."
5. Stay physically fit.

Helpful?

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[graywhale]

This also sounds a lot like mild Salt Water Aspiration Syndrome. Flu like symptoms for a few hours then going away - classic Salt Water Aspiration symptoms. It has been reported to happen with some regulators because they allow too much Salt Water moisture to mix in with the air. It is not noticeable. Just in case, it is easy to rule this totally out by using a variety of different regulators and seeing if there is any difference in symptoms. If you get the symptoms all different regulators, then you can rule out Salt Water Aspiration - it's something else.

However, if by using a variety of regulators you can reduce the occurrence of symptoms with some regulators, it could very well be salt Water Aspiration from the regulator you regularly use. It is then an easy fix by using other regulators.

If this test leads to differences in symptoms, try and narrow it down to those regulators where there is no correlation with symptoms and stick to those regulators.

 

[Diver0001]

Another vote for CO2 buildup here.

I'd suggest changing the way you breathe.

Breathing should be fairly deep and regular with about the same amount of time spent *exhaling* as inhaling, for example, 5 count in.... 5 count out.... assuming you're relaxed.

Fully exhaling is especially important for ventilation because if you don't fully exhale the "used" air you're essentially creating a dead air space in your lungs from air that isn't getting exchanged. If you're in the habit of breathing superficially (shallowly) then the amount of dead air in your lungs could become quite large.... and so will the CO2 levels in your body.

R..