Aspiration pneumonia

[doublesunder]

Could a faulty regulator cause Aspiration Pneumonia ?

[kdupreez]

Hmm.. Very good question, my guess is Aspiration Pneumonia could only be caused if you inhaled small amounts of seawater.. i.e. a leak in your exhalation diaphragm so small that mist of saltwater is inhaled and you dont even realize it..

What about Immersion Pulmonary Edema?

Why do you ask? and what are the symptoms?

[doublesunder]

Hmm.. Very good question, my guess is Aspiration Pneumonia could only be caused if you inhaled small amounts of seawater.. i.e. a leak in your inhalation diaphragm so small that mist of saltwater is inhaled and you dont even realize it..

What about Immersion Pulmonary Edema?

Why do you ask? and what are the symptoms?

Pneumonia symptoms next day after dive. Only thing that seemed irregular about dive was a slight feeling in stomach like I swallowed seawater, but hadn't that I was aware of.

[kdupreez]

my bet is saltwater mist from your reg.. there could have been some small obstruction or something stuck on the exhalation diaphragm, so as you inhale, it doesn't seal firmly.. just enough to get some saltwater mist in there.

http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/x ... 56789/7643

To check, block your first stage opening (That goes on the tank) and suck on your second stage, it should seal pretty well.. you could even put it in a bucket of water (only second stage) and suck on it to see how well the inhalation diaphragm seals.

Either that, or any chance you have rust or oxidation in your tank? that could very well irritate your lungs.

[Joshua Smith]

Or, maybe just catching a cold after diving? It's happened to me a few times.

[LCF]

If the reg was breathing wet, yes: http://www.scuba-doc.com/saltwasp.html

It would be important to know the symptoms. Shortness of breath is less likely to be aspiration; fever and body aches, and cough, continuing over a couple of days, would be more likely.

[CaptnJack]

What are you symptoms? wheezing? crackles? bilateral or unilateral? have you had a chest xray or someone knowledgable listen to your lungs?

[doublesunder]

my bet is saltwater mist from your reg.. there could have been some small obstruction or something stuck on the exhalation diaphragm, so as you inhale, it doesn't seal firmly.. just enough to get some saltwater mist in there.

http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/x ... 56789/7643

To check, block your first stage opening (That goes on the tank) and suck on your second stage, it should seal pretty well.. you could even put it in a bucket of water (only second stage) and suck on it to see how well the inhalation diaphragm seals.

Either that, or any chance you have rust or oxidation in your tank? that could very well irritate your lungs.

Tanks went through hydro and vip process about three months ago, also dove previous weekend with no ill effects. Was thinking more along the line of a faulty second stage ?

[doublesunder]

[quote="LCF"]If the reg was breathing wet, yes: http://www.scuba-doc.com/saltwasp.html

It would be important to know the symptoms. Shortness of breath is less likely to be aspiration; fever and body aches, and cough, continuing over a couple of days, would be more likely.[/quote


Intermittent shortness of breath, wheezing, cough

[doublesunder]

What are you symptoms? wheezing? crackles? bilateral or unilateral? have you had a chest xray or someone knowledgable listen to your lungs?

Visit to the doctor tomorrow, hasnt cleared up after a week. Bilateral to lungs, unilateral to the upper torso.

[lamont]

Or, maybe just catching a cold after diving? It's happened to me a few times.

+1

get the doc to rule out all the horses first...

[CaptnJack]

A week is a fairly long time, good to go in and figure out what's growing in there.

[Joshua Smith]

Or, maybe just catching a cold after diving? It's happened to me a few times.

+1

get the doc to rule out all the horses first...

Before the zebra hunt?

[ljjames]

zebra!

"whooping cough in washington reaches epidemic levels"

http://www.doh.wa.gov/Publicat/2012_news/12-038.htm

[LCF]

Exactly, Josh.

Chances are much higher of a simple coincidence of respiratory illness after a dive.

[Norris]

Ugh I caught whooping cough about 6 years ago and it was never diagnosed. They were handing me all kinds of lung medicines after 4-5 visits. You will know whooping cough. Endless deep honking coughs. I would wake up NIGHTLY coughing and did it so often it would irritate my throat and cause it to bleed. This lasted for 3-4 MONTHS. I kid you not. Coughing pretty much all day, and no cough medicine would work as it came from deep within the lungs. After some deep research on the internets I self diagnosed it.
I wouldnt wish whooping cough (100 day cough) on anyone.

[doublesunder]

Visit to doctor today, prognosis good X-rays and Spirometry report showed nothing conclusive. No Zebra's were found lounging Attributes symptoms to Bronchitis or inhaled irritant. Both regs are in for service as precaution. Thank you everyone for your concern and responses.

[kdupreez]

Sweet! Great news that no donkeys or horses were hurt during the hunt for zebras..

and also great news that its not any virus or somethin.. hope the reg service clears that up for ya.

K

[John Rawlings]

Visit to doctor today, prognosis good X-rays and Spirometry report showed nothing conclusive. No Zebra's were found lounging Attributes symptoms to Bronchitis or inhaled irritant. Both regs are in for service as precaution. Thank you everyone for your concern and responses.

VERY glad to hear this!

[loanwolf]

Great to hear you are clear.

Question, are you taking any Statin Drugs or other medications? We have been noticing that people who are taking statins are having pulmonary edema issues when diving. Know several divers and some of my commercial friends that have had this happen. feeling short of breath during the dive, itchy lungs, coughing and in sever instances gurgling lungs at night and having to sleep sitting up. Just like having a full case of Pneumonia but no fever associated in most cases. No published medial research on it as of yet.

[fmerkel]

Hmm, that's interesting. Sounds like drug + diving induced pulmonary edema or at least a suspicion of it. Keep us posted. Lots more people diving with those kind of medications.

Back to the main topic. If you had a reg breathing so poorly that you got an aspiration pneumonia from it you should have either scrubbed that dive, or minimally you would have come up cursing the damn thing and would not have even had to ask this group if there was a problem. It takes an uncomfortable load of saltwater to kick off a pulmonary 'near drowning' response unless the water is also loaded with pathological bacteria, which is a different problem.

In the same general notion I'm not sure people are aware of the persistent, low-grade nasty biological material that accumulates in a 2nd stage. Rinsing alone is not nearly good enough to get it out. If you have a clear mouthpiece you can see the red crud (serratia marcescens) growing in it. Lots of other fine stuff too. It's growing everywhere even if you can't see it. I recommend everyone should, remove the mouthpiece, open up the 2nd stage, and scrub everything well with a soft toothbrush + soap and warm water at LEAST 2x/year. More often won't hurt. Annual servicing is just not going to touch this for > 3/4 of the year.
Then soak the entire assembly in 50:50 white vinegar: water for 30" if you want to disinfect it. Not absolutely necessary but might make the squeamish reading this feel better. What you are really looking for is dinner plate clean.