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Christian Gerzner wrote: > > Hi, > > Now I never have nor will take any of this stuff but I was interested in > this post by Fergus Taylor <ftaylor@pa*.co*.uk*> (not Tom Mount (???) > but quoting him) on http://www.divernet.com/forum/medforum.html: > > > CAUTION! DO DECONGESTANTS THREATEN YOUR DIVE SAFETY? > > By Tom Mount. Many of us over the years have evolved to diving drug > > junkies. We begin our dive day with a mixture of coffee, aspirin and > > Sudafed. In recent months several accidents and near misses have > > produced concern as to the effects of Sudafed and other decongestants on > > divers, especially while deep diving and/or gas diving. However the > > same concerns have also been observed on more shallow air dives. The > > opening point of concern occurred early this summer. An EANx cave > > diver died on a dive well within P02 limits. This was within commonly > > exceeded air P02 dives. It was noted that the divers blood gases > > contained a high level of pseudoephedrine, a major ingredient in Sudafed > > and associated generics. We vaguely questioned if this may have > > contributed to, or even caused the accident. A diver using air died while > > cave diving in Missouri recently. Per his companions he called the dive, > > then bolted! He had taken Sudafed prior to the dive. On one other > > occasion he had exhibited the same behavior and survived. Before that > > particular dive he had once again used Sudafed. Early this summer a > > diver accustomed to diving to 160 feet (48 meters) went almost comatose > > on a dive. His two companions had to maintain his regulator and assist > > him to shallower water. The only thing he had done different than normal > > was to take Sudafed prior to the dive. A Trimix diver on a dive with a > > reasonable END felt he was losing it. The diver called the dive and made > > a controlled ascent. Again the only thing different than "normal" was the > > use of Sudafed preceding the dive. A few years ago Patti Mount took a > > 12-hour Sudafed prior to diving and felt really "out of it" once at depth. > > This included feelings of apprehension and fighting to maintain > > consciousness. That was her last 12 hour Sudafed taken prior to diving. > > Patti had similar sensations on a dive, which she made after taking a > > Benadryl antihistamine tablet for a reaction to a jellyfish sting. In the > > seventies while on a saturation dive on Hydrolab, one of my dive > > partners developed a cold. The dive medic gave the diver Actifed and he > > went into a coma for two days finally coming out of it once we were well > > into decompression. Early this year after taking a Sudafed prior to a deep > > dive I experienced what I attributed at the time to narcosis, however it > > was the most severe narcosis I have ever had at a much shallower dive > > than I routinely make. Since I was on a light Trimix mixture and not air l > > can only attribute this to the Sudafed. From Australia, Rob Cason > > reports Oceaneering International commercial dive company banned > > Sudafed over ten years ago due to its adverse effects on their divers. > > Recent recreational occurrences in Australia as reported by Rob Cason > > IANTD Australasia, parallel those referenced above. In fact Sudafed > > warnings have likewise been issued there. The above incidences are not > > conclusive as to the adverse effects of Sudafed and/or other > > decongestants while diving. They do represent grounds for concern and > > further investigation. Gary Taylor, IANTD EANx IT#13 sent me a copy > > of the 1991 PDR description of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, > > Sudafed's active ingredient. It states: ADVERSE REACTIONS include > > nausea, cardiac palpitations, irritability, excitement, headache, > > dizziness, tachycardia, diarrhea, drowsiness, stomach pain, SEIZURES, > > slowed heart rate, shortness of breath, and/or troubled breathing; with an > > overdose add anxiety, tenseness, and respiratory difficulty. > > TREATMENT: Includes the statement, "If convulsions or marked CNS > > excitement occurs Diazepam may be used." Certainly this is food for > > thought. Personally I just gave up a ten-year habit of Sudafed diving. If > > you or anyone you know has had adverse reactions following a Sudafed > > or other "decongestant used" dive please forward this information to us. > > We will pass it on to responsible research / physiologist / physician > > personnel who are investigating this. If there seems to be a trend we will > > inform you of such in this journal. Thank you. > > Thought you'd like to know, in the event that you don't already. > > Comments anyone? BTW the forum where I found this is the medical page of > the > BS-AC. > > Cheers, > > Christian > > <The only thing between you and the path ahead should be your mind> cg Actually I take decongestants at the beginning of each dive day. On a live aboard, sometimes the congestion gets worse as the week goes along, and I will take a second dose at lunch time. The difference is I don't take any of the stuff mentioned in Christian's e-mail. I have been to a sinus specialist, had my head CAT scanned (they didn't find anything) and have prescriptions for Entex LA and Flonase. The Entex is a pill you take twice a day. the Flonase is a squirt. Never had any problems, including on deep drifts, and deep wrecks. Stop buying the crap off the shelf in the pharmacy! See a good sinus doctor. Rgds, & good diving, David -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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