Medical Questions

Period and diving

Yesterday I carried out a recreational dive at 39 mt. for a total time of 30 min. without any problems, discomfort, or indisposition. I was on the second day of my period, and I had taken only one painkiller 10 hours before diving. After about 7 hours from the end of my dive, I had two episodes of strong blood loss, almost verging on a haemorrhage. In the past I had noticed a conjunction between a heavier menstrual flux and diving, or during flights, but never in the capacity of what happened last night, nor with the resulting feeling of numbness in the legs. Even if I'm aware that there are no contraindications to diving when on my period, is there a connection among the events?

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Answer from DAN experts: 

Even if there's no solid scientific data, we are aware of occasional episodes of intensification of the symptoms of dysmenorrhea during or after a dive. Therefore, if the phenomena you describe are limited in time and have resolved spontaneously without leaving any traces, they could be defined as such. If, on the other hand, the symptoms endure, it is more difficult to think of a direct cause-effect connection with diving, and other more probable causes of menorrhagia, if not even metrorrhagia, should be excluded first.