Flying And Pressure From The Cabin Maybe

[locodave]

The other day I took a flight from sydney to qld. This has happened to me before but was hoping it was a one off thing. About 20 mins before the plane landed I started to get a sharp pain in my head, and got worse and worse within minutes. It felt like my head was about to explode literally.

As I touched the area where I felt the pain coming i could feel a small lump, when I asked my girlfriend to look, she said my veins were popping out! Just on that particular side. Now I have no idea why that has happened to me twice! Just wondering if anybody has had a similar experience?

[chrisg]

The other day I took a flight from sydney to qld. This has happened to me before but was hoping it was a one off thing. About 20 mins before the plane landed I started to get a sharp pain in my head, and got worse and worse within minutes. It felt like my head was about to explode literally.

As I touched the area where I felt the pain coming i could feel a small lump, when I asked my girlfriend to look, she said my veins were popping out! Just on that particular side. Now I have no idea why that has happened to me twice! Just wondering if anybody has had a similar experience?

Dave

I think you may have mis typed this when you mean't to be ringing the DOCTOR!!!

Seriously mate get it checked out...probably nothing to worry about but you want to be sure.

Off you go...ring them now.

Cheers

C.

[locodave]

haha, yea I will, thanks mate. Just wondering if it has happened to anyone before, thats all.

[pelican]

Hi

I and some mates have had the same experience more than several times in the last few years ( never before) and many flights. One airline seems better at it!!! Don't know if they are playing with the interior pressures and the speed at which they adjust them but it is on the forehead like a "ice cream headache". My nose and eyes get irritated by perfumes and it was suggested that airlines saving money are doing fewer air cabin changes during flights so people like me who are suseptable get a larger dose of irritation. Never felt lump but seriously feels like a golf ball inserted in forehead. Feels nothing like the usual ear ,nose pressure imbalance or anything to do with pressure?

Have tried the usual being well hydrated and having some asprin in the system but not a huge change. I even tried flying without alcohol - didn't help.

If you find out what is going on I'd like to know as well. Maybe the airline knows??

Pel

PS. Probably those new "comfy "airline seats that have been ergonomically designed. I'd rather sit on a milk crate and shards of glass. Definately not for blokes more than 12 stone.

Edited October 27, 2008 by pelican

[Flightmanager]

Most likely a reaction to the cabin pressure adjustment that all aircraft go through when descending from altitude.

Cabin pressurization is the active pumping of compressed air into an aircraft cabin when flying at altitude to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for crew and passengers in the low outside atmospheric pressure.

Pressurization is essential over 3,000 m (10,000 ft) to prevent crew and passengers from becoming unconscious through the lack of oxygen (hypoxia) in the thin air above that altitude. Pressurization also removes or alleviates a number of other adverse physiological effects of altitude and increases passenger comfort generally.

On modern airliners , cabin pressure reduction is done automatically by the onboard computers , the amount of pressure predicated by the altitude of the arrival airport.

The pressure maintained within the cabin is referred to as the equivalent effective cabin altitude or more normally, the ‘cabin altitude’. Cabin altitude is not normally maintained at ground level (0ft) pressure throughout the flight because doing so stresses the fuselage and uses more fuel. An aircraft planning to cruise at 40,000ft is programmed to rise gradually from take-off to around 8,000ft in cabin pressure altitude, and to then reduce gently to match the ambient air pressure of the destination. That destination may be significantly above sea level and this needs to be taken into account; for example, El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Bolivia is 4,061 metres (13,323 ft) above sea level.

To have such a mrked level of discomfort is something that you should have investigated by your health care professional.

Ross