Airplane headaches: Inside the puzzling condition that makes people afraid to fly
Simply jetting off for a summer escape can take a major toll on your mental health — never mind the long lines and cramped conditions.
Research suggests that as many as one in 12 people suffer from severe airplane headaches while flying, with some developing a full-blown fear of air travel as a result.
A 28-year-old's struggle with recurrent airplane headaches was detailed just last month in the Journal of Medical Case Reports, with the woman reporting severe headaches lasting 30 minutes after landing. Things got so bad that she tried to take trains instead of planes for her twice-monthly work trips.
Here's everything you need to know about the baffling condition — including steps you can take to keep it from ruining your vacation before it even starts.
It's a sharp, stabbing pain — typically on one side of the forehead — that comes on suddenly and only happens during air travel, according to Neurology Live.
The pain can strike at any point during a flight, though it most often occurs during descent.
Unlike migraines, which can linger for hours or even days, airplane headaches are usually short-lived and tend ease up within 30 minutes of their onset.
The syndrome was first described in 2004, and the International Headache Society officially recognized 'headaches attributed to airplane travel' as a diagnosis in 2013.
Airplane headaches don't just cause pain — they can impact emotional well-being and overall travel experience.
One survey found that 28% of sufferers often consider canceling trips to avoid another attack. Another 18% sometimes think about bailing, and 3% say they always do.
The pain wrecks in-flight downtime too. Nearly half said airplane headaches always interrupt activities like listening to music, reading or watching movies while traveling. Another 22% said the disruptions happen sometimes, and 30% said they happen often.
Other studies suggest these headaches fuel stress, trigger flight anxiety and push people toward avoidance behaviors. Up to 12% of sufferers say they steer clear of flying altogether because of the intense pain.
The science is still up in the air. There are two main theories, both focused on the effects of rapid pressure changes in the cabin of a plane during takeoff and landing.
One theory suggests this shift causes cerebral arteries to dilate, lowering blood pressure in the brain and triggering a brief, sharp headache.
Another theory proposes the pressure change causes tissue injury and inflammation in the sinuses, leading to intense pain.
No guaranteed cure exists, but some tricks might keep the pain at bay.
Some people have found that taking medications like triptans or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) before a flight can help prevent or reduce the severity of airplane headaches.
The woman from the case report found success by taking the prescription medicine rimegepant, sold under the brand name Nurtec ODT, half an hour before plane departure.
Others find relief with nasal decongestants or steroid sprays that can ease sinus pressure.
During the flight, chewing gum or using earplugs on takeoff and landing can help block out the pain.
And don't forget — the basics matter, too. When you're traveling, make sure you're staying hydrated, keeping your stress levels in check and getting plenty of rest to prevent headaches from grounding your trip.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nurse Suddenly Lost Her Sight While Treating Patients. Then Came an Unexpected Diagnosis (Exclusive)
While working in the ER, Breanna T. suddenly lost her vision and kept treating patients as her sight deteriorated She was told it wasn't emergent, but days later, a specialist diagnosed her with acute angle closure glaucoma Breanna's vision has returned, but her story, and viral TikTok, have sparked wider conversations about advocacy and medication side effectsOne moment, Breanna T. was helping patients during a routine emergency room shift, and the next, the world around her was a blur. The ER nurse had no warning before her vision disappeared in both eyes, kicking off a frightening medical mystery that would later go viral on TikTok. In the video, Breanna reenacts what unfolded in those first 48 hours with a pointed 'put a finger down' challenge, recounting how she finished her shift while barely able to see, and the journey that followed before she received a diagnosis. 'I looked up to see who was calling my name, and I couldn't see her at all,' Breanna tells PEOPLE, describing the moment everything changed. 'It was just very shocking to me, because literally 10 seconds before that, I was seeing just fine.' She had just stepped out of a patient's room to assist a fellow nurse when the sudden loss of sight occurred. As panic swelled beneath the surface, her clinical instincts kicked in. 'I cleaned my glasses, I took my blood pressure, I took my blood sugar … I was just trying to go through everything I could think of to fix it,' she says. 'I was also at work, still responsible for helping care for patients, so I was doing my best to keep my composure.' Rather than alerting her team right away, Breanna first tried to troubleshoot the situation herself. She didn't want to raise the alarm until she had ruled out the basics. 'I was like, 'Here's the situation … do you guys have any ideas? Because I've already done everything I can think of,' ' she recalls telling her coworkers and several doctors. 'So then we started spitballing, trying to figure out what else we could test.' She had been trained to recognize red flags for emergencies and was deeply concerned about the possibility of a stroke. But her symptoms weren't fitting into any box. 'Loss of vision is a pretty standard stroke symptom,' she explains. 'But because it was both eyes at the same time and I had no other symptoms, I tried to stay levelheaded.' Her coworkers asked all the right questions, but nothing beyond her vision seemed to be affected. 'People were asking, 'Do you have a headache? Are you nauseous?' But literally, it was just my vision change,' she says. 'So I was honestly at a loss, because this didn't look like the heart attacks, strokes or brain bleeds I've seen before.' After confirming there were no immediate life-threatening causes, the ER team told her to follow up outpatient. As a nurse, Breanna understood why, but as a patient, it felt unsettling. 'I tell patients this all the time, and being on the other side of it was eye-opening,' she says. 'It wasn't life-threatening, but it was still scary not knowing what was going to happen next.' After her shift, she tried to book an urgent appointment with her optometrist, but found herself stuck. She couldn't even get far enough into a conversation to explain why she needed care. 'They'd say, 'We don't have openings,' before I could tell them I was having an emergent vision change,' she says. 'I felt stuck between a rock and a hard place.' With emergency services having done all they could, and no specialist available, she was left waiting and hoping. Her boyfriend began calling providers on her behalf, trying to get her seen. 'It was just really frustrating,' she says. 'I felt like I was being stopped before I was even able to tell anybody why I needed an immediate visit.' In total, Breanna spent five days with severely compromised vision. On the first day, she received contacts that somewhat helped, but even those came with side effects. 'They weren't perfect, and they gave me more headaches than not being able to see,' she says. 'So I was only wearing them when I absolutely had to.' When she finally got an appointment with an optometrist, she decided to go alone. She had no idea just how serious the visit would become. 'He stayed really calm, but started asking questions that felt odd,' she says. 'Then he told me my eye scans didn't look normal. My pressures were way above average, and he could see swelling.' The diagnosis was acute angle closure glaucoma, a rare condition that can come on rapidly and without warning. The optometrist told her she needed to see a specialist immediately or head straight to a hospital with ophthalmology on call. 'It was 4:30 p.m. on a Friday,' Breanna says. 'I was scared I'd have to go back to the ER and start all over again.' Though her boyfriend and mom rushed to be with her, Breanna had faced the alarming news alone. And in that moment, her thoughts went straight to her son. 'I'm a mom. I have a toddler,' she says. 'All I could think was, 'Am I going to be able to see my son grow up?' ' The disease typically takes years to develop, but Breanna had deteriorated within hours. Doctors were optimistic her case would be reversible, but the wait was excruciating. 'I wasn't ready to stop my medication, but that's what ended up solving it,' she says. 'I stopped taking it that day, and by the time it was out of my system, my vision returned.' Her care team believes the antidepressant triggered the event, likely due to an underlying condition. And for Breanna, the timeline made sense. 'The half-life of the medication lined up with when my vision came back,' she says. 'They're almost 99% sure it was [that].' Breanna hadn't been familiar with her diagnosis before that day. Glaucoma wasn't something she had seen often in the ER, especially not in this form. 'The patients I've cared for had long-term glaucoma, with black spots or floaters — not blurry vision like I had,' she says. 'Even the symptoms didn't line up.' At one point, she was even questioned about exposure to rare diseases due to her line of work. Ebola, measles and Lyme disease were all floated. 'I said no, and I still stand by no,' she says. 'But contact tracing takes weeks, so it's still something we may have to revisit.' Still, because her symptoms cleared after stopping the medication, her team now leans heavily toward that explanation. And they found something else along the way. 'I have an enlarged optic nerve on my left side, which predisposes me to glaucoma,' she says. 'That may be why it happened to me and not someone else.' Breanna will now have yearly checkups to monitor her eye health. The goal is early detection should anything change in the future. 'It was an incidental finding, but a good one,' she says. 'Even though my symptoms have resolved, I'm still at risk for developing another type of glaucoma later on.' Returning to work felt emotional and empowering. It reminded her why she became a nurse in the first place. 'I was just grateful to still be able to do my job,' she says. 'I didn't want to lose my career, and I didn't want to lose my motherhood.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. As for advice for others, Breanna wants people navigating confusing health issues to keep advocating for themselves, even when the answers are slow. It only takes one person to listen. 'You're your biggest advocate,' Breanna says. 'You're the only one who can really explain what's going on in your body.' She also acknowledges how often women are dismissed in medical spaces. And though she works in healthcare, she felt it herself. 'Being a woman makes it harder as they're quicker to brush you off,' she says. 'You just have to keep fighting until you find someone who takes you seriously.' Looking back, she wishes more people understood the emotional toll of being caught between not fitting a diagnosis and not getting answers. Her case didn't follow a pattern, which left even doctors unsure where to start. 'If you don't meet the classic symptoms, people don't know where to begin,' she says. 'That doesn't mean you're not sick.' Her TikTok has sparked wide conversation but she never meant to scare anyone. She just wanted to tell the truth. 'I wasn't making that video to tell people to stop their meds,' she says. 'If you're afraid of side effects, that's okay … just talk to your doctor first.' Read the original article on People
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Newsom Signs Budget That Includes Health Care Cuts for Undocumented Immigrants
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a California budget on Friday that relied on scaling back health care for undocumented immigrants, even as he and other California Democrats in recent weeks have condemned the Trump administration for cracking down on immigrant workers. In signing the budget, Mr. Newsom backtracked on his earlier pledge to insure all low-income residents, regardless of their immigration status. But it came as the state faced a $12 billion deficit, driven in part by a large cost overrun in the state's insurance plan for undocumented immigrants, and it would have been politically difficult to cut programs for citizens without reducing benefits for undocumented immigrants. When Mr. Newsom initially proposed the cuts in May, it was seen as a centrist pivot for a governor who is a potential presidential candidate in 2028. But after President Trump sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles nearly three weeks ago to thwart protesters, Mr. Newsom returned to his role as a liberal antagonist of the Republican administration and accused Mr. Trump of endangering American democracy. The California budget for the fiscal year that starts Tuesday relies on prohibiting new enrollment of undocumented immigrants in the state's Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, starting in January. Adults between the ages of 19 and 59 who were already enrolled will have to pay a new $30 monthly premium beginning in 2027. And the state will eliminate dental care in July 2026 for undocumented adults and other noncitizens. Medi-Cal serves roughly 15 million people, including 1.6 million undocumented immigrants. Because the federal government does not pay for most health care for undocumented immigrants, it costs California more to insure noncitizens than it does to cover citizens. Democrats have argued that the state has a moral responsibility to provide health care to its immigrant work force, and they have said that preventative treatment can avert more costly emergency care down the road. Democrats who control the State Capitol cast their decisions on Friday as a necessary move to help close the budget deficit and said it was not an ideological shift away from supporting immigrants. Some choked back tears in emotional floor speeches about their undocumented family members as they voted for cuts to Medi-Cal. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Health Line
an hour ago
- Health Line
Should You Be Concerned about White Stool After Diarrhea?
While white stools can result from certain over-the-counter medications, they can also be a symptom of a more serious condition. The color of your stool can tell a lot about your health, so any time you see a different color in the toilet bowl, it's natural to wonder why. If you've recently had a bout of diarrhea, you may have pale or white-colored stool. These light-colored stools can be the result of various factors, so it's important to note your symptoms and get a diagnosis from a doctor. Keep reading to learn about the more serious causes of white stool, including symptoms and treatments. Antidiarrheal drugs If you've been taking large doses of certain antidiarrheal drugs, such as bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate), this could result in very light stools. Your stool color should return to brown after you stop taking the medication, so you don't have to do anything. However, if you continue to have white poop after a few days, you may need to consult a doctor. Blocked bile duct A lack of bile can often cause white stool or stool with a claylike consistency, which can indicate a more serious problem. What is bile? Bile is a digestive fluid. Your liver produces it, and it's stored in your gallbladder. During the digestive process, bile is excreted into your small intestine to break down fats into fatty acids. Among other important functions, bile helps eliminate cholesterol and waste products, such as bilirubin. Bile also gives your stool its typical brownish color. A lack of bile in your stool is often the result of a blockage in the bile duct, which is a tube that delivers the bile to the small intestine. A number of conditions can cause a blockage, including: Symptoms of bile duct obstruction Along with white stools, you may also experience symptoms such as: jaundice (yellowing of the skin, eyes, or both) abdominal pain (upper right side) nausea vomiting fever dark urine Treatment for a blocked bile duct Your doctor will recommend treatment based on the underlying cause. For example, for gallstones, your doctor might suggest a cholecystectomy, which involves surgery to remove the gallbladder. For liver flukes, your doctor may prescribe albendazole or praziquantel. Liver disease White stool can sometimes be a symptom of liver disease. There are many causes for liver disease, including: infection, such as: hepatitis A hepatitis B hepatitis C cancer (and other growths), such as: liver cancer bile duct cancer liver adenoma genetic conditions, such as: alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (a condition where the body doesn't produce enough of the AAD protein) hemochromatosis hyperoxaluria and oxalosis (when oxalate build ups in urine, blood vessels, bones and organs) Wilson's disease immune system abnormality, such as: autoimmune hepatitis primary biliary cirrhosis primary sclerosing cholangitis (a rare liver disease that affects the bile ducts) other conditions, such as: chronic, heavy alcohol use nonalcoholic fatty liver disease Symptoms of liver disease Along with white stools, you may also experience symptoms such as: jaundice abdominal swelling and pain chronic fatigue nausea vomiting swelling in the ankles and legs dark urine bruising skin itchiness loss of appetite Treatment for liver disease Your doctor will recommend treatment based on the specific diagnosis. While some liver problems require medication or surgery, many can be addressed with lifestyle changes, such as maintaining a moderate weight or stopping alcohol use. In all cases, treatment for liver disease should include careful monitoring of your liver function. Liver disease that leads to liver failure may ultimately require a liver transplant.
