One thing which is important is to avoid cold air, for those who are sensitive to it. I have always disliked cold air, because it causes my nose and sinuses to get congested, and if I breathe through my mouth it causes chest pain.
The 'asthma' episode which I had last year was caused by this. I had flu, and the central heating broke down on the same night. It was a very cold night. Although I wasn't cold all over, I was breathing cold air the whole night, and because my nose was blocked, I had to breathe through my mouth. This caused a burning pain in my chest. The next day the flu was much better, but I now had a severe chest infection. This took months to clear up, and three courses of antibiotics, one of 10 weeks.
I don't have any asthma symptoms now, and I can do everything as normal. Unfortunately my left lung is still not ok, I think it is scarred. I hope it heals eventually.
Lesson learnt the hard way - keep warm, and avoid something if it makes me feel ill. And now I know how to let the air out of the central heating system.
I have noticed that holding my breath relieves sinus congestion. If I have blocked sinuses, and I hold my breath, when it starts becoming difficult my sinuses and nose suddenly unblock. The fact that this happens during the 'struggle phase' suggests that it is caused by high CO2. It is a very temporary effect. Another good side effect of freediving is that I don't get middle ear infections any more.
Lucia
