Diving and taking Sudafed. Is it safe?

[AMW]

Has been covered before Decongestants - Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride


In brief:


Vicks Sinex contains 0.05% w/v oxymetazoline hydrochloride.

It also contains sodium citrate dihydrate, tyloxapol, citric acid anhydrous, chlorhexidine digluconate, menthol, benzalkonium chloride, camphor, disodium edetate, eucalyptol, sodium, hydroxide and purified water.

Also contains oxymetazoline hydrochloride

Possible Side-Effects
Most people have no side-effects with Vicks Sinex



************************************************** ***********************************
Sudafed 12 Hour Relief

The product contains the active ingredient: Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride 120 mg per tablet.

It also contains: Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (E464), magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose (E460), povidone, titanium dioxide (E171), polyethylene glycol, candellila wax and purified water.

Possible Side-Effects
Side-effects are not common with Non-drowsy Sudafed 12 Hour Relief tablets and when they occur they are usually mild and temporary.

Some people feel restless or have trouble getting to sleep. A few people have bad dreams or hallucinations .

Occasionally people get skin rashes that are sometimes itchy. A few men, especially men with prostate problems may have more trouble passing water.

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Sudafed Congestion Relief
Each capsule contains: Phenylephrine hydrochloride 12 mg

Other ingredients: Lactose, maize starch, pregelatinised maize starch, magnesium stearate.

Gelatin capsule includes: E104 quinoline yellow, E171 titanium dioxide. Printing ink: E172 black iron oxide, shellac, soya lecithin, silicone.


Avoid alcohol

If symptoms do not go away talk to your doctor

This medicine may cause fast heart rate, changes in heart rhythm, palpitations, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, headache and occasionally urine retention in males.

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Decongestant Nasal Spray

Contains Xylometazoline hydrochloride

Non-Drowsy Sudafed Decongestant Nasal Spray
The product contains the active ingredient: Xylometazoline hydrochloride 0.1% w/v.

It also contains: Benzalkonium chloride, disodium edetate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium monohydrogen phosphate, sodium chloride, sorbitol solution, purified water.

Possible side effects
Side effects are not common with this product and when they occur they are usually mild and temporary. Occasionally Xylometazoline hydrochloride may cause local burning, soreness, dryness, irritation, stinging, itching or sneezing. Nausea and headache may rarely occur. Prolonged continuous use may occasionally cause rebound congestion.

*************************************
Non-Drowsy Sudafed Decongestant Elixir
This product contains the active ingredient: Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride 30mg per 5ml.

It also contains: Citric acid monohydrate, sucrose, glycerol, methyl hydroxybenzoate (E218), sodium benzoate (E211), Ponceau 4R (E124), raspberry flavour and water.


Possible side-effects
Side-effects are not common with this product and when they do occur they are usually mild and temporary.

Some people feel restless or have trouble getting to sleep. A few people have bad dreams or hallucinations but this is rare.

Occasionally people get skin rashes that are sometimes itchy. A few men, especially men with prostate problems may have more trouble passing water.
__________________

But you make your own choice

Andrew

[GLOC]

Whatever you do, don't take Sudafed and Coke (Coca-cola) before trying to go to bed!!

I had a very fast heart beat and I was still awake at 03:00 depsite turning in at 22:00, not a happy bunny. Especially as I was getting up at 04:30...

[Dr T]

I always thought you couldn't take sudafed when using higher % O2 mixtures ie. nitrox or deco gases ??

not sure where i heard this but anyone got any evidence to the contrary ??

a

[AMW]

Decongestants are developed to relive a blocked snout on the surface and not under pressure. Any chemical in the blood not there by design can react in an unpredictable way if you step out side of what can be seen as a normal application regime. Mind you it can also do it in a controlled regime but in a less risky situation.

Andrew.

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by GLOC

Whatever you do, don't take Sudafed and Coke (Coca-cola) before trying to go to bed!!

Watching some file about alien body snatchers and then taking it before bed wasn't the best idea either. I had some pretty weird dreams.

Jason

[louisrankin]

I posted this on Rebreather World last year.

The Risks of diving with a Cold and using decongestants


At the weekend I went to Plymouth to do some mix gas diving, I have been suffering with a cold for a few weeks now’s but did not want to cancel because I would still have to pay. Anyway I decided to go and use a concocksion of Sudafed, Oltravine and Beconase nasal spray.

The first dive went ok I could tell I was bunged up but I could still clear my ears ok. On the second dive I wanted to go in first because I was doing the longest run time, on the way down the line I was a bit out of breath and starting coughing a lot and bringing up a lot of flem.

When I reached the bottom the shot was in the wreck securely so I did not have any work to do, I did a dil flush as I was still having problems getting my breath I found this made breathing a lot easier and checked my cell readout all ok. I got my breath and lined off as the viz was shit after about 15mins I was getting a bit breathless again so I turned around and headed back to the shot and headed up after 28mins because I was feeling crap. On the way up I was still coughing and bringing up flem I finally reached the deco station so I started to relax. I was still coughing a lot on my stops but I completed my deco obligation ok and surfaced.

When I got back on the boat I was finding it hard to get my breath so I was helped off with my kit. I started to cough and bring up blood so I went onto my 70% bailout bottle. The skipper wanted to call to call the diving doctor but I said I was ok and was not bent. Anyway after about 1hr I was still coughing up blood and the skipper called DDRC and spoke to the diving doc. I was still insisting I was fine and it was just a cold, but she wanted me to go to hospital and have an x-ray of my chest. I spoke to her and said I did not want to go to A&E because of the long waiting times. Anyway she persuaded me to go and I arranged to meet her and A&E. I had found out the skipper had arranged an Ambulance to meet me but I made him cancel it and said I was fine.

My friends gave me a lift to the hospital, I booked in and was informed that they were expected me and was told to follow the blue line to the X-Ray department. I was X-Rayed straight away and the Diving Doc turned up about 30mins later. I was taken to a cubicle and was giving a complete examination which included saving parts of my chest to have an ECG. I was still insisting I was fine and was not bent after 30mins the diving doctor agreed with my diagnosis. But informed me that I had a MEDISTIVAL EMPHYSEMA. She went on to explain that I had most probably ruptured some alveoli and air had escaped to the pericardial sac (the sac around the heart). Apparently I had a shadow around my heart on the X-Ray. She then informed me that there was a chance that the air could expand and cause me to have a PNEUMOTHORAX (a collapsed lung) and I needed to stay in hospital for observation and stay on oxygen for the night. She then went on to give me some information which really hurt NO MORE DIVING FOR 3 MONTHS.

I spent the night in hospital and was discharged the next morning my only symptoms are I have a sore throat apart from that I fell fine. The treatment I received from DDRC was first rate also my skipper Richard King was fantastic even thou I kept telling him there was nothing wrong with me. As you can imagine I am very pissed off to make things worst I have finally received the final part to enable me to fit my Kiss Hammerhead and now I can test it for three months. I just wanted to share this information so other people can learn from my mistake.

Louis

[GLOC]

Good post Louis. Something to bear in mind....

Can I ask you to re-post it in the 'I learned about diving from that' subforum so that it won't get lost in this thread?

Thanks

[Mark Chase]

Diving with any sort of cold is a bad idea. That said I have suffered sinus pain on multiple day dive gigs and used Sudafed with out issue. I did a 105m 3.5 hour dive after taking Sudafed to relieve sinus pain. Deco was on 100% 02 for the best part of an hour. HOWEVER I did not have a cold, I had sinus pain from multiple days of diving. I think there is a BIG difference in terms of the potential for blockage in the alveoli in the lungs.

It worked for me, but it could kill you so you decide.

Hot lemon and honey works well with my ears as well.

ATB

Mark

[DecoWarrior]

i ave seen first hand the effects of taking sudafed before a dive, a woman in my old club had a terrible reaction to it in capernwray, it really messed her up, she was lucky to survive, from what i can remember as well as loosing the sinuses it can also affect the lungs the mucus lining in the lungs also loosened and filled the lungs it was a nasty thing, it was a long time ago i remmeber it pretty well as i was on clipboard duty!

[Twinsetmad]

Originally Posted by Mark Chase

Hot lemon and honey works well with my ears as well.

ATB

Mark

How hot does it have to be..? does it burn..? and do you use swim ear to get it out afterwoulds or does it just wash out...?

Bet the misses likes the taste....nibble nibble..