reasons for sickness on a dive?

[alfie227]

Hi

I'm diving with my dad in Colombia at the moment. He went out on a dive on his own yesterday and had a few problems. First dive went fine but he began vomiting pretty much as soon as he hit the surface. They went and had an hour or so on the shore between dives and he began to feel better. Went down on the second dive and vomited underwater almost the entire time.

He's done somewhere in the range of 40 dives and never had this problem before, doesn't usually get seasick and said the sea was calm. He was feeling fine before the dive.

First reaction was that it might have been a bad fill but we're really not sure.

does anyone have any ideas on potential causes for something like this?

thanks everyone

Alfie

 

[TracyN]

Hi Alfie. I can only speak from personal experience but this happens to me if I don't take some kind of anti-motion sickness medication before I go diving. Rough seas have nothing to do with it. I have to use it even when diving caves and springs. I believe it has something to do with my ears not equalizing at the same time or something to do with pressure changes. I don't get dizzy just feel sick and vomit. This might be what your father is experiencing.

 

[alfie227]

Thanks Tracy. We're off on a dive trip in the morning so I'll let you know how the sea-sickness tablets work.

thanks again

 

[pdhenry]

Bad air?

 

[tomfcrist]

Beyond what Tracy already mentioned, I have had issues with getting nauseous during dives just because of the surge. I even got sick moving between two coral fingers on a flat calm day, but the surge was still there.

I use ginger for seasickness, and also anytime I wreck dive regardless of the sea state for this reason. I used to use scopolamine, but I stopped once I recognized a pattern of undeserved DCS hits involving other divers, where the diver with DCS was the only one that used scopolamine and dove the same profile as his/her friends. Could be coincidence, but not worth the risk until more research is done in my opinion.
Zofran is also a fantastic anti nausea drug, but has a tendency to cause painful constipation if used regularly(more than a day or two at a time).

Hope he feels better tomorrow, have a safe dive!

 

[rwkosh]

I've experienced this a few times--always on shore dives. When diving from a boat (which is most dives) I take Scopace (oral scopolamine) for sea sickness but don't take anything for shore dives. Maybe I should take something. I suspect, like TracyN says, that it is related to my ears clearing at different rates, since for me, it always happens when I surface--not during the dive.

Tomfcrist's post about DCS and scopolamine is interesting. I've been using it for several years now without incident, but I will definitely research that now.

 

[ComputerX]

I often regurgitate, with little feeling of nausea, diving in salt water. In fact I don't recall a dive where I haven't. I have only dove once in fresh water, and didn't have a problem. I haven't fully vomited, but it has been close.

I have never been motion sick in or around the water, even with seven years in the Coast Guard and a lot of sailboat racing, snorkeling, bodysurfing, canoeing, etc. I have only been very slightly queasy once, and that was under the canopy of a parachute. It was just enough for me to go "oh, this is what people are talking about." I glanced up at the horizon and was fine.

I strongly suspect that in my case it is because I swallow salt water. It doesn't take much salt water for me to throw up. Something I found out the hard way doing a nasal rinse

 

[tomfcrist]

Rwkosh, it's just a personal observation, but with as much Deco as I do, I figure I already have enough risk of DCS without using drugs that modify the body's chemical balance.

 

[mark01]

I've experienced this a few times--always on shore dives. When diving from a boat (which is most dives) I take Scopace (oral scopolamine) for sea sickness but don't take anything for shore dives. Maybe I should take something. I suspect, like TracyN says, that it is related to my ears clearing at different rates, since for me, it always happens when I surface--not during the dive.

Tomfcrist's post about DCS and scopolamine is interesting. I've been using it for several years now without incident, but I will definitely research that now.

Where are you able to find Scopace?? Can you provide me with the source? Thanks!

 

[tomfcrist]

I've experienced this a few times--always on shore dives. When diving from a boat (which is most dives) I take Scopace (oral scopolamine) for sea sickness but don't take anything for shore dives. Maybe I should take something. I suspect, like TracyN says, that it is related to my ears clearing at different rates, since for me, it always happens when I surface--not during the dive.

Tomfcrist's post about DCS and scopolamine is interesting. I've been using it for several years now without incident, but I will definitely research that now.

Where are you able to find Scopace?? Can you provide me with the source? Thanks!

As far as I know it is RX only