Nausea While Diving

[deep thinker]

I experience nausea while diving in the ocean :head, kelp or open water, and I dont experience sea sickness or car sickness so I dont think the problem is related to the travelling by sea or car to a certain dive spot, I also dont experience this problem when diving or practising in a pool. Does anybody perhaps have a remedy or experience the same problem while diving.

 

[SurfnSpear]

I have had some of the same problems last season. I sometimes had some massive headaches combined with the terrible nausea too. Also some squelling in the one sinus...Then 30mins-1hour later it just dissapears.
I have just been to the doctors and they reckon I have a polyp (spelling?).
I also had some of the same probs when climbing to altitude in aircraft.
I have just been to the doctors and they reckon I have a polyp (spelling?). I have had a course of antibiotics but they were not much help. I believe I am in for a 'procedure' to get rid of that polyp which is like a bubble bulging inwards on your sinus tube, trapping all sorts of trouble within.
Hope this helps

 

[deep thinker]

It sounds bad but I dont know if our problems are related, mines not accompanied by the headache and it doesnt go away after a while infact it takes about half an hour after I get out to go away but comes back immediately if I go back in. Im also not sure if its pressure related or if its the movement of the water that it might be a form of vertigo or motion sickness, but as I said its strange to me because I dont normally experience sea or car sickness. I might go see a doctor though maybe they can give me some drugs to fix it, or maybe make me forget about it for a while .

 

[miles]

Hiya

Does this happen only when the water is a bit rough or when there is a particularly large swell running??

My wife never gets sea-sick on a boat, but when the water is really rough, she does get sea-sick IN the water. Once she's back onto the boat, she's fine again. We've tracked it down to her swallowing too much sea water in those VERY rough conditions, which triggers her sea-sickness whilst diving. Its only happened twice, and on both occations there was a 25-30knt North Wester blowing coupled with a big swell. The 'tail were running at Anvil.....need i say more?? I recall waves breaking over the front of my 21' rib , and since the boat was staying close to the divers, i was almost knee deep in water INSIDE my boat!!rofl rofl Was incredibly funny watching my wife......spears a yellowtail......gets into the boat....throws up over the side of the boat.....gulp down some fresh drinking water......jumps back in!!! rofl

Regards
miles

 

[SurfnSpear]

Yep...I only 'sometimes' get the headache though and I have also tried going back in and if I've had it once that day...then that's that game over. Ask the doctor about a polyp...you never know. I have heard people are way better once they have had it sorted.
cheers

 

[deep thinker]

Not really, infact most of my dives is in pretty calm water with good vis and the sea water is not a problem as I used to bodyboard and there you literally drink the sea water going through over or under waves, so its not that either I think, but I hope to get to the bottom of the problem as it gets quite bad sometimes, especially if you feel you wanna puke and your on a shore dive and the swim in feels so far away.
By the way did you do your avatar yourself and if so what program did you use?

 

[DeepThought]

Motion sickness happens when your eyes and the thingies in your inner ears send contradicting messages regading your balance/motion. I have suffered sea sickness once in choppy waters with very low visibility, I guess my eyes couldn't fix on anything and relate the signal of motion in the same way my ears did. On the bottom there was some relief. So maybe this could be one reason.
Other reasons could be:
Too hot inside your suit.
Dehydrated.
Overhydrated?
Too much exertion before diving.
Suit is too tight, especially around the neck.
Water temprature (cold water on your face).
Vertigo (sharp temprature change in your ears, a possible perforated eardrum?)
Having drugs/medications in your system.
It could also be a one time thing.
Try experimenting, change those variables and see what affects it and what doesn't.
For more symptomatic solutions, run a search on sea sickness or motion sickness, this issue has been discussed.
I know some people can overcome motion sickness for good - a guy I know who had it bad in the past and now owns a boat - so don't give up.

 

[deep thinker]

Now were getting somewhere a few things you mentioned makes total sense, like I do feel kinda restricted in the neck area of my suit especially if I add a hoody to the mix, we also walk pretty far to get to our preferred dive spots and its normally pretty hot outside, so ill try and experiment with a few of that factors and see what happens.
Thanx

 

[SurfnSpear]

I must admit that towards the end of 2005 season, I did start to make sure I never missed drinking a bottle of water before my session and I also had one of those powergel sachets to make sure I was A+....I have always been a bit hit 'n miss with the liquid refreshment timings.
Also, is that a proper 2-piece dive suit you're using?
Regards

 

[Trelos]

I felt very naucious a few months ago when diving. I found that the problem was that my mask was really tight (I tightened it alot because it didnt fit my face well).

Anyway, I bought another mask and did not tighten it alot. Never felt naucious since. Hope this helps.

 

[deep thinker]

No Im still using a surf suit but Ive been using it for a while now and didnt experience any problems, do you think a two peice will make a difference, as I am going to get one soon, theres just a matter of a shark sheild before a suit.

 

[BennyB]

I get a bit sea sick spearing/freediving in rough seas. Anything with ginger in it will help with motion sickness. You can also get ginger tablets in the herbal section of the vitamins or at the pharmacy.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[SurfnSpear]

No Im still using a surf suit but Ive been using it for a while now and didnt experience any problems, do you think a two peice will make a difference, as I am going to get one soon, theres just a matter of a shark sheild before a suit.

Chalk and cheese! Some time ago I too used to do that, but to give you an idea...
I have one of those super stretchy 5mm Rip Curl Ultimate Elasto's for surfing here in the UK winters. I did use it for a short time for spearing stretchy as it was. But as quick as I could get a Cressi hooded 5mm 2-piece with under crotch flap I did. Absolutely a beneficial difference.

 

[Fondueset]

Raw Ginger - chew it so it burns.
I used to get really bad airsickness - I would be out of it for days after a four hour flight - chewing bits of raw ginger during the flight completely eliminated it.

This year, before I got my Henderson ice mask - I would get nausea before my face adjusted to the water temp (mid-30s F) I tried the ginger trick and worked perfectly. It was awkward however - because I pretty much chewed it during the whole adjustment period and it would, occassionally, end up in my snorkel. I'd suggest chewing some before you go in - then keep it along and if you feel a quease coming on, float for a bit a chew a little more. (choking hazard if you dive with it in your mouth) People say ginger candy, or crystallized ginger works - but I have not found this to be true.

Alternatively you can brew up some raw ginger and add it to your water bottle - just make it strong. What I do is grate a fair amount into a french press - heat it up just short of a boil and let it steep awhile - occassionaly churning it up with the french press. Makes a very strong ginger brew which I dilute by about 5, add a bit of lemon, a small amount of grade B maple syrup (trace minerals!) and have a stomach soothing sports drink.

Chewing the raw root is really the best for nausea though. It does act as a preventative for a time.

 

[Marwan]

i could be your mask, sometimes the nose piece is not suitable for one's nose, especially the smaller freediving masks, this could also be a problem

 

[Bill]

For many years I used sea-sick medicine unless I was diving once a week. Marazene worked great. It was developed for the astronauts when they were bobbing around the ocean in their capsule. Since it was always available on the boat, 15-20 different people tried it and no one had side affects. A few very good competition spear fishermen used it for the calming affect fishing caves in shallow, rough waters. Might be worth a try.
Aloha
Bill

 

[JJ Rousseau]

Dranamine works very well. I have similar feelings when I have a bad sleeping night before the dive. One Dranamine, and it's all over, even in 6 feet sea; nothing!

 

[Pekka]

Hi,

I remeber experiensing some nausea while diving.. One reason, not enough water. the other my wetsuit was too hot, by letting in some cold water the problem was solved...

Pekka

 

[deep thinker]

Thanx to all Ill give it a go and see what works, Ive got quite a list to go through so it might take awhile

 

[Mr. X]

Hiya

Does this happen only when the water is a bit rough or when there is a particularly large swell running??

My wife never gets sea-sick on a boat, but when the water is really rough, she does get sea-sick IN the water. Once she's back onto the boat, she's fine again. We've tracked it down to her swallowing too much sea water in those VERY rough conditions, which triggers her sea-sickness whilst diving. Its only happened twice, and on both occations there was a 25-30knt North Wester blowing coupled with a big swell. The 'tail were running at Anvil.....need i say more?? I recall waves breaking over the front of my 21' rib , and since the boat was staying close to the divers, i was almost knee deep in water INSIDE my boat!!rofl rofl Was incredibly funny watching my wife......spears a yellowtail......gets into the boat....throws up over the side of the boat.....gulp down some fresh drinking water......jumps back in!!! rofl

Regards
miles

Interesting. I get that sea sick feeling when diving in swells, especially if viz is poor (sort of hypnotic effect if you try to focus on something). Getting a mouthful of sea water definitely makes it worse. As Pekka said, wet suit too hot does it too.

What you eat the evening before & for breakfast can have an impact too. I find it best to stick to something light & familiar, & not eat (or drink) too much. I find Weetabix a good breakfast & read that some of the Oz spearos do too -- "Mackers" (McDonalds) seemed a popular alternative there too(probably due to convenience) although I now avoid a large cooked breakfast before diving, it tends to draw too much blood to digestive system.

I was always a bit susceptible to seasickness though (often caught in bad weather). If it is any comfort, Admiral Nelson apparently suffered terribly from seasickness for the first few days of voyages.