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How to manage with involuntary swallow
reflexes during descent after taking the last
mouthfill
For several years I had problem to manage with involuntary
swallow reflexes during the mouthfill, particularly in cold water
or when the temperature decreased at depth. Swallowing during the
mouthfill is course not good since that make me loose the air in
the mouth which prevent further descent. Interestingly, I only
heard about two other freedivers having the same problem but I am
convinced that there are other freedivers out there with the same
dilemma. Over the years I got several friendly advices from
freedivers which claimed/thought that the reflexes depended on
contractions at depth, that I was not relaxed enough, that I
loose the air because I don't put my chin against the breast
during descent or that I simply could not master the mouthfill
technique. However, I never had problems to master the technique
by it self. For instance, if I filled the mouth on the surface, I
could easily equalise the ears and mask with that air to around
17-18m (if I did not got any swallow reflexes during the descent)
which theoretically would be enough to equalise to around 100m
when taking the mouthfill at 30m. During several years, I tried
to manage with this problem during the deep dives which in Sweden
means "not so often" due to the cold climate. I knew
that the problem depended on cold water in the face which
probably triggered cold receptors and ended up with swallowing
reflexes.
Recently, I have learned how to get around this problem and want
to share my experience with others having the same problem. Since
we all are a little bit different anatomically, this may not work
for everyone.
I started to put my face in a bowl of ice water for 10min every
day. When I put my face in the water with closed eyes and the
mouth filled with air, I instantly get swallowing reflexes. After
some time, the reflexes subside. However, when I open my eyes, I
get a new series of reflexes which is augmented if I move my face
in the water making the cold water flow over the face. In the
beginning I hoped that with this approach, I could get rid of the
reflexes after a few weeks of training or so. However, this was
not the case and instead I tried to see if I could swallow
without loosing a substantial amount of air although I have tried
this earlier in the open water without any success. The
continously ongoing reflexes when I put my face in the bowl made
it easy to evaluate every new approach which was more efficient
than during a deep dive every third day or so during the summer
in the open water. Finally, I learned how to deal with this
problem. I discovered that if I broaden my tongue and press (not
with extreme force) it to the bottom of the mouth and at the same
time in the direction of oropharynx, I could manage to swallow
without loosing a substantial amount of air. This position of the
tongue has to be maintained during the descent since it is too
late to reposition the tongue when the reflex hits. The
disadvantage is that when the amount of air in the mouth is
decreased deep down, you have to let go of this position of the
tongue to be able to use the last air for equalisation. Cold
receptors are more sensitive to the change of temperature than
temperature it self. Therefore, one can hope that the cold
receptors are blunted at this point and one can equalise until
the air is completely used up.
This specific position of the tongue may not help all freedivers
with similar problems. However, I can recommend this approach
with ice water to try out the best solution for your self to
manage with similar problems. |
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