Odd headaches while flying

chamberlain

Landing, to be specific.

I have been flying more often for work and almost every time the plane is coming in for a landing I get brief but ridiculous headache. It feels like someone is inside my head poking things with an ice pick and it moves around like the bastard is getting bored. The first time it was directly behind my right eye. Other times it has been lower. Yesterday it was in my forehead. It never lasts long, but god damn does it hurt.

Any ideas? Pressure change messing with my sinuses, perhaps?

Metalbourne

yup. That's exactly what it is. You might want to get checked out by a doctor, as it could be an indicator of a sinus problem.

You can try the valsalva maneuver while the plane is on approach, but I'm not sure of it's effectiveness on that part of your sinuses. Take some sinus medication to reduce the swelling in your sinuses, too. And take some afrin as a last resort.

The Valsalva maneuver is where you plug your nose and exhale against it in order to force air into your ears. Be careful, as you can give yourself a bloody nose or injure an ear drum by doing it

bowen

It's called airplane headache.

Usually about a half hour right? Yeah I get them too.

No real way to stop them, try chewing something that allows you to get a good bite down into it (thicker gum), I've found that can help me. Putting pressure with your jaw seems to move the sinuses a bit to relieve it. If it moves to your ear canal chewing also helps.

Bendery It Like Beckham

I always take a couple ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory when I fly, I have some serious sinus issues so planning ahead when I fly is key. Chew gum, pop your ears, and take something for your sinus swelling and it should reduce it.

chamberlain

Thanks, glad to hear I am not alone.

I am not new to flying, but this just started happening in the last few months. It really sucks when I have connecting flight.

RocketSauce

I got one when landing on my first ever flight. The pain was so intense that it felt like my forehead was cracking open. Haven't had it happen again, but I know exactly what you're talking about. I had allergy problems at the time, so my thought was that it was sinus related.

Fantasma

It would be good idea to consult a Neurologist just in case.

Mad Jazz

Eh, neurologist probably isn't necessary since there are no symptoms other than a headache, it's localized to sinus areas, and it only happens when flying. I get these sometimes myself, they're a pain in the ass, but luckily they go away pretty quickly. Anti inflammatory is your best bet, my personal picks are ibuprofen or aleve.

ceres

Nooot a neurologist. Wrong field. You want an ENT guy. What you're feeling is pressure, and that is a ear and sinus thing. I actually get them on takeoff too sometimes, although never so badly it sticks with me. If you can hold your nose and pop your ears, that can help equalize the pressure; chewing gum is another thing you can do, but I've found it less effective than popping my ears.

If it's new, may really want to check and make sure something isn't going on with your sinuses. You can definitely have sinus problems you can't feel until they get really bad.

Usagi

You might try some Mucinex and/or a decongestant, even if you're not noticeably congested

I have awful sinuses/ears, so I'll often pop a Mucinex an hour or so before a flight--dries my sinuses up like whoa and I don't get the weird pressure-changey headaches

Fantasma

A Neurologist could request a special test called computed axial tomography (CAT) to rule out something serious. I have flied many times and I have never experienced any of the symptoms he describes.

This is a copy and paste from the online encyclopedia:

"Some of the commonly encountered conditions treated by neurologists include headaches, radiculopathy, neuropathy, stroke, dementia, seizures and epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease, multiple sclerosis, head trauma, sleep disorders, neuromuscular diseases, and various infections and tumors of the nervous system."

ceres

A neurologist is not the only doctor who can request a CAT scan.. anyone who has the script code for it can do it. :P There is a thread full of people saying they *have* experienced these things from flying, and while an ENT may say "nothing wrong here, try a neurologist," they CAN treat the far more likely sinus problem.

Deadfall

I get these pretty bad if I have a cold while flying. Motrin or Aleve usually help me.

Mad Jazz

Headaches treated by neurologists are unrelated to sinuses and refractory to other treatment (usually). The description of the problem points towards sinus stuff. Ceres is right, if this is a consistent problem that's getting in the way of your activities, an ENT is who you want to talk to.

chamberlain

It's not the severity that really bothered me, it is the consistency.

Many thanks for the advice.

Blake T

Yeah I use a nose decongestant while flying, even if I'm feeling pretty ok.

Make the entire thing easier.