Would you go?

[Chris W]

Hi,

Just after a bit of advice.....

I'm waking up with a partially blocked nose in the mornings at the moment - it seems to clear after an hour or so. But when I swallow/yawn my ears are popping. Other than that I feel fine.

The question is I'm on a dive trip on Tuesday - should I give it as miss?

The dive profile is very basic as it's a kit check dive - one maybe two dives to an average depth of 4.5M....

[machiavelli]

I'd go. You can always bin the dive if you can't clear on the way down.

You might have a bit of a cold, or maybe there's something else setting your nose off. A place I used to work used to give me a blocked nose and sore head regularly. I put it down to a sick building and left - getting the cause identified and fixed wasn't really an option. The company then went bust and all my ex colleagues were made redundant. And then the building got pulled down. Problem solved, but not quite how I would have done it.

[Chris W]

Yup - I'm going.

I agree I can always get a coffee instead - three of us are going so it's not like my buddy will miss their dive or anything.

And at the end of the day it's less than 10M.........

[sean0801]

Originally Posted by Chris W

Hi,

Just after a bit of advice.....

I'm waking up with a partially blocked nose in the mornings at the moment - it seems to clear after an hour or so. But when I swallow/yawn my ears are popping. Other than that I feel fine.

The question is I'm on a dive trip on Tuesday - should I give it as miss?

The dive profile is very basic as it's a kit check dive - one maybe two dives to an average depth of 4.5M....

At that depth mate i'd just stuff myself full of sudofed and do the dive.


***sits back and waits for the kickin***

[triplefin]

Originally Posted by sean0801

At that depth mate i'd just stuff myself full of sudofed and do the dive.

Sounds like you've got a lot of gunk in yr tubes!
Better than sudafed which can leave you with semi dried up gunk - which you dont want - is to make sure you are really very very well hydrated and not just half an hour before the dive! Doing this will make the stuff in yr tubes less sticky and more watery which means you have a much better chance of equalising. Its trying to force air through a sticky mass that causes problems. If you make it really watery runny its much easier.

[Buoyant Babe]

Good advice form Jane.

Also, what about trying Salclear, or whatever it's called. It's a saline nasal spray that helps clear the gunk.

As others have said I'd go for it and see what happens.

Hxxx

[David G]

I'd avoid Dairy products for the rest of the day and use some Olbas Oil in the morning....

Just my 2pworth.

Happy New Year everyone.

David.

[Sparky750]

Yep olbas oil on your pillow for a few nights sorts it out

[Tom D]

Originally Posted by Chris W

And at the end of the day it's less than 10M.........

I'd definitely go, but something to consider anyway . . . .

In my (very limited) experience, it's the shallower dives that cause the problem for me, because you're having to equalise more frequently during the 'bottom time' part of the dive.

Deeper dives (say 20m+) don't cause as much of a problem when my ears are sticky, because you don't tend to have to equalise as much at the bottom of the dive (just on descent and ascent).

During a recent liveaboard trip in Egypt, I woke up with sticky ears more of less every day. Still, Sudafed kept me going and in the end I only missed one dive. I found that by the end of the shallower night dives, I could no longer (easily - and I didn't want to force it) clear my ears, and had to hover at a set depth until we got back to the boat. Annoying, because that was always the point we found a lionfish to feed!

Anyway, am sure your ears will be fine! Have fun.

Tom (aka. The Mucus-Producer)

[Chris W]

Thanks for all the Advice....

Well I'm packed and ready to go first thing tomorrow morning....

I've actually cleared up a lot today so I don't think I'll have too much of a problem!!!

I've had a good read and been out to get some saline nasal spray and I have some decongestants so I'm ready to go!!!

Also taking the sports bottle with just water in to make sure I'm hydrated.

Just want to say a big thanks for the advice - I honestly don't know what I would do without this site