Flying poorly (tomorrow) ?

[SENSummer]

So we fly first thing tomorrow on a family holiday (me, hubby and two kids <6).

A week ago I started with cold and have had horrid sinus/general cold symptoms. Went to the doctors got a steroid spray (they were thoroughly disinterested as I didn’t have a temperature) but the sinus pain was so bad I felt sick. The steroid spray did very little, I’ve been struggling all week. Doesn’t seem to be improving and awful post nasal drip (tmi sorry). I just feel rubbish but it’s been a week now usually I shake things off or they at least improve. I’ve spent today in bed covered in Vicks and felt awfully sick.

I said to hubby I didn’t think I’d manage it tomorrow. I struggle with my sinuses on planes at the best of times and it can be really painful. He looked at me like I was nuts because it’s ’just a cold’.

We have insurance but given I’m ’not that unwell’ and the doctors shrugged it off I doubt we’d be able to claim on it. Hubby thinks I’m at the end of it and will start to feel better in the next couple of days so should just push through. I do push through things quite well usually but I just feel grotty and so disappointed that it’s a week in and I’m still this rubbish!

Nasal rinse and antibiotics. Sinusitis is horrendous and I sympathise but it’s nothing that stops you traveling

Have you tried the Sudafed nasal spray?

https://www.boots.com/sudafed-blocked-nose-spray-15ml-10006569?srsltid=AfmBOor8rWrRbzF0-Uv607f8G3d8IdnelzSLq7TF1T3_XIUbeTtSEYVX

It works within minutes and you can use it for up to 7 days. I only found it a few years ago and it’s genuinely changed my life.

If you are really congested and can’t seem to manage it I would be a bit worried about your eardrums as the pressure changes on an airplane can cause actual damage.

I am another one who got antibiotics from pharmacy for sinusitis. I also didn't have many symptoms but it did trigger ear problems that (for me) come with sinus issues. Saline rinse using a neti pot type thing also helped to move it all on.

On some ways it doesn't really matter whether it's a 2 hour flight or 10, there's just the one big climb at the start of the flight with air pressure coming off and then more importantly one big descent with ambient pressure increasing at the end...

That's where there might be an actual risk of damage if the OP's sinuses are completely blocked.

If you are travelling outside the UK, you can easily see a doctor who isnt constrained by the NHS and will give you proper attention. Its worth the flight just for that. My Ukranian friends fly home for a few days when they have toothache

What I have found most useful for head colds and conjestion is benadryl with decongestant (green topped box, not the usual blue box of benadryl) and it is over the counter. There are no painkillers in it so you could take paracetamol with it. You could do a pharmacy first consultation for sinus infection but I found the penicillin upset my stomach - so swings and roundabouts really - and if you dont have temperature or green/yellow mucus, its unlikely to be bacterial.

I'd be very reluctant to fly, OP. I suffer from sinus problems and the last time I flew it was so bad that I've refused to fly again since. Your sinuses won't clear in 24 hours no matter how good the advice you're getting from here.

Otrivine drops are brilliant for decongesting sinuses.

Have you tested for Covid? The last time I had it a few weeks ago the symptoms were similar.

Otherwise echo what others say about seeing a pharmacist, or depending on what time you are travelling tomorrow, could you turn up at your GP surgery first thing? Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I live like this for weeks on end ( I have terrible allergies , even worse in summer ) so I’m not surprised that the GP was disinterested.
steroid sprays don’t work immediately, it takes time for the inflammation to go down .
I also use Sterimar , a saline spray that helps clear and clean your nasal cavities.
in the meantime I’d head to a pharmacy that does consultations and prescribes .
Sudafed tablets will help too , some are simply just the decongestant and others have paracetamol in as well .
I also can’t take ibuprofen because I have asthma

My 19 year old DD had had these same symptoms for a couple of weeks when she was due to fly at Easter. I took her to the GP expecting she had a sinus infection, but like you, no temp etc. (therefore no infection, so no antibiotics), so they told her to use the sinus spray and that it would clear up on it's own. I was really worried about her on the flight, and it was a bit uncomfortable, but not horrific. The symptoms cleared up after 48 hours in the sun.

Viruses can really knock a person for six. I think given that you are currently bed-bound and really in quite a lot of pain, it is perfectly reasonable not to travel tomorrow. Yes, the flight itself might just be 2 hours, but 2 hours is a LONG time when the air pressure is likely to make things feel so much worse, plus the journey from your home to the airport, then the faff at the airport, and all when you really need to be in bed... it sounds rather hellish to me. That's before we get into the energy needed for small children.

Keeping my fingers crossed you are feeling well enough to travel tomorrow. I would definitely say that you shouldn't feel guilty if you aren't.

What sinus spray have you got @SENSummer?
The treatment of sinus pain and post nasal drip is the spray it just takes ages to clear. I had to take it 4x a day for about 3 weeks.

I'd have to be very ill not to fly on a family holiday with all the associated costs of not flying out and also the disappointment. If you genuinely feel too ill to fly at all then that's fair enough though.

Flying won’t help your sinuses but it’s not worth missing a holiday which has probably cost thousands. Pharmacy asap for whatever they can give you, and just dose yourself up with meds before the flight. Hopefully you’re heading somewhere you can relax in the sun!

I was in your exact situation a week ago. The sinusitis had got into my ears. Pharmacist sold me pseudoephedrine and prescription strength steroid spray. The pseudoephedrine worked really quickly to unblock my ears but my heart was too sensitive to it to take more than a couple. Ended up having to cancel the holiday as it turned into maybe labyrinthitis and when seeing the GP my blood pressure was being weird so with pending tests travel insurance wouldn't cover me. Very glad I did as I feel dreadful now. No idea if it's sinuses or after effects of the various meds I've tried.

I flew with what I thought was a bad head cold (turned out to probably be Covid but I really thought it was a bad cold). I went deaf for 2 days even using Sudafed so be careful.

Was on a plane with sinusitis once. Couldn’t hear for two days when we landed.

Thankfully was in a country with good healthcare so they threw steroids (tablets), painkillers and sprays at me so I could safely fly back. They took it pretty seriously as it can cause permanent damage.

Be careful with flying if your sinus’s are affected.

Seconding all the suggestions for a decongestant. You can also get a decongestant nasal spray.

On top of that, I would try steaming your head. I usually do it using a saucepan I've filled with booking water but I'm sure safety best practice would mean you should use something cooler than that. I then add a couple of drops of tea tree or peppermint essential oil, put a towel over my head and my head + towel over the bowl to trap the steam in. Breathe in and out until all the gunk comes out. Really remarkably effective.

You went to the Dr because of a cold.
A cold?
The Dr?

I honestly wouldn’t go. I flew with sinus problems & ended up with a burst ear drum. It was the worst pain ever & left me feeling so ill for ages. You don’t want to be ill abroad or unable to fly back.

Well, you have clearly never had sinusitis.

You seem very fixated on your health?

Do you suffer from anxiety?

I'd have gone to the bloody chemist and got something over the counter.

The pain is something else right? I’d never suggest flying after experiencing that (and the deafness that followed)