Diving and Congestion

[don Francisco]

To answer your first question, colds are not thought to be contagious in the late stages.

The second question really depends on two things:
1- how good you are at listening to your body and making self assessments
2- how honest you are with yourself, and your ability are to strike a smart balance between your heart and your head.

Your dives are in 3 days, so if you think you'll be able to phase out of the Sudafed by then, you don't need to re-schedule the dives if you're willing to take the financial risk of having to abort.

If you dive before your body is ready, your ears will tell you loud and clear before you get tp 10 feet. If you then decide to bull it through with Valsalvo maneuvers every few feet or simply tolerating the pain, you'll pay for the mistake later with the pain of middle ear barotraumna if you're lucky or something more serious if you're not.

Congestion & pain are so subjective that it comes back to my 2 questions. If you are basically honest with yourself, responsive to your body, and intelligent enough to abort a dive you shouldn't have tried, then you'll be OK, and your only risk is the time and cost wasted.

Folks manage to suffer ear injuries with or without congestion, with or without Sudafed. It isn't the congestion, drugs, or even the water pressure that causes injury to ears. These are only the mechanisms. It's the decision to continue a dive & descend despite signs of ear problems that causes the injury.

 

[SPG3K]

I have extremely bad allergies, like, year round.

For all of my checkouts and the pools, I was on 12 hour Zyrtec-D, and had no issues equalizing. Around 25 feet, it took me a few tries to equalize, I'm sure due to sinus issues, but I have a somewhat related question.

Being as how I have constant and lingering hayfever symptoms, am I risking middle ear trauma anymore than the average diver, if the Zyrtec clears me up for the period of time I'm underwater?

 

[Buoyant1]

My sinus' suck a##! Whenever this time of year rolls around, my head is in a constant state of flux! I never know if I have a cold, it's allergies or what...I had a cold this week, that's at the point where I don't need sudafed to breathe anymore so I'm thinking about diving.

It's definately a freak of nature that diving season (well here in the north east) and allergy season coincide! (I live with Sudafed, and "Ocean" all summer long)

To the OP it's your call really...if you know YOUR body, and how YOUR body reacts, then go with your best option. (and hope that your buddy or buddies will understand if you need to turn it)

 

[alereflammas]

Thanks for your input, everyone. I woke up this morning pretty clear -- nothing a few tissues couldn't solve. I have my fingers crossed. I guess I'll see how I feel Sunday. If I'm no worse than I am today, sans pharmaceuticals, I'll go (armed with snotrags) & bring a good book as a backup.

 

[TSandM]

To answer the question: Yes, if you have constant symptoms of congestion, you are at higher risk for middle ear damage and sinus damage, compared with someone who does not have those symptoms.

I think it's an issue that all of us will face at some point, whether it is okay to dive on decongestants or not. You have to understand the risk you are taking if the medication is inadequate or does not last. If it's inadequate, the likelihood is that you will not be able to equalize on descent, which will abort your dive but is unlikely to cause you any harm. If it does not last, you will find yourself on the bottom, unable to equalize on ASCENT, which is the one mandatory maneuver in diving. At that point, you will either complete the dive in rather exquisite pain (my one sinus block felt like someone was driving a barbecue skewer into my face) or, if the swelling is in the Eustachian tube, you will do damage to your ear. If you are lucky, it will be a ruptured drum, because those generally heal; if you are not, it will be damage to the inner ear, which can be permanent and result in vertigo and hearing loss.

The simple answer is "Don't dive if you actually NEED a decongestant to do so," but in practical fact, most of us are at some point going to do it. (Mine was on a trip to Indonesia, something I wasn't going to get to do again in a hurry, and I didn't want to lose too many days of the trip.) You just have to assess how bad your congestion is, get a sense for how long the medication lasts for you, and make a risk evaluation for yourself.

 

[lishen]

Pardon my ignorance but which foods are sinus friendly??

I have had chronic sinusitis since I started diving and have been open to trying different things to get it under control so that I do not have to take meds when I go diving (under the direction of a diving doc). Two years ago I went to an accupuncturist who also practiced traditional chinese medicine and she told me that i have a "hot" body, gave me some explanation that I don't remember but she also gave me a list of foods I should try and avoid which would help keep my sinus' clear:

• dairy
• wheat
• cold drinks
• fruit juice
• processed foods
• refined flour, pastry, pasta, breads
• cold raw foods
• refined sugar and sugar substitutes
• coffee, alcohol
• deep fried foods

While I found it nearly impossible to cut out all the things on the list, through trial and error I found that I was significantly less congested when I avoided dairy and wheat (read: beer). I was unable to test the effects of refined flour and sugars because I generally don't eat them anyway. If I regulate my diet, I am able to cut out the prescription decongestants from my pre-dive routine.

 

[SPG3K]

I have had chronic sinusitis since I started diving and have been open to trying different things to get it under control so that I do not have to take meds when I go diving (under the direction of a diving doc). Two years ago I went to an accupuncturist who also practiced traditional chinese medicine and she told me that i have a "hot" body, gave me some explanation that I don't remember but she also gave me a list of foods I should try and avoid which would help keep my sinus' clear:

• dairy
• wheat
• cold drinks
• fruit juice
• processed foods
• refined flour, pastry, pasta, breads
• cold raw foods
• refined sugar and sugar substitutes
• coffee, alcohol
• deep fried foods

While I found it nearly impossible to cut out all the things on the list, through trial and error I found that I was significantly less congested when I avoided dairy and wheat (read: beer). I was unable to test the effects of refined flour and sugars because I generally don't eat them anyway. If I regulate my diet, I am able to cut out the prescription decongestants from my pre-dive routine.

This may sound like a stupid question, but I am very interested to try what you posted for myself.

You said you were told to avoid cold drinks. Does this mean I should drink water at room temperature? Because honestly, I keep most of my water about 1 degree away from freezing in the garage cooler. But, water is all I drink, I refuse to drink soda or iced tea or anything.

Like I said - probably a stupid question, but if something that simple is causing my overproduction of mucus-nasties then I'd gladly change it.

 

[fisherdvm]

It is never worth it to push a dive when you are still congested. I still don't like to buy "dive hotel packages", as I like to dive when I am healthy enough to dive.

 

[seaducer]

I have extremely bad allergies, like, year round.

For all of my checkouts and the pools, I was on 12 hour Zyrtec-D, and had no issues equalizing. Around 25 feet, it took me a few tries to equalize, I'm sure due to sinus issues, but I have a somewhat related question.

Being as how I have constant and lingering hayfever symptoms, am I risking middle ear trauma anymore than the average diver, if the Zyrtec clears me up for the period of time I'm underwater?

*****DISCLAIMER*****
The following is from my experience with allergies as a child, I am not a doctor and the only reason I post this is so that you may ASK A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL a more direct question. Your doctor or specialist will be able to give you a more complete answer, and I may be 100% wrong in your case, or just in general. Use my knowlege (or lack thereof) at your own risk.

*******************



As far as I am aware, the allergens your body reacts to should be cleared out of your system by breathing flitered air from your tank. You should be symptom free upon surfacing, as allergies are a reaction to environmental stimulus, and you are not exposed to that environment UW.

Theoretically even if the drugs you are on expire UW, the only way you would know is that you will be assualted when you come off SCUBA and start breathing all those allergens in again.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

Try a Neti-pot for a week. I have been using one and it is the best thing ever for clearing sinuses.