Surfacing with a pounding headache after a dive can actually take the enjoyment out of going underwater and should even trigger you to overlook dives or hand over diving altogether. We will hint most post-dive complications, nonetheless, again to a number of simply preventable causes. Right here, we’ll study causes for and prevention of post-dive complications.
Dive lengthy sufficient and you’ll floor with a headache at one time or one other. In line with DAN, complications are probably the most widespread complaints of divers who contact the group. To resolve the issue, it’s vital to take a look at when post-dive complications happen to try to discover a widespread trigger.
Typically, a one-off headache that goes away spontaneously after a dive, or after taking delicate headache medicine, is never a trigger for concern. Repetitive complications, or these not clearing simply, could require a more in-depth look, nonetheless.
In poor health-fitting gear
In poor health-fitting gear will be one of many principal culprits in terms of post-dive complications. New divers, specifically, usually over-tighten their masks strap, hoping it’s going to forestall water from getting into the masks. Over the course of a dive, nonetheless, the strap can put rigidity on the face and across the cranium, resulting in a headache.
One other perpetrator is perhaps a hood that’s too tight or the neck seal of a drysuit that doesn’t fairly match proper. On the similar time, a hood that’s too large is a poor insulator in opposition to chilly water and should result in an excessive amount of of the diver’s face being uncovered. A so-called ‘ice cream headache’ is commonly the consequence.
It’s value taking the time to strive on varied masks, hoods, and adjusting neck seals till they match nicely. The extra comfy you are feeling underwater, the extra probably you might be to dive extra, and vice versa.
One other ache level might be your tank valve. Particularly in case you have beforehand skilled neck or shoulder issues and really feel that your neck is in an unnatural place all through the dive, this may occasionally end in a rigidity headache. Some divers report this drawback after they begin diving in trim. Similar to holding a yoga place, your physique could take a little bit of time to get used to the place, so take a couple of minutes throughout your dive to calm down and stretch to keep away from extreme rigidity.
Sinus issues and squeezes
It’s value contemplating the place your head hurts. In case your headache manifests within the frontal space, behind your brow, for instance, poorly equalized sinuses is perhaps the trigger. Equalization could also be one of many first expertise diving college students study, however not everybody masters it instantly.
Divers might also typically dive with a slight chilly and equalize forcefully or maybe incompletely, which can result in a reverse squeeze on ascent. All these eventualities could cause complications.
Masks squeezes could also be one other trigger. In case you are task-loaded in your descent and equalizing your masks shouldn’t be but automated, a masks squeeze will manifest with some trauma round your eyes (in unhealthy circumstances, chances are you’ll find yourself with two black eyes) and with a headache. The simplest prevention is to incorporate equalizing your masks in your descent routine.
Dehydration
Dehydration performs a job in lots of dive-related issues. Particularly when tech diving or diving on consecutive days, it’s essential for divers to hydrate recurrently and stop dehydration within the first place. That doesn’t imply downing ½-gallon of water very first thing within the morning after an enormous night time out, however as a substitute hydrating recurrently and limiting alcohol, caffeine, and different diuretics to keep away from creating an electrolyte imbalance within the physique.
Dehydration has additionally been linked to decompression illness, giving divers much more cause to prioritize common and constant hydration.
Gases
Different sources of post-dive complications are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide is most frequently related to cylinders stuffed from unsuitable sources, resembling a compressor air consumption close to a busy highway pulling in automotive exhaust fumes, for instance. A badly maintained compressor pumping insufficiently filtered respiration gasoline could also be one more reason.
Carbon monoxide complications are typically extreme and will be accompanied by nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. They usually begin in the course of the dive and, opposite to minor complications, they’re not possible to disregard. Should you suspect somebody has a carbon monoxide headache, it’s finest to get the diver out of the water and provides them oxygen. Relying on the severity, you may additionally require skilled medical therapy.
Carbon dioxide complications, alternatively, are largely associated to improper respiration methods resembling skip-breathing and overexertion. Our our bodies produce CO2 once we metabolize oxygen, and it’s wanted to set off our respiration reflex. Nevertheless, an excessive amount of CO2 begins inflicting a number of issues.
Overexertion results in extreme CO2 build-up and retention in our physique. If the diver doesn’t cease to calm down, the CO2 extra can result in robust gasoline narcosis, thus negatively influencing decision-making underwater. CO2 build-up has additionally been related to the next susceptibility to oxygen toxicity and DCS.
Skip-breathing is one other explanation for CO2 retention as divers restrict the gasoline change happening of their lungs. By skipping breaths, we decrease each the quantity of CO2 that’s faraway from our our bodies and the quantity of O2 that’s inhaled and distributed from our lungs to the remainder of the physique. Within the quick time period, skip-breathing could seem to cut back gasoline consumption, however it’s not value it contemplating the implications of permitting CO2 build-up and retention.
One other consider CO2 retention is gasoline density. Related to taking dense gases, like air, to larger depths, that is particularly a priority for technical and rebreather divers.
Some divers report feeling higher when diving nitrox. Whereas there seem like fairly a couple of divers who really feel this impact, there isn’t a actual scientific proof of this to one of the best of the writer’s information. Saying that, if diving nitrox matches your dive profile, both by extending backside time or making your dive extra conservative, this ought to be sufficient cause to make use of it.
Stress and Nervousness
How did you are feeling in regards to the dive? Should you enter the water wired or anxious in regards to the dive forward, that is more likely to result in a headache. Stress itself can’t be prevented— perhaps that is the check-out dive to your subsequent qualification? Perhaps there are particular expertise that you should carry out on this dive to remain on monitor? However our response to emphasize is below our management. Guaranteeing an intensive briefing, sharing your issues together with your buddies, dive group, or your teacher will all go a great distance towards managing the stress or anxiousness you are feeling.
DCS
Most diving complications aren’t severe and are simply resolved. Nevertheless, they could be a signal of decompression illness. In case your post-dive headache accompanies a very deep or lengthy dive profile or a speedy ascent, or for those who floor with another DCS-related signs, it’s time to contact DAN or the closest hyperbaric chamber for steering.
In case you have severe issues about your post-dive complications or in the event that they develop into something greater than a minor inconvenience, seek the advice of a diving doctor for skilled medical recommendation. In spite of everything, dive journeys ought to be one thing gratifying, and post-dive complications ought to by no means destroy the enjoyable.
