New Diver Shortness of Breath

Question
I started diving last week for the first time, working on my Open Water certification. Been feeling perfectly normal until yesterday when I did my first 60ft dive. As far as I know, everything went fine. I held my breath for max 2 seconds when i was completing the oral BCD inflation skill underwater at 60ft, but that was it, kept right on breathing normal throughout entire dive and feeling fine, even upon ascent. On yesterday's second dive though, which was just a 30/40 ft...i felt difficulty inhaling from about 5-10 feet below the surface upon ascent...but after surfacing, I still felt totally fine. But on my ride home yesterday afternoon shortly after the dive, and up til now (next morning), I've been feeling a bit of shortness of breath. Nothing  terrible, no chest pains or anything...just not as easy to catch a full breath as normal. Like it feels like it's taking a bit more effort than normal to breathe. I don't know if it's some sort of sub-conscious anxiety as a new diver (underwater i feel totally relaxed, even brave)....or if it's just that diving is brand new to me so maybe i'm stretching my lungs further than I ever have before (sort of like when you go to the gym for the first time and work new muscles for the first time you feel new pains)....i have a history of mild asthma (and my doctor cleared me for diving before i started)......I just want to know if any of this sounds normal or if i should be concerned and see a doctor or do chest MRI before I start my Advanced course scheduled for this week. Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer
Hi Shasta,

As I was reading through your question, I was looking for something that would give me a clue to your problem.  Your asthma history seems to be the "smoking gun" here.  I'm not a medical doctor so I can't give you medical advice however I can give you the benefit of 55 years of diving experience.  

From what you told me about your dives, I don't think you made any mistakes in your procedures and you don't seem to have any anxiety problems so I think we can rule out problems associated with those issues.

As you know, scuba air is very dry and it can irritate the linings in your respiratory tract.  This can cause excess mucous production in your nose and sinuses.  You may experience a runny nose (clear mucous) during and shortly after a dive as a result of it.  That, by itself, isn't a cause for concern but it is an indicator that your respiratory tract may be reacting to the dry air.

That leads us to the asthma concern.  Although your doctor cleared you and you indicate that the asthma is in a mild form, it's possible that you are experiencing a slight flare-up due to the irritation.  The symptoms you described would be characteristic of such a condition.

Shasta, my advice would be to revisit your doctor and tell him the same thing you told me.

In addition, you can call Divers Alert Network (DAN) and talk to their medical experts to get their opinion.  DAN's medical information number is:  919-684-2948.  There is no charge to talk to DAN and they can be very helpful.

I hope this information will help you find a satisfactory solution to your problem.

Best wishes for many long and satisfying diving experiences!!

Mike Giles
Mike's Dive Center
mikescuba.com