Tylenol Cold and Sinus?

[avocadogirl]

If I was to develop a sinus block, at what point would I know and what might be the repercussions?

I have a big dive tomorrow, it's been planned for weeks, I've made all of these arrangements and, I'm already on location in my hotel. I've recently gotten over a cold and, I felt fine earlier I've just been developing some mild congestion and pressure in my head on the way up here to the dive spot. How do I know if I'm okay to dive? And, while I've heard you're not supposed to take any kind of decongestant while diving, would there be any merit or hazard associated with taking some Tylenol Cold Head Congestion Daytime?

Thank you.

 

[bevansmw]

I would think one concern would be if the medication wears off during your dive and you develop some congestion at depth then during your ascent you may develop a reverse block and not be able to clear your ears. Going down may not be a problem but coming back up could be.

I've had some trouble clearing on ascent in the past and had to go very slow ascending stopping every 10' or so coming back up from 100fsw. Sort of stop and wait until it clears I didn't have a cold though.

You would have to think though what if you had to make an emergency ascent and had some congestion? You could find yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to go up and then what happens if you develop a reverse block and blow an eardrum? Other risks too .. what if you don't have enough gas to wait or may end up overstaying your NDL?

I don't know if there would be any interactions with the medication while diving though. The safest thing is just to not dive until the congestion clears.

 

[deepwater]

When I need a little help I prefer to use pseudoephedrine and afrin. As long as I could clear my ears and could breath, with no cough or sneeze, I was good.

 

[gotwake]

As you ascend, you can feel the pressure build up. If I feel it, I drop deeper and come up a little slower. I've only had one and it was extremely pain full.

The active decongestion in the Tylenol cold congestion is Phenylephrine. Psuedophedrine works a lot better for me. The problem with taking something is having it wear off during the dive causing some rebound congestion. Which can lead to a bad squeeze. I have dove with decongestions, but I always time when I take it.

Are you diving air?

 

[Tricia]

Avacadogirl,

You may want to look at the "Basic Scuba discussions" forum because there's a similar recent thread going on over there with lots of suggestions. I sadly got to see a reverse block "in action" last August and it was not pretty. The doctor on board even gave the diver a shot of Lidocain (I think) to help ease the pain. But in the end, someone else had Afrin spray and when she took that, it finally calmed down.

Trish

 

[kaerius]

The best decongestant I've used was actifed, take it regularly before the dive(before bed day before, in the morning, and an hour before the dive, hedge your bets). Worked for me.

I have had mild reverse block once, but I just took it easy and it never got all that painful, just going very slowly up.

Another thing that helps is knowing that you can actually blow your nose underwater, just scoot the mask up a bit and blow against your fingers, it helps. Good thing if you're comfortable taking off and clearing your mask.

 

[avocadogirl]

Gotwake, yes I am diving air.

Well, thank you all for your suggestions. I suppose I'll see if the congestion clears up as the day goes on and, proceed with caution.

Thanks again, y'all.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I used to do this on a regular basis. Three years ago however all that changed. Took 12 hr sudfed and my metabolism is fairly high when it comes to meds. It wore off mid way thru the last dive of the day. By the time I actually got out of the water my right eye was swollen shut, whole right side of the face was numb, and felt like I was getting a root canal with out novacaine. A friend of mine who also is an ER doc was on site. He had me take the ibuprofen I always carry for my arthritis (800mg), shot Afrin up my nose, and popped another sudafed. Relief was MINOR at best. We ended up going back into the water and recompressing to 25 feet where all the symptoms went away. We then did a 25-27 minute ascent along the bottom from 23 feet. I was ok for about an hour on the drive home until it hit again. It was NOT my ears that were affected but the sinuses themselves. I made it home, called DAN, and followed their advice with my OTC pain meds, ice, and rest for the next 12 hours. I was able to go to work the next day but it took a full three weeks for all the numbness and tingling to go away. To this day I may still take a sudafed if my allergies are acting up a bit but any real congestion or cold symptoms is enough for me to even stay out of the pool unless doing surface work and swims. If this scared you any, sorry to say it but, good! It really is not worth it to go thru what I went thru for a dive. The water will still be there. I know there is travel and expenses but they are minor compared to the pain and possible permanent damage. Everything was affected. Sinuses, nerves, etc. Please rethink diving and just enjoy the surface world for this time.

 

[BUGBAGGER]

It's prudent to realize that though we can give some very helpful information, a topic like this one is often best followed up with a physician with diving medicine knowledge in consultation with your personal physician. There are just so many vriables that could come to play here like any other medications that you may be taking and your personal medical history.

Although many physicians may recommend OTC medications like Pseudophedrine (Sudefed-in it's original formulation) and Afrin either can of these as well come with some additional risks for some individuals. Pseudophedrine is systemic and can increase your heart rate which might be critical if you experience any other unexpected stressers during a dive and some Afrin users experience a greater chance of a nose bleed during a dive which might trigger anxiety among other things.

I am not a physician but I have witnessed success and failure of these and other medications for divers and I tend to lean toward Jim's advice above. Although often disappointing it is usually best to lose a dive or two and be safe to continue living comfortably and without a potential life changing injury so that you may dive again another day.

Dive akamai! (Dive smart)

 

[ajduplessis]

As with most things in life you will get 2 responses....... yes and no, both with valid reasons. When it comes to diving you have to stick with the basics. The first is dive planning, and one of the steps in planning your dive is a risk & benefit analysis. You have to be honest about all the risks and benefits, and if the risks outweigh the good, can the dive. This is a call only you can make, plus you will have to live with your choice.

PS: Do you know if you have a PFO? Sneezing and coughing could be potentially dangerous at depth.