water up nose

[lastbreath]

water is going inside my nose when i look up to clear the mask. i have never been able to face up and hold water from going up my nose. for example if i fill up my tub and lay on my back looking to the ceiling and i put my head under water my nose floods with water causing me to swallow water and feel like i am drowning. i can swim under water with no problem no water goes in my nose but i have to look straight or down as soon as i tilt my head back my nose takes water in.. is this normal ? and is there a way to improve this any advise will be appreciated. i finally did my pool dives and passed the open water written exam now i have do open water dives and im not confident cause taking water in my nose hurts and i will panic. i cleared my mask in the pool but i drank some water that went down my nasal into my throat. please help....

 

[Jim Lapenta]

First of all you really shouldn't have to look up in the way that most people think about looking up. Looking straight ahead is all you need to do. If you lay on your back it's going to be damn near impossible to keep water from going into the mask. That is just simple physics. Also do not lift the mask. Press the top of it against your forehead to hold it on and exhale through your nose. This video shows the proper way to clear a mask:

This shows how not to do it:

On the knees, heads too far tilted making it look hard. Be like the 5th dx guy.

 

[RainPilot]

^ what he said. The "looking up" thing is vastly overrated. Ive never had anyone find that to make it easier to clear a mask, most are ok but many have your problem.

Look straight ahead, press the top of the mask to your forehead and exhale steadily through your nose.

 

[Dan]

Just simple physics. Water is heavier than air. Water will drain out to the lowest opening of the mask by gravity. So if you look up & you don't exhale through your nose, the water will drain into your nose. By looking straight horizontally & exhaling through your nose, the air will bubble up into the upper part of your mask (your forehead), forcing the water to drain down through your cheeks.

If you want to look up for any reason, make sure you drain off any residual water that may have leaked into your mask. Otherwise you will experience the getting water into your nose thing.

 

[cmburch]

It is very simple. Sit in the bathtub and practice it. My little brother is very clean because he spends so much time in the tub. But he's an expert at clearing his mask and snorkel.

90% of the time I am looking somewhat downward at the bottom except when I am in kelp. So most of the time I clear with head tilted slightly downward so I do not have to take my eyes off what I am looking at.

 

[Marie13]

I need to do the bathtub trick.

 

[WarrenZ]

Water is supposed to go up your nose. If you aren't drinking the water out of your mask through your nose how do you expect it to clear? Besides exhaling through your nose wastes air.



Actually you may be waiting too long to start your exhale I hold the top of my mask and exhale while I slowly look up. You don't have to see the surface just look up enough to get all the water to be able to get out the bottom of your nose pocket past your lip.

 

[lastbreath]

thank you guys for all the replies im very passionate about scubadiving and it sucks that i am one of the people that have this problem i have practice in the tub and when i exhale from my nose and look up i still get water leaking into my nose the same happen when i was doing my pool lessens this resulted me blowing air out my nose aggressively and drinking pool water i acted like nothing was wrong cause i wanted to pass the class the instructor kept telling us to look up and slowly clear our mask i have to say this was truly a horrific experience.. i dont think practicing taking water in my nose is going to help believe me its not an ability thing it must be a physical disadvantage and its definitely not mental. is there anybody here that had this problem and now can dip their head under water facing up? i would love to hear what you did to overcome this problem.. looking straight ahead allows me to clear my mask thanks for the help. im still not content that other people can look up under water with no problem and i cant uurrrrrgggg...

 

[Dan]

You are not the only one. I have the same problem. I just don't look up when I drain the water out of my mask.

If I want to look up, I'll make sure no residual water in the mask or drain the water out of the mask first, hold my breath or slowly exhale through the nose, before I look up. If water gets into my nose, then I just exhale it out through my nose. I've been diving that way for 11 years. No big deal.

 

[TMHeimer]

No exhaling needed. Water always goes in the nostrils. It won't go further in if you completely close off the passages. Practise on land--same then in water.