Water in NOSE, HELP

bhanse01 · 07-03-2007, 01:04 AM

Hello. I've always been comfortable in the water but recently I have found that I can not breath in a reg or snorkle without my mask on. Everytime I attempt to breath in my mouth a massive amount of water rushes down my nose and throat. I have tried to practice but not successful. I am wondering if anybody has heard of this and if it is trainable or if it possibly could be a physical problem. I can't find anybody else with this problem. Thanks.

Vegas · 07-03-2007, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanse01

. . . . I can't find anybody else with this problem. Thanks.

Hi! I don't have too much to offer as a solution in HOW to work through this, yet, but maybe I can offer some hope.

A good friend of mine had a similar problem and really struggled with it.
As soon as she gets back from her diving trip to Cozumel I will ask her what she did to get past it.

Dragon · 07-05-2007, 12:00 AM

Try turning your head down a little when breathing without your mask. Put your chin on your chest. This seems to help some people, I can't explain the biology here but it does work for some.

Also some people find that breathing a little extra hard through the reg when the mask is off helps to prevent water up the nose.

It is trainable and with practice it will become second nature.

**glynneco** · 07-05-2007, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanse01

recently I have found that I can not breath in a reg or snorkle without my mask on. Everytime I attempt to breath in my mouth a massive amount of water rushes down my nose and throat.

I've been reading this and rereading this and I finally figured out what's bothering me about this...."I can not breath in a reg or snorkle without my mask on"..........Why would you NOT have your mask on when you're diving or snorkling?

The usual reason people get water in their nose is they are breathing,at least a little, in through their nose. Perhaps the stress of diving without a mask is causing you to do that without your even being aware.

In any event if wearing a mask solves the problem....wear the mask!

As an aside there's a Henny Youngman joke in there somewhere....

Dragon · 07-06-2007, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glynneco

Why would you NOT have your mask on when you're diving or snorkling?

Lots of reasons - it gets kicked off, current pulls at it, it needs to be taken out from under or put on under your hood, strap needs adjusted or break, you stick your head into a cargo hold and an octopus takes it away from you. If you lose your mask at 90 feet you need to get back to the surface without breathing the ocean. This is a necessary skill.

**glynneco** · 07-06-2007, 06:11 PM

Which goes even further to my point. Stressfull situations can result in unexpected results. He states that it is a condition that has developed only recently. I suspect stress. So leave the mask on and raise the comfort level before trying the drill.

In the time that I have been diving the only reason my mask has come off is for taining purposes. It's a lot like learning to parallel park in the suburbs.

Instead of taking off the mask why not just work on letting in a little water and clearing it. Then repeat and add a little more. Come at it gradually.

He doesn't indicate his skill level or how many dives he's made.

Keep the mask on. Dive. Dive. Dive. Dive. Get comfortable and workit in gradualy.

And stay away from octpuses! Unless the're fried!

**glynneco** · 07-06-2007, 07:29 PM

Henny Youngman anyone???? Anyone??? Sheesh!!

Patient: Doc, my arm hurts when I do this.(hold it above my head)
Doctor: Don't do this. (hold arm above head)
Doctor: Stick your tongue out and face the window.
Patient: Why?
Doctor: I don't like the guy across the street.

HHHMMMM I thought so. Is there an AARP thread on this board?

Dragon · 07-06-2007, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glynneco

In the time that I have been diving the only reason my mask has come off is for taining purposes.

Keep diving.

**glynneco** · 07-06-2007, 11:58 PM

You know it's funny. We all dive and we all have different experiences that we draw lessons from and cause us to priortize, That said if we're lucky we don't experience the full gamut of possible failures. It's one of the things I enjoy about talking with other divers and sharing experiences. You hear a story and hopefully learn from it. The training we all take and skills we master as a result are only the beginning. The key I believe is attitude. That's why you can have someone with a fistful of C-cards and I'd hesitate to dive with them but happily jump in with a novice. The ability to demonstrate a skill in a controlled enviorment is no assurance it will work when it's really needed. Wether it's doffing a mask or an OOA. The ability to deal with stress and or task loading gives confidence. Training and practice let you do that. Reasonable confidence is what makes our sport so rewarding. While other folks are talking about their golf game or the stuff they bought at home depot for their latest home project we're telling much better stories. Twentyfive miles out from Oregon Inlet and 120ft down to a U-Boat. I love this stuff and I love talking about it with other divers.

Got any stories? I'd love to hear 'im!

**Kev Martin** · 07-07-2007, 11:40 AM

I go with training and practice every time. I firmly believe that practice, practice, practice will give you an edge when faced with those stressful situations that can sometimes arrive unannounced!!

Stories? I love stories............ Did you hear the one about the stingy Yorkshireman (we are notorious for our frugal lifestyle!!) who bought a mask on the cheap and took it with him on a trip to Belize??? No? Well, it goes something like..........

Once upon a time, a (not so charming) fellow attended a dive show. Whilst walking around the stalls he came across a chap selling very inexpensive dive masks. The masks were pretty nondescript but the price was certainly right so the fellow bought two.

Sometime in the future, our fellow was invited to take part in an expedition on a remote island off the coast of Belize. His kit was packed and pride of place was taken by his new, and as yet unused incredibly inexpensive masks.

The diving was fantastic and our fellow was somewhat pleased with himself as to his good fortune in having bought such fine masks.

During the first night dive of the expedition, our fellow began to have problems with his mask flooding. This wasn't a steady trickle which could be ignored. No, indeed. This was the real article. An immediate flooding of very salty, very irritating sea water. No amount of clearing seemed to work. Eventually, our fellow with stinging, looked around and just managing to make out the indistinct outline of his buddy decided to call the dive. On surfacing, the fellow and his buddy swam to the side of the boat and began to dekit in the water. Passing his mask up to the cox'n he passed comment as to how the dive had been quite stressful due to his wonderful new mask unaccountably leaking. The cox'n looked thoughtfully at the mask, turning it in his hands. Suddenly he brightened, telling the waterlogged fellow that he thought he knew what the problem was. Yes, indeed he was fairly certain that the unexplained leak could well have been brought on by the fact that the lens of the mask had fallen out sometime during the dive.

The moral of that story was, what could have been a very frightening experience was really just a minor irritation because of the amount of practice I had in mask removal, replace and clearing. And, of course, the fellow being a Yorkshireman certainly did not learn his lesson about the perils of buying cheap and nasty kit!!