Hookah Diving and Motion Sickness

[cwyckham]

Funny, I've been having this exact problem recently and am just over the straight from you. I am also just snorkeling, not scuba diving.

I can work on the prop pretty well, but once I go upside down, scraping the bottom of the keel, forget about it. When I get to the surface, the world spins.

I have advanced scuba certification and have done many deep dives. I've never had a problem. It has nothing to do with depth. It may be the cold water (All my diving has been in warm water or with a hood), or it may be working inverted next to a moving boat with less than two feet of visibility.

The last couple times have been in an anchorage with the boat bobbing gently. I'm very curious to try again in a dead still anchorage and see if I have the same problem (I try not to get in the water in the marina except under dire circumstances).

[Jd1]

In my case there is no spinning involved. It's just a slowly increasing feeling of un-wellness which then gradually turns into an overwhelming need to hurl So far I have managed to not hurl (by golly, I paid $20 for that lunch and there is no way I will feed the fishes with it ) (oh, and it was a couple hours after lunch before I went into the water) but it just takes all the fun out of it. If recovery was quick then one could just schedule breaks but with recovery taking two to three hours that isn't realistic.

I do not do boat cleaning when the boat is bobbing about because it is too easy t get clonked on the head .... but it was moving maybe a couple of inches up and down so not quite ded calm.

[a64pilot]

On the ear infection thing, a 50/50 mix of alcohol and white vinegar works well, alcohol dies the ear and the vinegar is so acidic that bacteria can't grow in that environment.

[crazyoldboatguy]

"alcohol dies the ear".

I got very concerned when I read that. What does he mean? Does the ear croak? Does it change color?

I am too slow - alcohol dries the ear. Makes more sense now. Whew.

I agree. Alcohol dries the ear, vinegar changes acididity. Not sure if I would put boric acid in my ear. Not unless I had some cockroaches in there.

[JayH]

I experience something similar. When cleaning the bottom with just a snorkel I often feel terrible after only a short while and have to quit. I don't think it is entirely motion sickness, though it feels very similar.

For me, I believe it is primarily related to working hard scrubbing and scraping while holding my breath, surfacing for a few deep breaths, and then going back under.

I've never had a problem using the hookah. I work slow, breathe slow, and keep the heart rate down. I can finish the job and feel fine.

[Canibul]

For upset stomach due to motion induced vertigo, try Karo clear syrup. Start with a tablespoon, and when that stays down another. An old CoonAss captain showed me that forty years ago and I've seen it work many times. No pharmaceuticals!

I've had lots of ear infections, and have used the alcohol/vinegar mix a few times. Eventually I started using alcohol and glycerin instead, and still do.

[a64pilot]

On the day you going to fly aerobatics, you should eat only bananas for breakfast.

Sorry about the ear dieing thing, I can't type for squat

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by kentobin

In the San Francisco Bay Area.. (the) water here is rather murky with visibility of maybe 18 inches with enough light.

You must be up the river...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qzawnxVPlL0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kgPmXg1-o5g

[Jd1]

Thanks for all your input !

Based on your comments, I placed an order for an Airline 110V Hookah unit.

[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

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Jd1

Thanks for all your input !

Based on your comments, I placed an order for an Airline 110V Hookah unit.

I hope you were paying attention when some of us recommended scuba training before using hookah. It's so easy to forget to breathe after getting a mouthful of seawater while only a few feet down, then quickly making for the surface while holding your breath. I've done it myself, but thank God the scuba instructor grabbed me, yanked out my regulator and stuffed his spare into my mouth and pushed the button on it to force me to breathe.

One of the smarter things this serial dumbass has done over the past years... Was take formal scuba training.

Purchasing a hookah system without the training to go along with it is like buying yourself a ticket to the Darwin Awards.

Good luck

Ken

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I hope you were paying attention when some of us recommended scuba training before using hookah. It's so easy to forget to breathe after getting a mouthful of seawater while only a few feet down, then quickly making for the surface while holding your breath. I've done it myself, but thank God the scuba instructor grabbed me, yanked out my regulator and stuffed his spare into my mouth and pushed the button on it to force me to breathe.

One of the smarter things this serial dumbass has done over the past years... Was take formal scuba training.

Purchasing a hookah system without the training to go along with it is like buying yourself a ticket to the Darwin Awards.

Good luck

Ken

I agree. The most dangerous effect is in the first 15 feet of water depth which is right where everyone uses hookah.

If you don't hold your breath ever at all even one little bit, then you will be safe. If you need to go for the surface, hum to let a constant stream of air out.

[hellosailor]

I'm intimately acquainted with seasickness and never heard of anyone getting seasick after they've entered the water, with or without any kind of gear. In fact they teach you in SCUBA training that if you are feeling queasy, get in the water RIGHT AWAY and it will stop. (Just don't do that by going over backwards, heels over head. Don't ask me why I know that.)

I'm guessing there's something going on in your ears. Virus, inflammation, something that an eye & ear doc might know about. If it is some kind of motion sickness, there's a whole list of remedies that can help, and you can work your way through the herbs & drugs until you find one that suits you.

Wearing a wetsuit hood, which keeps the ears warmer & cuts down water circulating into them, might help.

[JayH]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

I'm intimately acquainted with seasickness and never heard of anyone getting seasick after they've entered the water, with or without any kind of gear.

Now you have.

I'm guessing your not intimately acquainted with diving. It happens. The fish love it.

[crazyoldboatguy]

One strategy I have used to minimize mal de mer in my guests on board is to encourage them to focus on the horizon. Hey, folks, count the boats out there - see that naked lady on the pontoon boat?, Look at the idiots on the jet skis, that kind of thing. The horizon is very hard to see when you are in the water. The same waves that were churning your gut when you were in the boat are still there.

I was just outside the edge of the barrier reef in Belize a number of years ago. The trades had really kicked up a swell made all the more steep and short due to the proximity to the reef wall. I noticed more symptoms when I entered the water than when on board. Glad to descend. We still felt the waves quite a ways down. I didn't feed the fish.