Sinus squeeze

[Michael Stroeck]

It might have something to do with fresh water and slightly "yoyo" profiles. I never experienced any sinus problems in almost 300 dives before I started cave diving. Then I got a full cave cert this November in Florida. During our first post-certification dive (of course!), I got a very uncomfortable reverse blockage in my sinuses when we were going up Bone Tunnel in Ginnie. I didn't know about the "upside-down" trick, so I just turned the dive and hung around a while when it became noticeable again during exit.

My sinuses were completely clear before and after, and I did not even remotely have a cold or any other condition that might have been the cause...

P.S.: My first post here! Hi all !

[FW]

I have never had sinus squeeze, but a lot of up/down plays havoc on my ears sometimes. I was with a group in MX once, doing a mile long traverse, past several Cenotes. I went up in the last one, just before the end, and couldn't get back down to finish the dive. I thought I was going to have to exit at the cenote (in the middle of nowhere). The guide said just tough it out, it was only 12' deep for the last stretch. It hurt like hell, but I made it. I am glad it was the last dive of th trip, I don't I could have dived again the next day.

[mwenner]

I've been lucky enough to not have equalizing issues generally (never need to plug my nose), but I have had a couple problem moments. One thing I found out this year, free diving an extremely cold quarry, is that you need to equalize your ears before you need to, because once your ear drum in under pressure, it's not nearly as easy to equalize. So, back up a few feet shallower, put some air in your middle ear, then decend. In the super cold water, without a hood, I wasn't able to equalize, when I needed to, at depth. When I attempted the dives again, equalizing early, I made it down to 50' repeatly, with 2 to 3 equalations along the way.

Try that. Cold does effect the size of your E tube, and therefore repeated or longer dives tend to be more of a problem. Those tubes run down the side or your neck, so taking the regulator out of your mouth, so lifting your head, and opening your mouth wide will also help the process.

Good luck!

[phillip1]

Very good point I always do that, my problem is not the ears equalizing, I always (so far) have been able to equalize my ears, my problem is sometimes a sharp pain in the sinus area in the forehead when going down at the end of yoyo dives.
It eventually "pops" with a kind of squeaky sound but takes a bit of time

[Rikki Battistini]

I had a very bad cold on my trip a few weeks ago and in little river I had the same problem with the pain right in the center of the forehead. I moved up and down a bit which helped but never cleared it correctly then I blew out my nose and even moved my mask to enable me to massage the spot this did it. I did have quite a bit of blood in my mask at the end of the dive but I was still able to dive the rest of the week and each time the nose blow and the forehead rub did the trick. I would also try taking a decongestant the day before hand.

[LiteHedded]

I had a very bad cold on my trip a few weeks ago and in little river I had the same problem with the pain right in the center of the forehead. I moved up and down a bit which helped but never cleared it correctly then I blew out my nose and even moved my mask to enable me to massage the spot this did it. I did have quite a bit of blood in my mask at the end of the dive but I was still able to dive the rest of the week and each time the nose blow and the forehead rub did the trick. I would also try taking a decongestant the day before hand.

I had that once before at ginnie. did the dive anyway and came up with blood in my mask. it bled for like a month after that

[mwenner]

Very good point I always do that, my problem is not the ears equalizing, I always (so far) have been able to equalize my ears, my problem is sometimes a sharp pain in the sinus area in the forehead when going down at the end of yoyo dives.
It eventually "pops" with a kind of squeaky sound but takes a bit of time

I'm sorry about that..... didn't read your post (and the others) as closely as I should have
In regard to sinus problems, the most important tool I've found, and use all the time can be found in any drug store. It's Dr. Heatley's SinuClease system. The complete kit includes the pot that the solution needs to be administered with. A friend of mine went to an allergy clinic, and found a differant version of tool, which I use, and using this system has eliminated most of my sinus problems. I use it before (in the mornings) and after dives, since the water I dive is sometimes polluted. Check it out! Tennessee's got terrible allergy problems, so it's cured a lot of problems for me.

[WJH]

Another vote for the SinuCleanse (a new way to market a very old device known as a neti pot) as a preventive measure.

Also, when experiencing a serious difficulty underwater I have had success with the remove mask and blow nose method.

First I've heard of the upside down method--but will certainly try it next time.

WJH

[Bob Cree]

Be very careful taking Afrin/Sudafed to keep yourself clear. These are CNS active and can contribute to making you more susceptible to toxing.

I would much rather have a squeeze or block than a tox event.

That said - I have had issues with my ears in cave diving...some contributing factors I think are: Cave dives are longer. Cave dives force the up and down. Out of town divers (like me) are doing multiple, closely spaced dives in series compared to say the same number of dives (or more) by locals which can now be spread evenly over a full year (spaced apart by at least a day or two).

If I feel congestion toward the end of a visit and feel the need to take a decongestant, I now will only take ONE and only at the end of the dive day and NOT in the morning before starting to dive again. This at least gets the peak of activity over with well before my next dive and helps to keep me clear through the night...then I would think real hard about pushing my CNS clock after that.

[phillip1]

Sounds bad, I have never taken any decongestants ever, do you think that taking a decongestant the night before would help more or less the same as the actual dive day?