Flight related eyebrow pain?

September 28, 2009 3:58 PM

Flight related eyebrow pain?

I flew on holiday recently and near the end of the flight I got a piercing pain in my left eyebrow. I found that if I tried to relax the pain went away slightly. After we landed the pain was gone but replaced with a dull pain. I felt during this that my neck was hard to move.

As a test, when I arrived I swam to the bottom of the pool. The pain came back again in the left eyebrow, slightly.

I've experienced this several times before, and tried aspirin, and even Vicks to see if it helps. But because the problem only happens occasionally it's difficult to work out what the cause is.

What could be causing this? Any ideas?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (9 comments total)

Sinus pain? I would imagine the air pressure has built up. Try decongestants.
posted by mikeh at 3:59 PM on September 28 [1 favorite]

I occasionally get what you are describing -- scalding eyebrow-area pain -- and my assumption has always been that it's sinuses and some sort of pressure equalization thing going badly.
posted by jessamyn at 4:07 PM on September 28

Totally sinuses. I had a similar experience last Autumn and, completely freaked out, asked a GP friend of mine what might be wrong with me (eyebrow cancer!? TUMORS?!). He pressed his fingers against my sinus cavities and I whimpered, so he gave my nose a little look-see and declared them completely stuffed and disgusting. He suggested a decongestant and, lo and behold, eyebrow cancer be-gone!
posted by banannafish at 4:09 PM on September 28

Seconding sinuses. I take a Claritin ('D') on every takeoff. It helps.

Ephedrine is probably all you need, if you can buy that in your city/country without an FBI van following you home.

You also might be dehydrated. People refuse to drink before/on flights because they don't want to navigate the mini-bathroom, but a lack of hydration can cause headaches and neck/muscle stiffness... just the potent mix for an uncomfortable seat.
posted by rokusan at 4:09 PM on September 28

I get the same thing with sinus pain, with neck pain/tightness caused by ear pressure.

You can see a map of sinuses here. Was it towards the middle of your face or on the outer edge of your eyebrow?
posted by bookdragoness at 4:09 PM on September 28

This has happened to me a few times and it's very, very painful. It's gone away each time in a matter of minutes after the plane lands, though it takes longer to stop being sore. It doesn't happen every flight, and doesn't seem to have lasting effects.

I'm pretty sure that yeah, it's sinus related, so claritin might be a good preventative measure.
posted by Rinku at 4:23 PM on September 28

I am a fellow sinus sufferer. I have tried the neti pot (eww) and it works, but sometimes it burns if you get the salt mix wrong. Also, I've found this massage technique really helpful (it's some sort of 'acu-pressure' thing):

With both hands, place 2 of your fingers near the bottom of your ear, top of your jaw. rub firmly but gently 5 little circles.
now at the corners of your eyebrows, rub 5 little circles.
Now do the inside corner of your eyebrows, same 5 little circles.
Next is the bottom of your nose, the bottom corners if your nose was a triangle. 5 circles again.
Lastly, take your earlobes between your thumb and finger and stroke gently 5 times. (This one is the weird one, but eh, it works.)

You might need tissues. Lightly tapping my fingers along my eyebrows helps loosen up the gunk as well.
posted by titanium_geek at 4:48 PM on September 28 [19 favorites]

oh, I forgot to mention, repeat the massage steps until you want to stop, one time around is probably not effective, several times gets it moving.
posted by titanium_geek at 4:49 PM on September 28

Yeah, I used to get this too, on descent at the end of flights - extremely intense sinus pain. I make sure to pop an over-the-counter decongestant before every flight and that seems to take care of it.
posted by mediareport at 6:20 PM on September 28