Tylenol or Advil before a dive?

[tarponchik]

Just out of curiosity, where do you get that information? I've never heard anyone ever say acetaminophen should be avoided except in specific circumstances.

Acetaminophen has a narrow therapeutic index of around 2.5 while aspirin and ibuprofen both have TI>10. Moreover, unlike aspirin and ibuprofen, acetaminophen has no anti-inflammatory properties. Advocates of acetaminophen claim that it does not cause stomach/intestine irritation and is safe if taken in low doses. However, since its toxicity effects are highly variable between individuals and circumstances, I would avoid it overall.

 

[JerseyMike]

I seem to be getting some headaches either after or maybe a bit during my dives. Is it ok to take 2 maybe 30 min before my dive to prevent? I think its just my body getting used to the dives.

This is what I found. Maybe you can go through the process of elimination.

Headaches associated with scuba diving

Headaches and Diving


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Headaches on Descent

Sinus Barotrauma
Frontal, sphenoid, maxillary, mastoid sinuses with varied headache syndromes and positions. Associated with nosebleeds, nausea.

Middle ear barotrauma
Usually located in and around the ear but can be temporal, cervical and centrally located. Associated with nausea, vertigo and deafness.

Dental barotrauma
Related to poor caries repair, incomplete root canals or any process where air remains and can cause implosion and expansion. Pain referred into the jaw, neck, sinuses and centrally.
Headaches at Depth
CO2 Retention
Due to skip breathing, gear malfunction, rebreather failure. Causes a "sick headache" type of generalized pain and can be associated with nausea and vomiting. The tendency to retain CO2 may be suspected in divers who frequently experience post-dive headaches or pride themselves on low air-use rates.

Tempero-mandibular joint syndrome
Caused by poorly fitting regulator mouthpiece, TMJ arthritis, stress with clamping of teeth. Pain can be located in jaw, temporal areas posterior cervical neck, or referred to other areas of the face and head. May be associated with tinnitus (ringing in the ear).

Gear pressure
-Snorkel pressure when placed under the mask strap.
-Mask squeeze with pain in and around the eyes.
-Pressure from the tank valves on the neck.
-Choking from a dry suit neck seal that is too tight (as from a neck seal in a diver who has gained significant weight) and has obstructed or blocked neck veins. The arterial supply would continue with buildup of venous pressure from obstruction of the jugular vessels.

Neck position (cervical arthritis)
This is seen more frequently in older divers who have any significant arthritis of the neck. Because of the prone horizontal position, the neck is continually extended (looking up position and this can cause severe neck pain with occipital radiation (radiating into the back of the head).

Contaminated air (CO and hydrocarbons)
Associated with nausea, malaise and vomiting, this headache is another "sick headache" that only gradually goes away with ascending and breathing uncontaminated air or oxygen. It is usually associated with more serious signs and symptoms of hypoxia and decrease of consciousness.
Headaches on Ascent
Continuation of the headaches at depth
Reverse sinus and middle ear squeeze
Sinus and middle ear swelling, edema and blood accumulation act to block the openings to the nose and as the diver ascends, there is an enlargement of any air pockets with severe pain - usually experienced by the diver as a boring localized headache that often is referred to the entire face and head.

Exertional headaches, Swimmer's migraine, Swimmer's vascular headache
These headaches are reported in the literature and are generally thought to be due to combinations of cold, immersion and vascular dilation.

References:

Swimmer's Migraine
Swimmer's migraine. [Headache. 1990] - PubMed result

Swimming Induced Vascular headache
[Swimming induced vascular headache] [Rinsho Shinkeigaku. 1989] - PubMed result

Benign exertional headaches induced by swimming
Benign exertional headaches induced by swimming. [Kurume Med J. 1990] - PubMed result

Swimming headache followed by exertional and coital headaches.
Swimming headache followed by exertional and coita... [J Korean Med Sci. 1992] - PubMed result
Migraine
Migraine can be brought on by diving and can mimic headaches caused by other things - mainly decompression accidents.

Decompression accidents
Headache is not a prominent symptom of neurologic decompression illness but can be associated with cerebral syndromes related to paresthesias of cranial nerves.
Headaches Post-dive
Any of the above; most often sinus and CO2 retention.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Acetaminophen has a narrow therapeutic index of around 2.5 while aspirin and ibuprofen both have TI>10. Moreover, unlike aspirin and ibuprofen, acetaminophen has no anti-inflammatory properties. Advocates of acetaminophen claim that it does not cause stomach/intestine irritation and is safe if taken in low doses.

This is true. People dosing with acetaminophen should be aware that the drug is capable of causing liver damage when standard doses are exceeded. Due to its widespread availability, acetaminophen overdose is not such a rare phenomenon. OTC drug manufacturers often make it part of formulations for patients with "cold and flu" symptoms. Uneducated patients may combine these "cold and flu" meds with additional acetaminophen dosing, leading to a liver toxicity.

Nevertheless, so long as acetaminophen is used responsibly, the prevailing opinion of the medical community is that the medicine is safe and effective. Since acetaminophen is metabolized by the liver, this means not doing anything unusual to one's liver function while taking Tylenol -- such as consuming alcohol and/or fasting.

No medication is perfect, i.e., without side effects or toxicity. NSAIDs can do bad things to kidney function (decreases renal perfusion pressure). This class of drugs may diminish the effectiveness of ACE inhibitors, which some patients may be taking for high blood pressure. It may also be bad for patients with heart failure or at risk of thrombosis to take NSAIDs. Some people might be more sensitive to the GI irritation to which tarponchik alluded.

 

[boulderjohn]

This is true. People dosing with acetaminophen should be aware that the drug is capable of causing liver damage when standard doses are exceeded. ...

Isn't there also a problem if you are taking it and drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Isn't there also a problem if you are taking it and drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol?

Yes. As I wrote above...

Nevertheless, so long as acetaminophen is used responsibly, the prevailing opinion of the medical community is that the medicine is safe and effective. Since acetaminophen is metabolized by the liver, this means not doing anything unusual to one's liver function while taking Tylenol -- such as consuming alcohol and/or fasting.

I would characterize popping Tylenol while drinking alcohol as irresponsible usage.
Alcohol consumption occupies the liver with the metabolism of alcohol. This prevents the liver's ability to metabolize acetaminophen and raises the risk of liver toxicity.
Heavy drinkers of alcohol would do well to avoid acetaminophen on account of impaired liver function lowering the threshold for liver toxicity.

 

[munselln8]

Well I dont have any sinuses to my knowledge. I have a deviated septum and I do have some allergies but only to dust and such.

So for tomorrow dive,could I try advil and if I still get one then look further into it.?

Well, we all have sinuses. just part of our physiology. As suggested, sudafed may help. But a word of caution. although, I realize, a lot of divers do it (myself included) PADI reccomends not taking any sinus meds before a dive due to the possibility of the med wearing off before the end of the dive and causing a "squeeze". This is why I take the long term "12 hour" sudafed. Not textbook but best possible alternative.

Otherwise, it does sound like you might be experiencing "Mask squeeze" or, maybe thermocline "brain freeze"...maybe being conscious of the mask pressure may help.

Lastly, taking a couple advil "pre-emmptively" is not a great idea. There is absolutely no reason not to do it (other than the adverse affects on your liver

Good diving to you.

Good diving!

 

[samsumon]

This thread got WAY to scientific for me lol..So can I take 2 advils tomorrow and see if the headaches come or not lol..

I will go down ALOT slower and pressurize as much as possible to.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

This thread got WAY to scientific for me lol..So can I take 2 advils tomorrow and see if the headaches come or not lol..

OK. Here's a simple answer from a nameless, faceless guy over the Internet:
Advil probably won't help, but it probably won't hurt either.

In the immortal words of Humpty...