history of sinus problems-love the salt
water rushing through my nose…feels great~really…
fresh not so good…
pool-PLUGS!!!ugh…gross…
outdoors-no plugs since you neverhave time to put them on anyhow…indoors-yes…
nothing beats leaning over an hour or two after rolling a couple of times in the surf and having water STILL come running out your nose!!!
eeeewwwwwww
r
Plugs
I usually wear plugs when practicing…or when surfing or paddling sometime when a roll is more likely.
I find that I don’t mind rolling in salt water without the plugs.
Rolling in fresh water kind of sucks when you get water in your nose. With the cold water this winter I quit practicing without the plugs. Now when I practice rolling without them I find that sometimes blowing out works and other times I still get water in the nose so I am considering just trying to make myself get used to it and not even worrying about blowing out (I tend to rush the roll more when blowing out).
I think there is a balance between realistic practice (no plugs) and practice where you can ignore distractions (with plugs).
I roll A LOT so I tend to wear the plugs. I have found though that whenever having to roll unexpectedly when messing around practicing new skills etc. that I don’t worry too much about water in the nose and tend to come up smoothly by executing what I have practiced so many times in the past without the distraction of having water in the nose.
As we all know, fresh water is not pleasant in the nose. I think that perhaps the coldness of the water this winter (generally in the 40s here) might have made it even more unpleasant for me.
Matt
Matt
Practice vs the Real Thing
– Last Updated: May-02-07 10:56 AM EST –
First - about the ear infections. If you do enough wet work practice and are already prone to infections, it'll be at least a major maintenance issue. Get ear plugs for practice. Doc's Plugs are best. Ii isn't worth loss of hearing to get a nice roll.
As to noses, I echo as above. I cannot tolerate fresh water up my sinuses without instant pain, so always wear nose plugs or snorkel mask to practice. Salt water isn't bad at all. But the times I've gone over in a real surprise capsize, even in fresh water, I've never noticed it. I am told that WW is different, but in normal flat water you might as well wear the full protective stuff so you aren't taking on unecessary health issues.
Nose and Ear care
1) As you spend more time underwater, you will develop the ability to keep the water out of your nose and sinuses without exhaling. This just takes time. I grew up on the swimming and diving team, so I guess I was fortunate to have developed this as a kid.
Ususally, water in the nose and sinuses is not a medical problem. In fact some people with chronic sinusitis problems irrigate their nose and sinuses with CLEAN salt water. Clean fresh water, is usually more uncomfortable as it is hypotonic and in pools is chlorinated. Do be a careful about getting fresh water in your sinuses, especially in warmer climates. RARELY one can aquire amebic meningoencephalitis from fresh water immersion. This is usually rapidly fatal!
2) Ears. Plain, over-the-counter rubbing alcohol is great for getting the water out. Some people mix in a small amount of white vinegar to drop the pH too.
This is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. Please consult with your physician before putting anything in your ears or nose!
Best of luck.
I wear a mask
– Last Updated: May-02-07 11:17 AM EST –
More comfortable to me than nose plugs, and no lake water in the eyes or nose. Second the motion for ear plugs too.
nose plugs
To summarize and 2nd the above:
- Low salinity water up your nose - not good. Wear nose plugs
- High salinity water up you nose - not so bad. Wear nose plugs if you hate water dripping down your nose afterwards.
- Cold water in your ears - not good - swimmer’s/surfer’s ear. Wear ear plugs.
- “Fresh” water is most usually anything but. Wear eye protection/close your eyes when rolling.
I practice for the real world.
Granted, with enough practice, your body forgets about the nit-picky stuff like cold water on the eyes or up the nose, but I still practice like I’m “out there”. To practice, I wear what I’m going to wear on the big trips. That includes NOT wearing nose plugs or dive masks. My solution is to use nasal saline spray or the like at the take out. No problems. Oh, and I don’t open my eyes underwater without a dive mask; I roll by feel alone whether I’m “boat-snorkeling” or just rolling.
Jim
http://www.flemingcompany.com/products/OCEAN/index.htm
I don’t open my eyes either
I never do under water w/o a mask, so I don’t do it wearing one unless I consciously decide to take advantage of them to check somethng. That’s pretty rare. No problem with the transition to real water, but it means I get out of pool sessions without redeye. A couple of years ago I worried about the protection creating a problem that’d kill a roll in the real thing - but after the first few capsizes or so in flat water and in surf it became clear that was a moot point. When you gotta roll the question of confidence, or not, completely overwhelms a little water discomfort.
As to ear plugs, I just don’t see any reason not to use them liberally. WW and divers I know do so for the same reason I would - being wet isn’t a good enough reason to lose hearing if good workable plugs are out there. We are doing some moving water practice tonight - the ear plugs will go in under the hood.
Ear plugs
I started wearing Pro Plugs. My ear problems have been diminishing as a result.
I don’t care for wearing ear plugs but these are fairly comfortable and I also find that I get less dizzy from rolling when my ears are not filled with water.
I got the ones with the vent hole…not sure if those or the non-vented ones are better for paddling.
Matt
Ears
I get dizzy if I get cold water in my ears, well, actually it borders on vertigo. So if I’m paddling in cold water where there’s a significant chance of capsizing, I wear cheap foam earplugs from the hardware store. They work really well.
Same phenomenon applies to real capsizes and ears with me as with noses — in a real capsize, I don’t have a problem with getting dizzy. I just roll, and sort out what happened later. I’m sure that if I capsized three or four times rapidly without earplugs that I’d have an issue, but that hasn’t happened.
Wayne
Chesapeake bay water
plug the ears and nose. After a few years I became so sensitized I’d get an ear infection in 12hrs
simple question about noseplugs
And earplugs.
I’m used to not using either when I swim or roll. I grew up on swim teams and have spent most of my life in/around water, kayaking being a fraction of the time. Once I learned how to breathe while swimming it bacame instinctual to keep water out of my nose without a nose plug (I admit I do open my eyes underwater often but other than pool water, only sometimes do I get a temporary irritation).
If swimmers can go without nose and ear plugs, why is it necessary for most people to do so while rolling, assuming relatively clean water and no predispositions? Are ears subsceptible from any water that gets into the nose?
Pools are generally clean and warm
Swimming pools are actually quite clean with the amount of chlorine in them, so ear plugs are usually not necessary to prevent infections. Those who get infections from pools usually do so because a small amount of water gets trapped in the external auditory canal after getting out of the pool. Over time irritates the skin.
The other problem mentioned above “surfers ear” or exostoses, is due to cold. For some reason, cold temperature (usually cold water), causes overgrowth of the bones in the ear. So yeah, if in cold water, wear plugs. Most pools are not cold enough to cause this problem.
head up versus head down…
Most of the time when swimming, your head is face down into the water. I have no problems swimming without nose plugs. However, when rolling, my head is upside down looking up and whether it’s gravity or some other factor, the water just rushes right into my sinuses. If I have to roll and I don’t have nose plugs, I tend to do a backdeck roll as my head stays in the face down position and thus I don’t get water up my nose.
I keep my eyes open…
… when rolling. Wife is jealous ‘cuz she wears contacts;-)
But, after reading this thread I might start wearing some ear protection when a dunkin’ is likely.
ok
I can understand that, but I roll every time without using nose plugs. Regarding ears, during late fall or early spring I try to use a hood; recently the NRS storm hood.
I suppose like some of the other responders said, it all depends what you’re used to and in some cases where you roll, and I’m wondering if this is true if there is any inherent risk if you’re accustomed to keeping the water out of your nose from experience in the water.
agree with jay
for rolling practice, i use plugs (smiley’s are the best) in both fresh and salt water for practice, and swimmers goggles to protect the eyes in fresh water as i prefer to roll with eyes open. when you need the roll, it won’t matter as you’ll soon discover when you capsize and realize that you forgot to replace the nose plugs!
As a mostly whitewater person, I used
to feel sheepish 25 years ago when I was wearing nose plugs on the Ocoee. Now, when serious playboaters may roll many times in a day, no one thinks much about whether one uses nose plugs or not.
I always use nose plugs that I can get on or off easily with one hand, and I only wear them if playing or if running rapids where my odds of having to roll are increased. But as I get more into touring kayaks, I sure don’t anticipate wearing nose plugs unless I am surfing waves.
Nausea and light headedness
I wear ear plugs for rolling practice and ww because I found I was getting light headed and nauseous when doing a lot of rolling. Doc’s Pro-Plugs are the best. I prefer the vented ones as I can hear and the pressure seems to stay equalized.
I also either either nose plugs or diving mask when practicing rolling in fresh, pool or cold water. I also do so in ww.
Nose clips and ear plugs
I too am prone to sinus infections and “soggy ear”, and fresh water burns too much anyway.
The one time I forgot to wear them in fresh water, I still rolled up just fine, so I no longer worry about that. The pain hits right after coming up, not so much while doing the roll.
There is NO WAY I would consider forgoing either nose or ear protection in a swimming pool. Despite heavy chlorination and a clear appearance, they are notoriously dirty–too many bodies in a very small amount of water.
The only times I have rolled and/or wet-exited in the ocean I never noticed any sinus pain even with no head protection at all. It’s the one place where if I forgot my plugs, I wouldn’t care.