My breathing problems in detail

[stellvertreter 0]

Hi there!

Had my first tandem jump last week. Couldn't enjoy the freefall because I had real trouble breathing. I know there are some older posts about that.

I tried to do everything right: Closed my mouth, turned my head to one side, tried to breathe through my nose. It wasn't that I couldn't breathe at all. More like a really thick liquid pressing against my face making it really hard to get air into my lungs.

Definitely it was not excitement, being nervous, adrenaline or anything like this. I tried it a couple of days later by sticking my head out of a car (friend of mine drove) at only 150 km/h on the 'Autobahn' (it think that's 90 mp/h :) .. I am in Germany here). It was exactly the same feeling and I was 100% relaxed. Couldn't really breathe and it felt like some thick liquid being in front of my face. What helped a little during that 'car-test' was screaming. But only for 3-4 seconds and then that strange feeling returned.

I want to try another tandem jump soon before I start to think about AFF training. Any ideas what else I could do? Screaming the whole minute is not the best thing I guess

Thanks!

[oh, another quick question: Because of that breathing problems I forgot to move out my arms during free fall. Could that have caused serious problems for my tandem master? Because he didn't even complain and said I was doing ok ;)]

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Breath through your mouth with your teeth clinched

[Kami-kaze 0]

It's the same with swimming. People say they can't breath. Breathing starts from breathing out. That's why you were ok when you screamed.
Look, you are breathing. You are not in water, although the air is more fluid like because you are hitting more air molecules, but it's still gas. You get to a point and your body will get air before you suffocate. I think it's psychological. You are out of your comfort zone. Some people don't like to have their head under water.
Maybe do the Autobahn thing and practice from breathing out- completely.
And have someone watch out for the Putzilei.

And breath thru your mouth (like swimming)

[humanflite 0]

Snorkel?

Being serious, I would say it is psycho sematic. You expected to have the same problem with your head out of the car window, and you did.

Relax. dont overthink things. You can and will breathe!

[MomDaBomb 0]

I felt the same way on my 1st tandem. I think I was thinking about breathing too much. I seriously thought I was going to pass out. My next jump I tried tilting my head back more....like I was looking up, and it helped. It also helps me to be more stable at pull time when I do that as well.

[jengre 0]

I screamed the whole freefall on my first tandem. No problem breathing at all. The nice thing is, you can't really scream out for a solid minute, so you breathe in despite yourself.

But your mouth will get pretty dry. :)

I also like to believe that my TI didn't hear me screaming the entire time. Don't anyone burst my coolness bubble, please.

[robskydiv 0]

Wow Stellvertreter! That really sounds strange to me. I've studied the way people breathe for about five years now, and I haven't come across this before.

[silent_pumpkin 0]

I felt the same way during my first tandem and was doing the head to the side thing, as well. I think it was adrenaline/opening my mouth/my sinuses hurting like sob (didn't clear enough before the jump).

For my second tandem, I made a point to breathe through my nose and only opened my mouth slightly (~clenched). I also sat next to the door and this helped to alleviate any nervousness or anxiety that may have been my problem.

If you are serious about AFF and have access to one, you may want to try a wind tunnel (iFLY). It might help with the breathing and aid you in body position prior to your first student jump.

Good luck!

[birdshit 0]

I dont think I breathed my first tandem. I did open my mouth and hit my jumpmaster with chewing gum though

[silent_pumpkin 0]

good one!
get it on video?

[apt3studiodiver 0]

I read somewhere that the more skydives you do the less you actually have to breathe. This is because a skydiver's skin becomes porous from all the wind beatings and takes oxygen in through osmosis. So just keep jumping and you'll be fine!

I normally keep my mouth closed and breathe through my nose, never had a problem, and my cheeks dont inflate up so i look silly on camera, after all that is the most important thing, right?!

www.apt3studios.com
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D.S. # 4321

[moto89 0]

I suspect it is a case of you over thinking things. My best bet is that on an AFF jump where you have things to focus on you will not think about breathing once, and it will just happen.

Less talking, more flying.

[Wharewaka 0]

When it's cold I can find it a bit tricky some days to breath, what I do I just breath out and the it's fine to breath in. So if you find it hard to breath, breath out completely then breath in and do this a few times and it might be a good technique for you. If it happens to me it's the first jump of the day and it is a bit colder than I expected.

[bqmassey 0]

I had the same problem on my first three jumps.

I did two tandems a year ago. On the first one (my first jump ever), I couldn't breate at ALL. Once we got on the ground, I casually mentioned to my instructor that I didn't know that a person can't breathe at terminal velocity. He laughed, and told me a human CAN breathe just fine falling that fast, I just wasn't doing it. On my second tandem (same day), I forced myself to breathe. It was still very difficult, but I was able to.

Last weekend I did my first two AFF jumps. On the first jump I had the same problem, I couldn't breathe. I remembered what my tandem instructor had told me, and was able to force myself to breathe again. The second jump I was able to breathe completely naturally, without even thinking about it.


For the jumps that I DID have trouble, I found that breathing in wasn't the problem. I just wasn't breathing OUT. It's hard to bring in more air if you don't get rid of what's in your lungs. Once I started forcefully exhaling (in a way similar to blowing out candles) untill ALL of the air was out of my lungs and I couldn't blow out anymore, I was able to catch my breath.

Good luck! Let us know how your next jump goes.

[Staso 0]

full face helmet

--
it's not about defying gravity; it's how hard you can abuse it. speed skydiving it is ...
Speed Skydiving Forum

[birdshit 0]

Quote

good one!
get it on video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTo6nTc2HxE

[silent_pumpkin 0]

I didn't see the gum going out, but you definitely weren't chewing it at landing. Are all S. Arizona videos edited that way? Just seemed like hella film for the ride up, maybe I'm used to quick convos and main footage of freefall/landing...

[stellvertreter 0]

Quote

I just wasn't breathing OUT. It's hard to bring in more air if you don't get rid of what's in your lungs. Once I started forcefully exhaling (in a way similar to blowing out candles) untill ALL of the air was out of my lungs and I couldn't blow out anymore, I was able to catch my breath.

Thinking about it now, it seems that this was my problem!! Like others here already said, it's important to breathe out! With that air pushing against my face I had the feeling that there was so much air and I think I was only trying to breathe in. In this context it makes also sense that screaming helped (one of you also mentioned that). Next time I will focus on breathing out!
Thanks all! I will let you know.

Too bad it's winter here now and the next season starts in April. However, I will visit the only windtunnel here in Germany a couple of times I guess. There are experienced instructors and it might also help to prepare for AFF training :) ... and I can learn to breathe

[JohnMitchell 14]

It's not an uncommon complaint that all the air rushing into your face makes it feel like it's hard to breathe on the first tandem. Some say it's related to the reflex that makes you hold your breath when you dive into cold water. Most people get used to it in anywhere from a few seconds to a few jumps. We advise passengers that they can hold their hands underneath their chins to slow down the air flow.

[Jumper-Brown 0]

Sorry I'm a tad late to the party here, but I just had my first ever jump this past Saturday. What I've read here is exactly what I experienced on that jump - a tandem btw. All of the possible solutions make perfect sense though. I have to wait until March/April for my DZ to reopen (stupid winter), but I look forward to trying them out.

Additionally, in preparation for AFF, I've been arching on my floor at home (as well as reading the 2012 SIM and anything else I can get my hands on). Something else I've noticed is that my breathing feels somewhat restricted while in the arch position with my chest on the ground. I haven't done the math/research to see if the G force pressure of free fall is comparable to that of my own body weight (170lbs) . It's something interesting to ponder, however.

I'm glad to learn that I'm not the only person who had such an experience.

[hallux 0]

what you have is a common reflex response. Dont listen to people telling you dumb stuff or saying "just breathe". YOu cant for a reason that is medically sound. the good news is you can beat it by taking some advice that has already been given. Fullface helmet or a face mask. Warm weahter will not be as difficult if noticeable at all. I have the same problem in spring and fall when the temps are cooler. read this article Ive attached, it will help explain it. Seems like the skydiving community is very uneducated on this which surprises me. I have heard alot of tandems and AFF complain about it. http://ijch.fi/issues/662/662_Koskela.pdf Pay close attention to the bottom in the part called coldair-provoked lower airway reflex response.

john mitchel is right about holding your hands under your chin as well. He seems to be familiar with the reflex issue you are speaking of

[Jumper-Brown 0]

That was enlightening. Last August I started running 3-5 miles, 3 times a week. In the beginning, I saw my time, speed, and overall endurance improve. By the time January hit (prior to injuring my knee), I experienced a noticeable drop in performance. I simply attributed this to over-training - I was also involved in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the time.

To provide some perspective, I live in Baltimore. The temperatures here during the winter stay in the 30-40 degree range. I never once considered the cold air, along with other mitigating biological factors could be the cause.

I was aware that the cold air made my lungs feel "tight", but didn't think anymore of it. It really makes me look back on that. I do all my exercising indoors these days, but I'll keep this in mind when I start AFF.

Thank you for the information.

P.S, During my first (and so far only) jump, I spent at least half of free fall with my hand over my mouth and nose, creating a kind of "meat mask". It helped with my breathing but I must say it didn't help out my video/photos. I've added the hand under the chin method to my notes in the new marbled composition book I have for skydiving.

[pchapman 261]

Quote

what you have is a common reflex response. Dont listen to people telling you dumb stuff or saying "just breathe".

The paper is indeed useful to clear up understanding of what happens to your airways if, say, you are jogging in the middle of winter.

Now I may be a bit dismissive, but tandem students do need to "just breathe"!

If it is a bad reflex response, they have to get over it. It is just as stupid as a reflex response of kicking legs when leaving the aircraft. Understandable for humans on an evolutionary basis, but still something to get over, that they can get over -- if they are a healthy individual.

Rarely are students in really cold weather, well below freezing. And only a small proportion are going to be asthma sufferers with a specific medical sensitivity.

Maybe I skimmed the paper too quickly, but a telling point about short term cold air exposure is:

Quote

It seems that the reflex bronchoconstriction provoked  by  facial  or  upper-airway  cooling  is too mild to cause breathing difficulties in  a  person  with  near-normal  lung  function.   

Still, it is worth keeping in mind the very cold air in the face (including the wind chill) can cause some small difficulty breathing, and I suspect that that then causes magnified distress in some individuals for whom this is unexpected. The feeling of not being able to breathe can be extremely unpleasant. You don't see licensed skydivers complaining after winter jumps, so it isn't as if there's a physiological problem for most people.

For those places that do jump with students or tandems at well below freezing, or even just in cold weather it could be something to brief students on -- that would help avoid distress at the unexpected reaction. It's an issue instructors may not realize because it doesn't apply to them. The paper also notes that the effect may be stronger for older people.

It is useful for skydiving instructors to be aware of the medical aspect of this.

[pookieland 0]

You should take up Bowling

Stop Touching Me!!!

Muff Brother# 4466

[Bertt 0]

When you skydive, your chest won't be on the ground. (OK, that was sarcastic, but..) When you freefall, the air pressure is on your whole body - chest, legs, arms. The floor has to support your whole weight on a small contact patch. Your breathing isn't physically restricted in freefall like it is with your body weight concentrated just below your diaphragm while arching on the floor.

You don't have to outrun the bear.