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Sorry, Ian, I'm not the right man for that. I qualified as a pharmacist in the UK as long ago as in 1961, worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 6 years, then moved to Sweden and worked in the pharmaceutical industry for another 8 years. After that, I switched tracks in 1976 and started working freelance as a medical translator (Swedish to English). So I'm not a real pharmacist any more.
As regards decongestants and diving, I've never ever used them. If I'm bad enough to need a congestant, I won't normally be diving. The only time I would possibly make an exception would be on an expensive dive trip to somewhere the other side of the world. I don't think the objection often raised against using a decongestant nasal spray or drops before diving, that the effect might wear off during the dive, causing barotrauma on ascent, is very valid, in view of the relatively long half-life (several hours) of the commonly used decongestants. I wouldn't be particularly worried about using a spray or drops half an hour before a dive. I would certainly think twice before taking pseudoephedrine by mouth but since our transatlantic cousins seem to more or less live on the stuff, I think we would have heard by now if there was any real danger. Nitrox may be another matter, though, so, until I know more about it, I'll stick to a decongestant nasal spray if I ever find I need something to clear my sinuses when on a liveaboard trip and diving on nitrox.
(Edited by John Gulliver at 11:00 pm on Feb. 13, 2003)  |