Hookah Diving and Motion Sickness

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

What the OP was describing was motion induced vertigo--in some people (including me) the gyrations involved in going upside down to clean the bottom with a snorkle will displace the rocks in their inner ears, causing vertigo symptoms. Read about the Epply maneuver for BPPV (which is designed to move the rocks back where they belong) and you can see why going upside down and spinning can cause nausea. The nausea can be aggravated by repeated hyperventilation.

The good news is that you can avoid the gyrations if you use a tank or hookah to clean the bottom.

The good news is that

Very interesting. I am, of course, hyperventilating before each dive, so that may be exacerbating things.

I keep a sheet hung over the side so that each time I come out I can hold the sheet, turn my back to the boat and stare at the horizon. The real killer is getting back in the boat. I board via the dinghy, belly first. I need to do this while watching the horizon. I get really spun around if I stare at the bottom of the dinghy after coming out of the water.

[JPA Cate]

cwyckham,

You might find it interesting to read up on the Epley treatment. It would be lovely to get rid of the problem entirely. It would seem that once the canaliths are back where they belong, then the diving would not bother you.

Good luck with it.

Ann

[StuM]

The OP talked about "nausea", "motion sickness", "2-3 hours to recover".

That doesn't sound like BPPV to me, BPPV results in short, rapid onset episodes of intense vertigo which pass rapidly, not sea-sickness like symptoms. It also causes the vertigo with any sudden movement in the wrong direction like rolling over and getting out of bed. Not after prolonged activity as described by the OP.

If it's not BPPV, the Epley manoeuvre will be of no benefit.

However, if it is BPPV I can personally recommend the Epley manoeuvre. It immediately resolved the problem for me.

[Jd1]

A bit of a follow-up:
I have now used the Airline Hookah twice and managed to loose equipment on both occasions I have also lost some of my stomach content twice .... I am still working on getting my buoyancy sorted out but it would appear that the movement of the boat on the water surface with me being relatively stable causes the nausea. Once my stomach starts to feel queasy, it takes a couple of hours to feel normal again.
One interesting experience - I was working on changing shaft zincs when I dropped my allen wrench. I immediately dove after it and caught it but that stunt caused immediate nausea.
I will be trying different over the counter motion sickness pills to see if I can come up with something that is effective but doesn't impair my judgment under water.

[fstbttms]

That's a shame. Hope you get it sorted but the reality is that not everybody is suited to the work.

[downunder]

No 1. Most likely

Sounds as if you have got lazy sinuses with incomplete equilization of your sinuses causing the nausea.

When iIwas freediving as a sport I would take preventative medication to help dry out the sinuses. Doesn't take much mucus to cause issues.

NO2 Possibility of contaminated air with hookah. Test air.

Cheers

[hellosailor]

jd-
Something a marine aviation mechanic who used to fly the Pacific taught me "because you can see everything you drop a hundred feet down on the bottom, and there's no way to reach it" you put a lanyard on EVERYTHING that goes near the water, or in it. Yes that can be a PITA but it helps with dropped stuff. You can sometimes take some mesh (onion or potato bag) and put a frame around it, under your work area although that's often not possible.

About 1/3 of the OTC stuff works for about 1/3 of the people about 1/3 of the time (G) so it is worth trying different things. Read the ingredients, a number of the products are actually the same thing. And one of the oldest is plain ginger. You can find all sorts of ginger tea, ginger candy, even ginger capsules these days. Too much may make you burp and irritate your stomach, but it isn't just a folk remedy. The ginger is what is called a "rubefacient" it dilates the capillaries and that increases oxygenation as the bloodflow is increased to the entire body. There's objective science behind it, and if you give it 20-30 minutes to get into you before you go, that may do the trick.

But if the boat is bobbing around that much you'll probably also be knocking your head into it. A neoprene diver's hood, or two watch caps, helps cushion the banging.