Staying Healthy Before the Trip.....

[Whatevva]

In less than 10 days I, along with my dive group, am leaving on my first dive vacation to Cozumel.

It being the cold and flu season, a lot of us have found ourselves shunning our children, and locking the sniffling ones at the other end of the house. I haven't kissed my wife in over a week!!!!

I'm drinking 3 glasses of Airborne a day and not coming within 5 feet of anyone! I can sense the germs waiting for a weak moment to attack me!!!

That being said, has anyone gotten ill enough, right before a trip, that it hindered your diving?

 

[vladimir]

Save your Airborne money, there is no evidence that it has any benefit. I mean, none besides your wife's cousin, the schoolteacher, who swears by it, and never gets sick, even with a class full of runny-nosed kids. From the NY TIMES:

AIRBORNE Many consumers swear by this remedy, which is a cocktail of 17 vitamins, minerals and herbs — including vitamin C, echinacea and zinc. When the product was introduced, the label claimed that Airborne could fight the common cold. The Federal Trade Commission sued its maker on the grounds of false advertising, and in August 2008, the commission announced that the company had agreed to pay up to $30 million to settle charges that it did not have adequate evidence to support its advertising claims.
The company that makes Airborne changed the wording on the label to read, “helps support your immune system.” Researchers are not persuaded that Airborne does even that.
“The company has not done a proper study to prove the benefits it claims,” David Schardt, a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said. “They certainly could afford the research — the company has made millions of dollars on this remedy.” Dr. Schaffner agreed. “There simply is no good evidence that Airborne boosts your immune system,” he said.​

Yes, I have had congestion just before a dive trip on a few occasions. Maybe it's the frenzy and stress of sorting things out at work before vacation. Whatever the reason, there's nothing more disconcerting than not being able to clear on the airplane's descent--it doesn't bode well for the next day's dive.

 

[cascas]

In less than 10 days I, along with my dive group, am leaving on my first dive vacation to Cozumel.

It being the cold and flu season, a lot of us have found ourselves shunning our children, and locking the sniffling ones at the other end of the house. I haven't kissed my wife in over a week!!!!

I'm drinking 3 glasses of Airborne a day and not coming within 5 feet of anyone! I can sense the germs waiting for a weak moment to attack me!!!

That being said, has anyone gotten ill enough, right before a trip, that it hindered your diving?

Pure dedication to the hobby.. I like that !


And no, nothing ever hindered me from diving. I can dive with a cold, somehow my sinuses don't clog and my eustacian tubes are big as sewage pipes. I never have problems with equalizing.

Vitamin boosters are only good for producing very expensive pee...

 

[sheeper]

i tend to dose up on Vitamin C and zinc tablets and Melaleuca Activate before a trip. seems to work for me

 

[nimoh]

When a trip is coming up, I tend to eat healthier including drinking lots of OJ for vitamin C and wash fruits and vegetables more carefully. I don't know that this has ever prevented me from missing a dive, but it can't hurt

On one occasion, my trip was about a month and a half out and there was someone at work with a cold. I actually considered trying to get sick to give my immune system a workout knowing that I had plenty of time before my trip to get over it. As it turns out, I didn't get sick and the trip went fine. However, I would appreciate any experts commenting on if this is a sound theory.

 

[Doc]

Wash your hands often and keep them away from your face.

Something mom would have told you.

No, I have never been too sick to go, but I have had to bail out a day during the trip. Nasty toothache exacerbated by pressure differentials.

 

[scubassplayer]

Let me preface this by saying I am not a pill popper or generally believe in non-scientific remedies....but I swear by a product here called "Cold FX" . I start taking it a couple of weeks before a dive vacation or ramp it up if I have the start of a cold...so far so good. Perhaps its just psychological but either way it works for me!

 

[Angry Turtle]

Despite all my germophobe efforts, multivitamins and eating well, I managed to get a cold the week before my recent trip to Roatan, and still had left-over congestion by the time of the trip. I managed with pseudoephedrine every four hours and the 12hr dosage for for the overnight. I also took my sinus rinse bottle and did them in the evening and morning until I ran out of the salt mix.

The airplaine was full of hacking and sniffling, so some of the people in my group also caught something. They managed with OTC meds for the symptoms including pseudoephedrine.

That said, the first few days I had to be careful and descend slowly otherwise it was painful. I normally do not need the valsalva to clear, but I had to use it quite often. We managed 25 dives in 6 days.