Severe sinus pain + flying

[Snowflame]

Hi everybody this is actually my first post here!

Okay so after doing some research (googling + searching this forum) I havn't come up with any solutions. The first time I experienced this pain is when I was scuba-diving just over a year ago and pulled out of the dive it was that bad. The latest and the worst was (no joke) 2 hours ago while landing in XXXXX... I had a 14 hour flight before that which the decent was painful, but not excruciating.
The easiest way to describe the pain is having your head squeezed with a vice while a knife is being slowely pushed into your fore-head (just above your nose) and hundreds of needles being pushed into your forehead/eyes! I felt like such a tard, sobbing all the way in and seriously felt like I was going to have an aneurysm or something. Oh and I can pop my ears on command so the pressure doesnt really hurt my ears.
I fly out in little over 12 hours so please HELP!!! I have no choice to fly and I am wigging out about the decent already!

Snow

[Snowflame]

My nose has been bleeding for the past half hour for no reason... x.x
Is there ANY way to stop it from happening?(the sinus pain, not the nosebleed) or at least stop the pain?!
Also, can this cause damage?? I'm really scared that I'm going have an aneurysm

My plane leaves in a few hours!

[CarolineN]

Hi Snow - welcome to Healthy Pages

Sinus pain is most uncomfortable and flying doesn't help! Any chance of seeing a doctor before you fly - if there is no chance where you are, or of getting seen at A&E before you fly there is usually a doctor at the airport - so get there early enough to be seen before having to check-in.

Meanwhile olbas oil on a tissue to sniff is good to help open up the airways. Sucking a sweet/losenge during decent may help too. Painkillers may help for the journey.

Good luck - hope you have a safe, uneventful flight and get to see a doctor as soon as you arrive at your destination. Pain and nosebleed are warning signs of an infection - not an aneurism, but it needs to be checked out.

Safe flight - Love, Light and Healing to you.

[Snowflame]

Thankyou for your suggestions Caroline, I had a couple of painkillers about one hour from descent and had some lollies to suck on. It was still very painful but I wasn't in agony this time. I have only had one nosebleed in the days since I arrived at my destination.

Snow.

[GuildfordENT]

Hi Snow

Does this happen often? If so, you may be suffering with sinus barotrauma.
I used to see this a lot when I worked in military hospitals, especially with airmen.
Surgical opening of the sinus can be very helpful in this situation.
In the meantime, using something like Otrivine nasal drops and hour or so before taking off and landing can be helpful.

[HampshirHoney]

Hi. This is my first post and having read that so many other people suffer from the same as me I simply HAD to share a 'cure' that I have discovered. It's simple, cheap and in my case extremely effective. If your pain starts when the plane starts to descend...either chew 'airwaves' gum or suck on an extra strong mentholyptus sweet (or two) about an hour before descent. Then about 40 mins before the plane is due to land use Sudofed nasal spray. One squirt in each nostril. The container is under 100ml so clears airline 'carry on' regs easily. You can also buy Sudofed over the counter (in UK anyway). It works like a dream. I was considering giving up air travel due to the severity of my symptoms which my Doctor felt he couldn't help me with.
I figured out all I had to do was open my nasal passages (menthol sweet) and then treat with Sudofed (The boost!)
I started testing my theory on short range flights of about four hours. It worked time after time. Then in March I flew to New Zealand, 3 seperate flights, 23 hours all in all. It still worked every time, and again on the way back. Please please try this, and I hope it works for you too and you can finally enjoy flying again.