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Health: When is it NOT okay to dive?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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1 Tadpole

I'd rather play than work
Jul 27, 2002
81
14
98
What symptoms signal it's not okay to dive? I currently have a slight cough but no sinus congestion. Is it okay to easy dives [less than 40'] with a slight cold?

Thanks in advance!
 
Well I have done some diving with slight cold.. and it has been ok for most of the time, but sometimes I just end up swimming as I can not equalize...
I would not dive when tired.. tiredness for me is the worst I am not that well connected with my body and therefore it is difficult to say when it is time to go up..
But in general I would go diving if I can equalize with no problems even with a slight cold..
But then that is just me..

Pekka
 
I ended up spitting blood

here's an advice I should of taken and will pass on to my brothers and sisters.

Don't do it if it hurts.

That could mean some pain in your ear, in your joint or (this happened to me) pain behind your eye.

I talked to a few dive masters and they told me the pain behind my eye was due to some mucus block. Told me nothing will happen. So I dove till I couldn't anymore(from the pain). Two days later I'm spitting out blood and can feel blood clot forming behind my cheek bone.

so please... DON'T DIVE IF IT HURTS:duh
 
caymandiver,

Do you mean hurt BEFORE you get in the water? As in frontal sinus pain in the forehead and behind the eyes?
 
I meant hurt after getting wet. But if it hurts at 3 feet maybe it's not a good day to dive. What works a lot is if it hurts when you decend go very very slow. Sometimes you can atually feel the air getting in your sinus blockage and equalizing it.

I think that if you have some pain in your joints that's pretty serious I would be very careful about going diving alone. You don't want to end up not being able to swim. But with the cold stuff the water will let you know if you can dive or not. Sometimes my ears don't clear at 3 ft. Sometimes 10ft.

So in short, my answer would be after. And take the dive slow if you are experiencing symptoms of a head cold.

But I'm not a doctor.

Good luck and may the sea protect you always.

Christianrofl
 
Thanks for your posts Christian.

Although I tend to be independant and like solitude, I have no desire to take the risk of diving alone. Even if it's only 40 or so feet.

Take Care.
 
I've learned that diving with any kind of illness always results in my getting worse the next day or the day of the dive. For me personally if I'm stuffy, or slightly coughing, the diving makes the illnessworse that much more quickly. I would reccommend waiting until the cold has run its course only so that you can avoid the extra days out of the water. There is nothing worse than getting all the way through a dive only to discover that the stress you have put on your body has worn you out too much to do anything else. (Like making you too tired to climb back onto the boat or being too tired to fight a current - both potentially dangerous events.)

And if it hurts - don't ignore the pain - follow Nike and Ms. Reagan's advice JUST DON'T DO IT! ;)
 
The rule I follow is if I can't equalize I don't go, or if I do go I just stay on the surface and watch the pretty fish from there. For me, normal is hands free equalizing from the surface down. It's also something I don't even have to really think about while I'm doing it, it's so easy it's almost automatic.
Don't do it if it hurts.
Excellent advice. If it something starts to hurt on descent, stop descending.
 
Here's another one...

Readers of the antics at the Keyz Kraze 03 will recall my battles with my sinuses there and most of the prior posts are correct- if you're all buggered up sinus-wise, don't go in. And if you do stay on the surface, leave the lead on the beach... trust me.

Another thing that keeps me warm and dry on those days is when things "just don't feel right" as in the vibe isn't all that great.

Another is when the physical conditions dictate you stay in and snooze. More than a few divers here drive from all over Hell and breakfast to the coast and by damn, they're gonna get wet! More than a few divers get hurt and most of them are found much later waaay down the coast, sans their soft tissue.
 
not supposed to go

Sven's got it right; there are some days when you aren't supposed to get wet, wrong vibes.
Everybody's got a different threshold, but about three significant screw-ups on the way to a dive sets off warning bells in my head, the car breaks down, the boat has a major problem, the weather stinks, you lady just came down with the flu and you don't feel so great, you get the idea. One more and it's time to cancel. Ignoring the warning bells nearly always gets me in trouble.
 
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