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Post by DiveNomad on Nov 8, 2004 12:39:14 GMT -5
I suffer more ore less year around from allergies/hayfever.Is there anybody with a good allround medication or tips for me?I don´t wanna give up diving due to a minor problem.
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steve75
Barracuda
Incompetents invariably make trouble for people other than themselves
Posts: 89
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Post by steve75 on Nov 8, 2004 13:33:37 GMT -5
HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH! By John Meyer
Our health is something that we generally take for granted. As a matter of fact, many people tend to show up for work or participate in their normal activities even when they know that they are sick. When it comes to diving, people behave much the same way. They know that they are ill but they are bound and determined to dive! Maybe they should reconsider the idea of diving when ill and look at the differences between going to the office and going underwater. Colds, Hayfever, and Allergies Let's start with the common cold. We've all had them and the symptoms can range from mild (itchy throat with mild sinus congestion) to extremely severe (complete congestion of what seems like every orifice in our head as well as stuff being coughed up from our lungs). Congestion can also result from allergies and hayfever. Since congestion is the nature of the "beast", it has the potential to block the path that we use to get air into and out of the body air spaces. This can result in three possible consequences:
1. A squeeze 2. A reverse block (or reverse squeeze) 3. Lung overpressurization
In a squeeze, we are unable to equalize body air spaces upon descent. This results in pain and in something called "barotrauma" ("baro" for "pressure" and "trauma" for "damage" or "injury" to the body or tissues in the body). Depending on the location of the congestion and the severity we have the potential to injure the ears, sinuses, eyes, or lungs.
We are all familiar with congestion in our ears an the inability to equalize so we won't spend much time on this one. Suffice it to say that if you can't equalize you should abort the dive. Continuing on the dive when you feel pain in your ears can cause damage that could result in a hearing loss and would certainly require medical attention, as well as a lot of time out of the water to allow it to heal.
Sinus squeezes are less common but should also be considered serious. If you cannot equalize your sinuses upon descent, you will feel pain behind your eyes. Swelling and damage to the tissues in your sinuses can also result. Again, you're in for a trip to the doctor and time out of the water.
A reverse block occurs when you ascend from the dive and the air that has been added to the body air spaces to equalize the pressure cannot escape and causes the tissues to stretch due to expansion. This condition is just as painful and serious as the squeeze that occurs on descent. Since we can't abort an ascent (we're probably low on air and need to get to the surface) we now have a problem to resolve. Hopefully, stopping our ascent, descending a few feet and then coming up slower will solve the problem. If it doesn't, you're probably going to be visiting your doctor again.
There is an additional concern on ascent other than our ears and sinuses: our lungs. If we breathe continuously (normal breathing) our lungs are automatically equalized to the surrounding pressure by the regulator. If we have a cold or other respiratory disorder, such as asthma, we could possible have some congestion that would block off an area of the lung and cause difficulty in allowing expanding air to escape. This could result in an overpressurization injury to that area of the lung. This is why there is so much concern about persons with asthma diving. Each person with asthma should be evaluated by a doctor to determine the cause (some asthma is triggered by breathing cold, dry air- sounds like scuba, eh?) and severity. You should consult with a physician knowledgeable in diving medicine about diving when asthma is a consideration.
Severe squeezes, reverse blocks and potential lung over pressurization injuries can be avoided by not diving when you have a cold or other congestion. There is a common practice among divers to use Sudafed and decongestant sprays, such as Afrin. This should be avoided. Medications wear off over time and when used as a regular preventive nasal sprays can cause a condition called "rebound congestion" in which the medication wears off more rapidly the more often the person uses it and congestion is much worse after the rebound.
If you have a cold, allergies or hayfever or feel as though you may have a problem with your ears, sinuses or lungs, you should consult a doctor knowledgeable in diving medicine. Some doctors, not familiar with diving medicine, will recommend the use of over-the-counter treatments for certain complaints. A prudent diver will double check with the consultants at Divers Alert Network for their recommendations. Proper medical review and the advice of a doctor knowledgeable in diving medicine should be obtained by persons with lung related medical conditions.
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Post by Helge on Nov 17, 2004 8:55:05 GMT -5
Ask your doctor for making a "hypo sensibilisation therapy" which works absolutely great! You will get for approx. 3 years once a month a serum injection which is specially designed for your special kind of hayfever (so your body gets used to the heyfever allergenes and does not react anymore if getting contact). I had hayfever for 3 years so badly (suddenly, never before had any problems) that I had to get regulary Cortison injections just to not commit suicide. After just one year of injections I had no heyfever anymore at all, but I had to continue 2 furtzher years with the injections to make sure it will not come back. Great stuff! Try this instead of taking medicaments for all your life! b.r. helge
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