painful pressure today

[Nolife]

Blockage

Try Sudafed non-drying sinus... carry lots of tissues as your nose will leak but you won't get a squeeze. Also I tried wasabi, the green sushi horse radish. You can buy a tube of it and squeeze a bit on your tongue when you feel the squeeze coming. It clears you sinus's right up but it will burn your tongue for a few seconds.



If you use the Valsalva maneuver do it early and often in little bursts. That's one of the biggest problem with first time divers as well... they don't equalize the pressure early and often. It only takes a few feet to get a blockage and once it's there it's very hard to clear. Start the maneuver before you actually descend or as soon as you feel the slightest pressure.




If you don't clear the squeeze the symptoms can range from severe pain to blown eardrums.

 

[Flying Illini]

can you really buy wasabi in a tube? I would be interested in that, seriously!

 

[cforst513]

man, i had no idea what wasabi was and slathered it all over a shrimp at a japanese restaurant.... one of the most painful food experiences i've ever had, but like he said, it does the trick!!! i remember my nose clearing up instantly.

 

[Nolife]

Wasabi

I get mine in a regular grocery store... however if you can't find it look for an Asian market and they usually have it there.

 

[Immelman]

I've had this happen cforst in similar circumstances. I nearly lost all vision. I immediately arrested the descent and climbed and the pain subsided as quickly as it came on. I recall a VERY slight congestion for the trip but nothing I had not flown with before without any problems. If I were IFR I would not have hesitated to declare an emergency... really if this ever happens in the future and there is no 2nd pilot on board I think you have no choice but to immediately climb at the onset of such pain... especially IFR.

 

[starchkr]

I have had that problem a few times...a couple of the times i was grounded by my doc for a week. As has been said, it is a sinus problem. They get blocked and will not equalize as you come down from altitude. Apparently, if this happens to you, the ears will begin to produce a fluid which collects in the ear(sometimes noticable, sometimes not) and this fluid becomes infected with bacteria and can cause some serious problems. My first time this happened i did not realize what was happening and flew for days with it clearing up as we climbed and got worse every time we came down. It was as if you were in a tunnel, and i could not hear out of the affected ear. I went to the doc and he said it was Barotitus (also known as sinusitus to the non flying public). I had to get a steroid shot and was put on antibiotics for a week. Cleared right up and i was back in business. Then again about 2 years later it happened again, with the same result from the doc. I have had small bouts of it over the past 3 years, but nothing as bad as the first couple times. I now keep a pretty much complete drug store in my flight bag, i am always prepared for anything. I make sure i use it sparingly, and usually only sudafed or the generic brand my company has on hand, they both work great. As far as the nasal spray goes, i used it a couple of times with varied success, but stopped after my doc told me that it really was not a good idea for continued use because your body then becomes reliant on it and can make things worse. So, i too know your pain, but my suggestion would be next time it happens to go to the doc immediately and discuss these problems with him, before relying on the advice of us here on this board, because he might have a beter idea of the problem and a fix for it.

 

[FN FAL]

If I were IFR I would not have hesitated to declare an emergency...

What would that do?

 

[Tram]

man, i had no idea what wasabi was and slathered it all over a shrimp at a japanese restaurant.... one of the most painful food experiences i've ever had, but like he said, it does the trick!!! i remember my nose clearing up instantly.

I know a guy who snorted several.. "lines" of wasabi.. His nose hated him.. It was horrible..

I guess wasabi is best left on sushi.

 

[cforst513]

are you serious?! i know how much pain i was in just by eating it. wtf is wrong with this guy?!

 

[Immelman]

What would that do?

Oh not much, just emergency authority to deviate from clearance (stop descent & climb), have atc get traffic out of the way.

 

[Tram]

Yeh, he did it for like 29 bucks.

 

[cforst513]

oh well in that case, nevermind!!! rock on!!!

 

[CaravanMan]

I'm sorry to say that I'm glad you guys have problems with this too! I had a couple instances last Summer that were miserable. Once I was descending from 7,000 to about 1,300 (field elev) in the Caravan. I had been feeling fine the whole trip and days before; no hint of anything. I was fine during the entire descent until right over the approach lights and it hit instantly. Just like you all had been describing: a severly sharp pain in, and above the left eye. It felt like an ice pick was shoved in my eye. My poor wife was with me and she got really scared because here we are landing and I'm over in my seat freakin' out! I could barely see to land the plane. Landing and the turnoff I barely remember, but those memories are with me forever. I went to the Doc and got some antibiotics and some prescription nose spray...she said if you use the over-the-counter sprays too often it can really screw you up. I wish I remembered what she gave me...I used to see it on TV all the time. Oh yeah, I tried the valsalva, but it didn't do Jack Shyte for me.

It is comforting to see that there are others who've had the same problems and are flying in the flight levels. Although I don't have the problem anymore, well, once in a long while, I was worried about the future when I'll be back in the flight levels too.

I'm thinking of keeping my cordless drill in the plane in case it happens again...I can't help but think that drilling a hole in my eyebrow would actually feel LESS painful than the sinus prob!

 

[Singlecoil]

I had that happen in the single-pilot Cessna 402 days. I had a head cold and probably shouldn't have been flying, but we didn't have any other pilots at the time. I had to stop the descent and start a gentle climb to stop the pain. After a few minutes there was a very loud and sickening sound as the mucous migrated to a happier place and I was able to descend. I think I even mentioned something to the pax and they just shrugged.

The good news is, when you start flying pressurized airplanes, there will be two things working in your favor. Your company will probably have a decent complement of reserves, and the cabin usually only descends at about 300 fpm, which prevents most of these issues.

 

[FN FAL]

Oh not much, just emergency authority to deviate from clearance (stop descent & climb), have atc get traffic out of the way.

I would just work out the situation with the controller...wouldn't declaring an emergency with something related to pilot physical problems be an invitation to have your medical pulled until further evaluation?

 

[UGAflyer]

I had pain in my jaw. The left side of my bottom teeth went numb. Mine was when i climbed though. I could feel it coming on as I climbed through 5000' or so and if I leveled out at 7 or 8k it was aweful. The first time it happened was in a King Air when the door seal had a problem and as we leveled around 250 the cabin alt. shot up to 11 or 12000. It was the most pain I have been in in recent memory. I thought it was a cavity or something but it was a sinus problem. There is a sinus that runs right along the jaw and apparently mine became blocked and as I increased alt. the pain got worse. It went away as I descended. I took some decongestents and nasal sprays and I haven't had it happen since...knock on wood. I hope it never happens again.

 

[CaravanMan]

Yeah, I've had my top left teeth go numb too...that's weird!