②⓪ⒸⒸ: Sinus Problem And Flying Do Not Go Well Together, True?

After twenty nine years, I finally flew. Yes, I started late. ^_^

Before that happened, I was in a serious dilemma. Read on. (Please?)

So far, I have never been diagnosed of sinusitis. When consulting a doctor, it's always been allergic rhinitis. I didn't lack research about sinusitis. Almost all the symptoms my body show were that of it. That's why I would like to believe that it was sinusitis. After extensive research about this topic, I came to know this: flying with a sinus problem or even with just a bad cold is a bad idea. I totally forgot about this little piece of information until two days before our flight to Palawan.

So I started googling about "sinus problem and flying" and found a number of sites saying things like these:

"avoid flying with a sinus infection"
"serious pain and potential complications"
"rupture of the tympanic membrane in severe cases"
"excruciating pain about my left eye as the plane starts to land"
"head feels like it was going to explode"

I already felt my "head like it was going to explode". That happened, on two separate occasions, when on a bus going down from Baguio to Nueva Ecija. I had a bad cold during that time. I slept all the way from Baguio to Pugo, La Union. When I woke up, it felt like there was something going on from my eyes to my nose to the back of my ears and above my nape. It was like something got trapped inside my head that could not get out. Excruciating really was the perfect word to describe the pain.

I understand all these were because of change in air pressure. It's all about air pressure, baby. The air pressure in the body should equalize the air pressure outside it. And this happens in the ears, nose and sinuses. If there's a blockage in any of these organs, the pressure could not equalize. Basta parang ganun. Hirap ako mag-explain. Google niyo na lang ha. ^_^

With the thought that was the same thing that was gonna happen to me during the air travel, the five months of my contained excitement was suddenly displaced with fear - fear of death 25,000 feet above the ground because of a freakin' sinus problem. I was really terrified. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to experience Palawan with good friends. Also, if I didn't come, that would leave them disappointed and with a little more expense to shoulder than planned.

One site advised the best thing to do was to consult a doctor. That's exactly what I did. That very afternoon, I went straight to an EENT Specialist clinic. Dr. Dennis Dominguez was very warm and very cool at the same time. I told him that if he thought it was risky for me to fly, I wouldn't go. He took away all my worries and told me to forget about it; that it was safe to fly; that I should go and enjoy Palawan. He wrote a prescription for a nasal decongestant. At ang mahal niya, in fair! On the med cert reads "allergic rhinitis". What a relief! He was the third to not say "sinusitis".

I swallowed, yawned, did Valsalva Maneuver every now and then, chewed gum like there was no tomorrow during the entire air travel time to prevent my ears from popping. They worked, I guess. So far, I'm still alive...and blogging.

Interestingly, while browsing AirAsia magazine in the plane, I came across this article.