Flying poorly (tomorrow) ?

Phone 111 and get a referral to an out of hours dr. Sounds like you have a sinus infection. All the over the counter meds won’t help except a bit with symptom control. You still have time to do this.

Your h can’t be a parent to his child? That needs fixing asap, seriously!

otherwise, go, you’re probably going to get better v soon. It’s not long haul or remote.

Another vote for the Sudafed nasal spray (or a generic equivalent). Can you get to an out of hours pharmacy and see if they suggest anything stronger. The off the shelf Sudafed has very little evidence to back up its claims but the spray does.
Also steam can be really helpful as well as gargling with salt water. I had something similar and it was horrendous but steam and gargling did genuinely help. The steroid spray might help to clear up residual sinus pain afterwards so is probably worth packing too.

Be careful with Sudafed because it can have a stimulant effect and after a day or two on it I can't sleep and feel a bit wired to the moon

Yes, it can make you feel a bit whizzy.

Pharmacist?

My sinuses are permanently damaged due to an undiagnosed perforation. It left long term pain, Sudafed are the best thing invented. I cannot take anti inflammatory ibuprofen either but have no issues taking Sudafed non drowsy.

The OP went with sinus pain so bad she thought she would vomit.

Be careful with Sudafed because it can have a stimulant effect and after a day or two on it I can't sleep and feel a bit wired to the moon. It might be enough to get you through the flight though and hopefully once you are there you can rest and recuperate. Maybe wear a mask on the flight to help prevent passing it on too! I hope you feel better soon.

Try Sterimar nasal spray. It's a nasal cleanser rather than medication. Sainsburys, Boots etc sell it. You will probably pay a lot less in Europe (I did). It just washes out your nose. You will probably be able to use it alongside your normal nasal spray just at a different time. On the flight try menthol/spearmint chews.

Well clearly I'm not putting off people going am I, if the op went with symptoms of a cold!

Have you tested for covid? Only asking because when we last had it (earlier this year) it really impacted DP's sinuses and it had never done that before. If it was, you'd also have a condition to report for insurance. Might be worth checking.

Nothing to do with disease progression, or an infection that was already brewing??

Sorry if this has already been suggested…go to the pharmacy and ask for the Sudafed in the blue and white box. You can’t buy it off the shelf, it’s kept behind the counter. It is a little red pill. That’s the proper decongestant stuff. There’s no ibuprofen in it and it’s fab. I don’t bother with the usual stuff. And then steam inhalations (bowl, hot water, face over bowl, towel over head.)

Good luck to you.

Why?

What's the difference between influenza and a covid?

And, for our family, a trip abroad is such a huge treat. We havent actually been in 6 years (DS 4 has never been on a plane)
Numerous reasons why that is not all money related - we could afford it.

So, if it was me I would go. It would take a lot for me to cancel a holiday. I would obviously feel horrid for a few days but I would make it clear to DH if I needed it I would be taking rest where I could

BUT ultimately it is up to you. As you say I highly doubt you would get anything on insurance. My friends husband was admitted to hospital with sepsis 2 days before their trip (hes recovered thankfully) and it took MONTHS for them to get their holiday money back from insurance...

A girl in my daughter’s class has Leukaemia and despite wearing a mask, alongside lots of precautions on both the parents’ part and measures taken by the airline to try keep them separate, they decided to take her to Disney in Paris for her Make a Wish trip and surprise surprise, an entire family got on with what sounded like colds and coughs and sure enough the day after, their DD was in intensive care in Paris.
So incredibly selfish
Edited to add that she made it thank god. Trip completely lost though.

Take decongestant tablets. I usually take them for flights because I usually get painful ears otherwise and I reckon they will help with your issues. But they are already in some cold remedies so watch you don’t take two products with them in accidentally.

Highly contagious illness.

For the love of God.

Test for Covid.
Make your decision based on those results.

Stop putting people off going to the GP. It’s not the general public ‘s fault that the NHS is disorganized and overrun

Don't miss your holiday for this. I've gone on holiday feeling like death warmed up before...once with a 4.5h solo flight, once on a camping trip to the Netherlands with the family that involved a 12 hour drive. Both times I felt much better within 24h of arriving and was glad I didn't cancel.

If you do fly, for the love of Mike, wear a mask!

Please, please do not get on an enclosed, sealed aluminium tube with a highly contagious illness, there could very well be immunocompromised people trying to enjoy a summer holiday. If they get something it could be seriously bad news.

Sinusitis is not infectious and OP has had the cold for over a week so again would not be infectious.

Maybe because your symptoms were different?