Sinusitis and flying: a bad idea
Sinusitis and flying is a bad idea. why is it a bad idea? If you don’t mind the pain, if you don’t mind the headaches and the pressure, and if you don’t mind the possibility of a ruptured eardrum, then go ahead and fly. If you care about those things, then flying with a sinusitis is a bad idea.
How can flying make all those things happen? The best way to illustrate this is to explain what I saw happen the other day when I was on a flight home. I had been drinking a bottle of water. It was about 25 percent full when I had enough and put the lid back on to close it. I quickly forgot about it until we landed.
When we landed, I emptied all of the personal items that I had placed in the seat pocket in front of me, and one of the items that I took out was the partially used water bottle that I had sealed during the flight. The bottle was almost crushed. I looked at the bottle and chuckled because the crushed bottle was a perfect example of what happens inside your head when you fly with an infection.
You see, your sinuses are open-air cavities in your head. They are air spaces. One thing that air naturally wants to do is be in balance. The air pressure in your sinuses should be equal to the air pressure around you.
When you have an infection, you have blocked airways and swollen membranes. Swelling and blockages prevent air from the sinuses from flowing freely. When the air pressure outside your head increases, such as when you land, the air in your head must be supplemented with outside air until it reaches the same pressure.
When you have sinusitis and the air is blocked, you begin to feel pressure build up inside your head as the air tries to balance itself. The increased outside pressure begins to squeeze the tissues in your head like it squeezed the sealed bottle I described earlier. You begin to experience what is known as a sinus contraction. It can become very painful.
The only way to stop the pain and pressure is to equalize. If there is a blockage that will not happen. You could find yourself experiencing a severe headache.
Your inner ear is close to the sinuses and is subject to the same problems. If you have blocked sinuses, chances are you also have blocked ear canals. If the pressure differential between your head and the outside pressure is strong enough, your eardrum could rupture.
About the only thing you can do if you’re stuck in a situation where you have to fly with sinusitis is use a decongestant. The decongestant should open up enough of the blocked areas to allow your head to balance. Be careful, many decongestants don’t last long. If you take a decongestant at the start of the flight, make sure it lasts at least as long as the flight itself.
The changes in pressure experienced during the flight can cause severe pain and damage if you have a sinus infection. Sinusitis and flying is a bad combination. Avoid it if you can. If you must fly, take a decongestant that will open up your airways during the flight.