Sinusitis

[Ghostie31]

Hi,
I wonder if any one can help, Sometimes when I fly I seem to get severe pain above my left eyebrow, it has happened twice both times we were coming into land.
Recently I read a book called "first light" about a Battle of Britain pilot who described a similar thing, he was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis. I wonder if any body suffers from or has suffered from this pain before and knows what can be done about it.
Thanks
Ghostie

[John Farley]

I sympathise. Very common. Had it throughout my career. You need to pinch your nose and blow on a regular basis and not wait for it to hurt.

All same problem as ears really.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...hreadid=192982

[Ghostie31]

Thanks for the advice. Can anyone describe whats actually going on when i get the pain above my eyebrow. Is it a build up of fluid for example? does it only happen when you have a cold etc.
Thanks very much
Ghostie

[Paultuk]

Hi Ghostie,

Not suffered from it myself but know a FO who has and says it can be very uncomfortable.

All i know is that there are two main categories:-

Acute (Short Lived) - A Cold or Flu
Chronic (more Prolonged) - Medical advice may be taken.

Here is a useful link from BUPA on the problem.

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/Sinusitis.html

Here is a brief blurb on Sinusitis. "Sinusitis is inflammation of the linings of the sinuses (the bone cavities of the face) that surround the nose. Common symptoms include a headache and a swollen tender face." (BUPA Website)

Hope this helps. Good luck with it anyway.

Paul

[effortless]

I have suffered from sinusitis all my life. It can be an absolute bastard when decompressing. I find flying small GA ok since the climb rates are much slower and the sinuses can decompress at their own rate. Diving can be pretty painful as well.

I always have to take a big hanky with me when I go flying. My sinuses tend to drain at low pressure now.

[Ghostie31]

Thanks very much for the advice guys.
With any luck im about to start doing a lot of flying, so i'll be able to see if it happens all the time, or every now and again.
Thanks again
Ghostie

[John Farley]

Ghostie

The sinus cavities with some people have stickier passages feeding them out of which air has to flow when you climb (not normally a problem unless you have a bad cold) and into which air has to flow when you descend (a much bigger problem as the greater pressure outside can tend to flatten the inlet tissues and make them sort of self sealing).

My solution was to practice (all the time not just when flying) forcing air into my sinuses (and ears as you cannot do one without the other). After a while you get good at it and can feel them pop a little or at least feel flow going in. Get to know how you can normally make this happen and become thoroughly familiar with it. Then before you take off do it again to check for 'normality' by your standards. If you don't feel them inflate you know they are stickier than usual. This means you need to use a decongestant spray - or face trouble when descending.

If you go flying when you cannot work your Eustachion tubes or your sinuses on the ground in a manner that is ‘normal’ for you then it can REALLY hurt. I had Eustachian tubes like drainpipes so my ears were never a problem but my sinuses were dreadful despite everything the RAF ENT people tried.

[Ghostie31]

Sounds pretty painful!
Could you explain how you practice getting air into your sinusis?
I wouldnt have a clue how to start!
Thanks for the information
Ghostie

[John Farley]

I am surprised you say you don't have a clue where to start. I does help if you read threads as indicated. But to save you the trouble of doing that:

You force air into your sinuses exactly the same way as you force it into your eustachian tubes when trying to change the pressure on the inside of your eardrum. In fact you cannot do one without the other.

You pinch your nose, keep you mouth shut and blow hard until you feel the appropriate event happening, like ears popping or air flowing into somewhere (your sinuses) inside your head.

This is all about the simple physics of balancing pressures inside cavities in your head to equal the pressures outside those same cavities which necessarily changes as you change height in the air - or depth in water if diving.

[Hufty]

I can sympathise - I have had this and it is very uncomfortable but a fairly simple operation may be able to fix it for you. If, like me, your sinus passages are relatively narrow, or the area into which they drain is small, an ENT surgeon can open them out for you by burning away surplus flesh. This opens up the passages so even if they do swell up, they are wide enough so they don't block.

This is considered non urgent by the NHS so you could end up waiting for a while to get seen by a consultant. It might be worth doing it privately if you can....you'll be out of hospital the next morning and back to normal in a few weeks.

PM me if you have any questions..


Hufty.

[M.Mouse]

Re: Sinusitis

A colleague at my company had been sick regularly over the past few years. His record came to the management's attention following the introduction of a new sickness monitoring policy.

It transpired that he had frequent sinus problems preventing him from flying. He was referred to a specialist and had an operation which appears to have cured the long suffering lad's problem.

Your case may be different but I would humbly suggest a visit to a specialist to diagnose your very painful and distracting problem.

[Ghostie31]

Re: Sinusitis

Thank you all VERY much, the replies have been exactly what I was looking for. I'll be looking into everything to get them right!
Hope you all have a great new year!
Thanks again
Ghostie