major headache when diving

[bretto]

Hey guys,

yesterday i went for a dive probably 5 metres deep at the most with no issues at all and today i went for a swim in our pool and within 50cm of my head being under the water it feels like my brain is being crushed and it is extremely painful. any ideas as to why this would happen? i always equalise and the pain isnt in my ears

thanks guys

 

[Azrael3000]

Sounds like blocked sinuses. If you have a bit of a cold that might be the reason. Either wait for it to get better or use a sinus rinse which could help

 

[cdavis]

sinus squeeze, almost for sure. Be very patient and wait longer than you think you need to. Going under again, before the blockage has cleared will irritate and cause more swelling. It will be even longer before you can dive, very personal experience.

Patience is best. If that doesn't work, cortisone pills from the doc are magic.

 

[Apneaddict]

Use a neti pot 2x a day until its better... Then use almost daily.

I had this ruin my first ever open water dive and promised to never let this largely preventable affliction from stopping my diving ever again.

 

[bretto]

thanks for the info guys!

 

[TheBob]

Interesting... I had a headache following my FII Level I training which lasted for my entire trip home (San Jose from San Diego) and some hours more. I had had a cold the week before the training, and did have equalization issues during it... and I did wonder about sinus pressurization blocks.

Apneaddict, I know of neti pots (more as something vocalists use) but didn't expect to find them as part of freediving 'conditioning.' Is this usage well-known and common among freedivers?

Thanks-

Bob

 

[onefasteuro]

Most likely sinuses as mentioned, I had it happen to me while teaching a class, everything felt fine at the surface, clearings etc, put my head underwater and felt like my face was about to be crushed. Netti pot definitely helped. Took a while to fully clear, easily 2 weeks. Def. not fun.