Dizziness and nausea after long/very very shallow dive

[tirion7]

hi

my girlfriend and I just finished the first two days of our NAUI course. this was mostly done in a 2m pool, a bit in a 5m pool, and then just one quick open water 5-6m dive.

according to all the resources, this kind of depth is never a risk. but in the evening of the second day (last night), she felt very dizzy and nauseaus. she had obviously been very tired all day, but soldiered on regardless. also during the night she had some rashes on her arms. kinda like heat bumps. maybe again just because of exhaustion/too much swimming/suntan lotion. this morning she seems fine, though still pretty tired. she didnt have an join pain or anything.

i called the instructor, and he said not to worry, probably just exhaustion. i agree with him...

but i was a bit concerned though, because on the first day we were only wearing armless and legless wetsuits, and in the afternoon she became quite cold in the pool. and after each session she would take long hot showers.

and when i googled her symptoms this morning, various websites said this can affect the off-gassing, etc. and while 6m is normally risk-free, some sites seemed to suggest it can vary for person to person (and the whole two days were very tiring for her)

as i said, she says she feels ok now. should we worry at all?
we have two more days at the weekend finishing our open water dives

thanks. sorry if this is a lame question, but we are new to all this so just wanted to check

p.s. we live in japan

 

[DocVikingo]

according to all the resources, this kind of depth is never a risk?

Let us be precise in what we say, young tirion7. For example:

1. A diver can become seasick by merely being on top of the water.

2. A diver can drown in less than 2m of water.

3. A diver can sustain barotrauma to the lung, ear, eye, etc., in 5-6m of water if the breath is held or proper equalization is not achieved.

4. An inadequately protected diver can develop serious chilling and discomfort in 5-6m, or less, of water.

So, even at minimal SCUBA depths there is risk, indeed.

Now, if what is being referring to is decompression sickness (DCS), of which joint pain is a common symptom, it is true that it is very unlikely this disorder of off-gasing would develop given the dive profiles described. It is also true that susceptibility to DCS can significantly vary from diver to diver, and even within the same diver across time and situation.

Likewise, thermal comfort is notoriously variable across divers, and even within the same diver across time and situation.

The new diver's open water training dives can be anxiety provoking, exhausting and, to those with inadequate wetsuits, chilling. It is quite possible to develop feelings of dizziness and nausea as a result of this combination.

The rash mentioned, but not further described, may or may not be of concern.

Given the overall situation, it would be prudent for the student to postpone remaining open water cert dives until s/he is well rested, entirely free of dizziness/nausea/rash, and has obtained thermal protection that will provide good comfort.

It is always wise to inform the instructor of events such as described, and s/he should be kept up to date on how the student is feeling.

Helpful?

Regards,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice.

 

[T23]

Might be worth giving DAN a call and running the symptoms by them. They are the experts.

Did she have any trouble with either ear? I've heard of similar symptom and it was eventually found to be ear related.

 

[tirion7]

thanks for the replies... the nausea/dizziness didnt reappear, but she did develop a cold. so i guess exhaustion is the likely subject

in any case i decided to postpone the rest of the open water course. hopefully when we are both rested we can finish it and enjoy it

thanks again for the help.

 

[RV]

may be carbon monoxide in the tank

 

[tirion7]

hmm i asked her and she said the last tank of the day had a chemical taste

so could be monoxide!

 

[DandyDon]

Might be worth giving DAN a call and running the symptoms by them. They are the experts.

Did she have any trouble with either ear? I've heard of similar symptom and it was eventually found to be ear related.

Ear problems are indeed common to newbies and ear problems can lead to nausea/dizziness but there's just too little info available.

thanks for the replies... the nausea/dizziness didnt reappear, but she did develop a cold. so i guess exhaustion is the likely subject

in any case i decided to postpone the rest of the open water course. hopefully when we are both rested we can finish it and enjoy it

thanks again for the help.

If the cold was already developing, that could indeed be the cause of ear problems. You do want to be physically fit, well insulated & hydrated for any diving. Also see 45 minute video on Equalizing in my Sig below - a great one for new divers.

may be carbon monoxide in the tank

Well that's one of my pet peeves, that there is so little done to test or prevent, but then it's a rare risk and not really indicated here.

hmm i asked her and she said the last tank of the day had a chemical taste

so could be monoxide!

CO is tasteless and ordorless, altho can accompany other problems that can be tasted or smelled. "Chemical taste" is an odd description tho? I know, it's difficult to speak for your GF; I can't understand women at all, much less explain them. Still, if a tank has an odd smell or taste to it, spit it out, don't dive it, test it if possible.

As soon as she feels good, you two get hydrated, insulated, and back in the water. You're missing out with the delays...!!

good luck!

 

[TSandM]

If she developed a cold the next day, her symptoms were more likely to be viremia from the infection than anything related to diving.

 

[DocVikingo]

hmm i asked her and she said the last tank of the day had a chemical taste--so could be monoxide!

Hi tirion7,

Carbon monoxide has no color, smell or taste, so if her tank gas had a chemical taste it wasn't caused by CO. Improperly serviced/functioning air compressors can impart petroleum products to tank gas and this often does create a chemical taste/smell.

The suggestion that CO may have been responsible is a weak hypothesis. Given that you, the instructor and any other students in the class were also using this same gas, if no one else became ill then it very likely was not the air. Also, if the student went on to develop a cold one would first suspect that this malady caused the symptoms, not some far less likely basis.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[vinman7]

Hi tirion7,

Carbon monoxide has no color, smell or taste, so if her tank gas had a chemical taste it wasn't caused by CO. Improperly serviced/functioning air compressors can impart petroleum products to tank gas and this often does create a chemical taste/smell.

The suggestion that CO may have been responsible is a weak hypothesis. Given that you, the instructor and any other students in the class were also using this same gas, if no one else became ill then it very likely was not the air. Also, if the student went on to develop a cold one would first suspect that this malady caused the symptoms, not some far less likely basis.

Regards,

DocVikingo

Hello DocVikingo
You stated that, "If no one else became ill then it is very likely was not the air" My question is, would everyone be effected by bad air or can some people tolerate it? I had over 45 dives without any issues then 5 of my last 6 dives, all in Maui, I have suffered from similar symptoms as Tirion7. I am just about to the point of giving up diving which is the last thing I want to do right now because we are heading to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Samoa in Oct/Nov and I really want to do some serious diving in those areas. When I have had these symptoms it has taken me 48 hrs plus to recover to the point where I can function and even longer until I am completely back to normal. On my last boat dive there was 1 other person who was suffering from similar symptoms as myself but everyone else seemed fine. Could it be that some people are effected by CO while others feel no effects at all? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Vince