3 Tips for Flying with Sinus Problems
Are you expected to fly in the near future? Maybe your best friend has a wedding coming up and it’s a destination wedding that requires air travel. Or maybe you have an important business meeting on the other side of the world and it could mean landing a nine-figure client for your company. But you currently have allergies and other sinus problems and you know your flight is going to be absolute misery.
How do you fly when you have sinus problems? There are some tips that can definitely help you alleviate your suffering. You’ll learn how to treat chronic sinus conditions in CT if you speak to expert ENTs in the area. Or even better, if you have a deviated septum or blocked nasal passages creating pressure issues, the best surgeons for rhinoplasty North Dallas has to offer can certainly lend a helping hand.
Or maybe you like to fly by the seat of your pants – pun intended! And instead of meeting with a qualified medical practitioner, you’d rather attempt alleviating your sinus pressure with DIY methods. If that’s you, stick around to discover some of our best tips below.
Tip #1: Decongestants Can Help Relieve Sinus Pressure
Taking decongestants is one of our best tips for improving ear, nose, and throat health while flying. In fact, it’s recommended that you wait about an hour before your flight is supposed to take off and take the decongestants to relieve sinus pressure and pain.
What should you take? Two good options include Codral and Sudafed. They aren’t as good as they used to be because they no longer contain pseudoephedrine unless you specifically request those products from the pharmacist. Otherwise, you’ll be able to take other versions that work and dry up your sinuses but they don’t provide the extra kick that many people often enjoy.
Tip #2: Use Nasal Spray or Nose Drops before Your Flight
Sometimes during the middle of a flight, you’ll suddenly begin to experience pain due to your sinus troubles. Instead of suffering the entire time while flying, you have an opportunity to do something about it in midair.
Your best bet is to make sure you have nose drops and/or nasal spray available in your carry-on bag during the flight. If it’s an international flight you should put this medication into a plastic bag. But ultimately you should have these options with you to help relieve your pain in case problems start while you are flying to your next destination.
You can use the nose drops her nasal spray to clean out your sinus cavity and clear up the troubled areas. By doing so during the flight, it should only take a brief period of time before the pain begins to subside and you start to feel like your old self once again.
Tip #3: Consider Trying the Valsalva Maneuver
What is the Valsalva maneuver? It’s very similar to blowing your nose but instead of blowing your snots into a tissue you are actually going to pinch your nostrils close and gently blow your nose at the same time. If you do this while flying it’s quite possible that you’ll be able to make your ears pop and you’ll hear a squeaking noise which is ultimately relieving pressure off of your sinuses.
This maneuver is used by divers, people that fly often, and anyone else that suffers from these typical sinus and ear problems. This maneuver exists because it works so you should definitely use it because it could help provide serious pain relief during your flight.
Final Thoughts
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that there are a few things you can do to relieve sinus pressure and pain while flying. We’ve recommended three foolproof tips that work like gangbusters today and we highly recommend trying them to see if they can help improve your condition, even if they only work just a little bit. You’ll feel better and once the pain subsides you’ll be a lot happier so it’s definitely worth it to give them a shot.
