Nasal obstruction in deep water diving
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34631/sporl.15Keywords:
deep water diving, nasal obstruction, nasal peak flow, preventionAbstract
Introduction: Diving has become increasingly popular with time, with an increase of associated pathologies. This issue is especially important in deep diving, where there is less experience and absence of published data. The lack of information is even more concerning when dealing with professional military divers, who are at increased risk, given their higher exposure to diving and the specific nature of activities performed.
Material and Methods: We aimed to characterize the nasal airflow of military divers participating in an international diving exercise occurred in Portugal between September and October 2010, and performing daily deep dives.
Results: We studied 35 divers, submitted to a daily maximal inspiratory nasal flux measurement (nasal peak flow) and to a nasal congestion evaluation questionnaire, before and after each dive.
Conclusions: In a population mostly characterized by basal normal values, the global fall in the peak flow’s values points towards the need for close follow-up and planning of preventive strategies, in order to avoid accidents and provide better quality of life to this population.
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