Scuba Diving and mask squeeze (according to a scuba instructor)
You’re descending into the underwater world and taking in all the new sites, when you start to feel your mask tightening. What happened? Did your dive buddy decide to play a joke on you and tighten your mask straps? Most likely no. What you are experiencing is mask squeeze. Below we will discuss how mask squeeze happens, how to deal with it and what injuries can occur if you don’t address it.
Cause
While fish can see underwater, us humans need air to see. Our scuba mask gives us that pocket of air so that we can fully appreciate the underwater environment.
As we learned in physics class, according to Boyle’s Law, when you increase the pressure on a gas, it’s volume will decrease. So as we are descending underwater, the pressure is increasing and the volume of air in our mask is decreasing and causing our mask to tighten.
Actions for Relief
Dealing with mask squeeze is very simple. As you are descending, exhale air out of your nose into your mask nose pocket to equalize your mask. Also, if you don’t mind some water in your mask and are good with mask clearing, you can also slightly pull your mask away from your face.
Mask squeeze is the reason we dive with a scuba mask that has a nose pocket, as opposed to swim goggles, that do not have a nose pocket. The only way to equalize swim goggles is to pull them away from your eyes, which will flood the goggles with no way to clear them. Good luck seeing anything after that!
Injuries
As you descend and the volume of air in your mask decreases due to increased pressure, you will begin to feel a suction on the area of your face covered by your mask. This will include your face, eyelids and eyeballs. Mask squeeze can cause your mask to leave pressure marks on your face where the mask has tightened. It can also cause some bruising and swelling on your face and for your eyes to become bloodshot. Severe mask squeeze can cause extensive capillary damage, to the extent that the entire whites of your eyes are red. You may also experience a nosebleed with extreme mask squeeze.
Typically, mask squeeze does not need to be treated, with the symptoms clearing up over several days. However, if you experience eye pain or vision impairment, you should see (no pun intended) a healthcare provider to be be checked out.
Wrapping Things Up
Mask squeeze is a common occurrence among divers. It is also one of the easiest issues to deal with. When descending, simply and gently blow out of your nose and you will keep the interior of your mask equalized. Watch your rate of descent so as to not drop quicker than you can equalize. Following these steps you won’t end up with red eyes after your dive, looking like you were partying too hard at the dive bar!
If You’re Looking For other Scuba Diving Tips, Check Out The Below.
- Carbon Dioxide Toxicity
- Carbon Monoxide Toxicity
- Oxygen Toxicity
- Decompression Sickness
- Nitrogen Narcosis
- Middle Ear Squeeze
- Scuba Gift Ideas
- Hand Signals
- Mask Fog
- Scuba Tank Markings
- Reverse Block
- Overexpansion Injuries
“How boring would the world be if everywhere and everyone were the same. Safe travels and good adventures.” Scuba Jay
