My wife and I are relatively new divers with less than 50 dive's each, My question is that upon surfacing after a dive my wife has a large amount of saliva foam?? I'm talking rabid dog look!!! This is after almost any dive , usually we do 25 to 35 minutes and about 30 feet dives from shore with a gentle slooping bottom and a nice gradual ascent back to shore? What is causing this It's not a real problem just wondering could it be, due to do deep breathing or mouth piece not fitting properly? Or is this normal to some divers? Any insight would be appreciated.
Excessive foaming at the mouth???
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I own a liveaboard and take 500-1000 divers out every year. I've never seen a diver foam at the mouth. But I'd like to.
RIteen
Contributor
That seems like you should consult a GP regarding. The only thing I can think of is that the compressed air is over-oxygenating the saliva, causing a foam to appear. That said, it should be more like a slightly shaken soda than like a beer head foam..
Maybe she moves it around a lot in her mouth or something while diving? My buddy at my checkout dive a while back had a bloody nose after surfacing due to the pressure. If its not a problem I say don't worry about it. Chances are if it was actually due to a problem something would have happened to show it was an issue
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Depends on what you mean by excessive.
That Rabies shot might be a good idea.
That Rabies shot might be a good idea.
Scuba_Noob
Contributor
Maybe her mouth is excessively dry while diving due to the air. That might cause sticky saliva to coat/foam around the regulator. You can swish water in your mouth underwater to deal with dry mouth.
There are a number of possible reasons:
1) Just having a foreign object in the mouth may stimulate excessive salivation (think of the trick of putting a pebble under your tongue when you're thirsty and don't have water to drink). If the mouthpiece fits badly, the problem could be worsened.
2) It could be that your wife is anxious and feels like she needs to grip the mouthpiece with her teeth, and therefore she chews her mouthpiece. This would make the salivary glands "think" that there's something in the mouth that needs to be washed down and swallowed, and of course, the mouthpiece can't be swallowed, so the salivation continues unabated.
3) The mouthpiece may have some chemical or rubbery taste to it that it stimulating the salivary glands to produce enough saliva to wash the taste away.
Depending on the cause, you can find some remedies for it. If it's a simple matter of getting used to having something (anything) in the mouth, have her watch tv or do other tasks while holding a mouthpiece in her mouth and the problem may just go away on its own. If it's a fit problem, get one of those moldable mouthpieces that you put in hot water and can trim down for a perfect fit. If it's anxiety, sometimes a different mouthpiece, like a comfo-bite type one that has a sort of upper-tooth bridge helps the diver feel like the thing won't just slip out of the mouth. If the mouthpiece tastes bad or has some chemical component that irritates your wife's mouth, try a different brand until you find one that doesn't provoke the reaction.
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1) Just having a foreign object in the mouth may stimulate excessive salivation (think of the trick of putting a pebble under your tongue when you're thirsty and don't have water to drink). If the mouthpiece fits badly, the problem could be worsened.
2) It could be that your wife is anxious and feels like she needs to grip the mouthpiece with her teeth, and therefore she chews her mouthpiece. This would make the salivary glands "think" that there's something in the mouth that needs to be washed down and swallowed, and of course, the mouthpiece can't be swallowed, so the salivation continues unabated.
3) The mouthpiece may have some chemical or rubbery taste to it that it stimulating the salivary glands to produce enough saliva to wash the taste away.
Depending on the cause, you can find some remedies for it. If it's a simple matter of getting used to having something (anything) in the mouth, have her watch tv or do other tasks while holding a mouthpiece in her mouth and the problem may just go away on its own. If it's a fit problem, get one of those moldable mouthpieces that you put in hot water and can trim down for a perfect fit. If it's anxiety, sometimes a different mouthpiece, like a comfo-bite type one that has a sort of upper-tooth bridge helps the diver feel like the thing won't just slip out of the mouth. If the mouthpiece tastes bad or has some chemical component that irritates your wife's mouth, try a different brand until you find one that doesn't provoke the reaction.
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Some people salivate more than others, and not expectorating (spitting) or swallowing the saliva will result in a build up during the duration of a recreational dive. She should consult her doctor, but I think there is a good possibility that this is just what I describe.
DivemasterDennis
DivemasterDennis
mmcdanie
Contributor
I'm sure we would all love to see a picture of this. Please post one.
I'm with Dennis on this one. I think this might be case, but a doctor's visit wouldn't hurt.
When you bring this up to your wife, might want to think about your wording carefully. I can already see how that conversation could go.
- Honey you're not expectorating enough
- "I'm not what?"
- You're not....um, nevermind.
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