Antihistamines before air travel?

[moopdog]

I have no clue where the post place to post this is...hope it's okay here.

To make a long story short: my DD10 and I have both had issues with flying and having terrible ear pressure. Looking back I guess we 'might' have had minor colds when we flew, also each time we had cabin pressure issues that seemed to bother others as well - not just us.

For me - I had to see an ENT about 3 months after flying, as my hearing was affected in my left ear. It has long since returned to normal but I'm now skittish! For my DD - she is merely terrified to fly now . We leave in 2 days!!

I have had people tell me to load up on antihistamines for a few days prior to the flight, and for me that will mean taking Sudafed (psuedophedrine) and Flonase nasal spray, which I have.

But I don't know what to give me daughter. She does have Nasonex, which I'm already giving her each morning - but what kind of antihistamine should I give her the of travel? I really have no clue. And my Dr. is never accessible by phone (GRRRR).

TIA!!

 

[bear_mom]

You can give her sudafed also. They make a liquid form for children or if she can swallow pills, you can use the 4 hour pills for her. I think it is 12 years old when you can use the 12 hour pill (it is on the box).

I am the same, had a bad experience, as you and never fly without taking sudafed before and I make sure both dds hve some also.

Emily

 

[1stvisit0909]

You can give her sudafed also. They make a liquid form for children or if she can swallow pills, you can use the 4 hour pills for her. I think it is 12 years old when you can use the 12 hour pill (it is on the box).

I am the same, had a bad experience, as you and never fly without taking sudafed before and I make sure both dds hve some also.

Emily

Sudafed requires a script here (grrr) and therefore it is way more expensive (double grrr) but I keep some and I take it.

My girls both have allergy/sinus issues too. The youngest got her claratin, and I gave DD11 one of my sudafeds. Easy peasy no ear troubles for us.

 

[fan1080]

Have you ever tried, or considered trying, earplanes?

I haven't, but I fly with a friend that swears by them. I've had issues in the past as well, so I've purchased some for an up-coming flight.

Worth a try!

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

Have you ever tried, or considered trying, earplanes?

I haven't, but I fly with a friend that swears by them. I've had issues in the past as well, so I've purchased some for an up-coming flight.

Worth a try!

I've used these for years for my kids. My youngest had terrible problems with ear pressure when flying. These really work great!

 

[Firefly09]

Just FYI sudafed is not an antihistamine, it's a decongestant. Works completely differently.

 

[Hopefully]

I have no clue where the post place to post this is...hope it's okay here.

To make a long story short: my DD10 and I have both had issues with flying and having terrible ear pressure. Looking back I guess we 'might' have had minor colds when we flew, also each time we had cabin pressure issues that seemed to bother others as well - not just us.

For me - I had to see an ENT about 3 months after flying, as my hearing was affected in my left ear. It has long since returned to normal but I'm now skittish! For my DD - she is merely terrified to fly now . We leave in 2 days!!

I have had people tell me to load up on antihistamines for a few days prior to the flight, and for me that will mean taking Sudafed (psuedophedrine) and Flonase nasal spray, which I have.

But I don't know what to give me daughter. She does have Nasonex, which I'm already giving her each morning - but what kind of antihistamine should I give her the of travel? I really have no clue. And my Dr. is never accessible by phone (GRRRR).

TIA!!

I can not believe that you are seeking medical advice for your child on a public Internet forum.
I am sorry your doctor is difficult to reach, but he is the appropriate person to talk to regarding your child, his patient.
Please take the time to reach him for the correct, safe advice.

 

[rock_doctor]

Everybody in my family is the same. We all have severe ear pain due to not being able to de/re-pressurize our ears on take off and landing. We take a diphenhydramine tablet the night before and when we do this we generally don't have an issue. You can get this in walmart, it is in their own brand of sleeping pills. It is the same as what you would find in benadryl. Just be aware it will make everybody sleepy... Now this is an antihistamine so read up on the side affects but it has been around since the beginning of time... Something to consider... I actually take a fairly strong does of it every night to keep my severe allergies in check and to help me sleep. So i am use to it. I would keep trying your doctor. Don't take it with Valium, they would have to carry you off the air plane... You will wake up on the luggage carousal with a Magical Express luggage tag taped to your forehead... The again that may be a better way to fly...you would wake up in your hotel room next to the luggage. Something else to consider...

 

[moopdog]

I can not believe that you are seeking medical advice for your child on a public Internet forum.
I am sorry your doctor is difficult to reach, but he is the appropriate person to talk to regarding your child, his patient.
Please take the time to reach him for the correct, safe advice.

Spare me. It's an over the counter med. no different than asking people's opinion on Motrin vs. Tylenol. I'm not a total idiot.

 

[soccer mom]

I have horrible ears for flying and end up with plugged ears my whole vacation followed by an ear infection when I get home.

My doc recommended using both Sudafed and Afrin about 30-45 minutes before getting on the plane. It is amazing! I can actually feel my ears open up and I even hear better for the next 12 hours.

 

[Lynne M]

I have no clue where the post place to post this is...hope it's okay here.

To make a long story short: my DD10 and I have both had issues with flying and having terrible ear pressure. Looking back I guess we 'might' have had minor colds when we flew, also each time we had cabin pressure issues that seemed to bother others as well - not just us.

For me - I had to see an ENT about 3 months after flying, as my hearing was affected in my left ear. It has long since returned to normal but I'm now skittish! For my DD - she is merely terrified to fly now . We leave in 2 days!!

I have had people tell me to load up on antihistamines for a few days prior to the flight, and for me that will mean taking Sudafed (psuedophedrine) and Flonase nasal spray, which I have.

But I don't know what to give me daughter. She does have Nasonex, which I'm already giving her each morning - but what kind of antihistamine should I give her the of travel? I really have no clue. And my Dr. is never accessible by phone (GRRRR).

TIA!!

I think you may be misunderstanding what you've been told, or the people giving your advice were misinformed. Antihistamines will do nothing to prevent ear pressure problems during a flight, unless you currently have congestion caused by allergies and that's contributing to the ear problems.

Flonase, Nasonex and Sudafed are not antihistamines. Sudafed is a decongestant, and Nasonex and Flonase are topical antinflammatory medications. The two sprays are maintenance medications, unless you've been using them daily for some time, they're not going to help you much if at all during the flight. Sudafed might help some.

The best thing I've found for preventing ear pressure pain during a flight is Earplanes. They're special earplugs that have a little valve in them that helps equalize pressure in your ears. I have ongoing sinus congestion issues, and used to have a lot of trouble during and after flights with ear pressure and pain. Never had a problem at all since I started using Earplanes. You can find them in any drug store, Walmart, Target, etc.

 

[1stvisit0909]

Everybody in my family is the same. We all have severe ear pain due to not being able to de/re-pressurize our ears on take off and landing. We take a diphenhydramine tablet the night before and when we do this we generally don't have an issue. You can get this in walmart, it is in their own brand of sleeping pills. It is the same as what you would find in benadryl. Just be aware it will make everybody sleepy... Now this is an antihistamine so read up on the side affects but it has been around since the beginning of time... Something to consider... I actually take a fairly strong does of it every night to keep my severe allergies in check and to help me sleep. So i am use to it. I would keep trying your doctor. Don't take it with Valium, they would have to carry you off the air plane... You will wake up on the luggage carousal with a Magical Express luggage tag taped to your forehead... The again that may be a better way to fly...you would wake up in your hotel room next to the luggage. Something else to consider...

A word of caution - not everyone gets sleepy with benadryl - some people get crazy wired. So unless you are SURE your family gets sleepy, dont take it before bed!!! (ask me how I know, I dare ya)

 

[mamabear0222]

Thanks for the thread. I'm now going to ask our ent about this for my DD

Sent from my Samsung S3 using DISBoards

 

[Sarya]

I will not fly without earplanes. My ears hurt so bad landing almost every time I fly. To the point that I am in tears.

When I starting reading this I thought "cool I can take some meds and it will make it even better" but I am way confused now on which is what and what really helps. So I will stick with the earplanes.

 

[dancin Disney style]

OP....along with trying Earplanes or a decongestant you need to be either chewing gum or sucking on a hard candy. The swollowing will help your ears. Lollypops are also good for this.....basically whatever type of candy/gum that you like.

 

[rock_doctor]

I think you may be misunderstanding what you've been told, or the people giving your advice were misinformed. Antihistamines will do nothing to prevent ear pressure problems during a flight, unless you currently have congestion caused by allergies and that's contributing to the ear problems.

Very true, my family has a genetic post nasal drip that does cause some plugging of the ear. This is why the antihistamines work for us.

 

[bennifer]

I can't fly without earplanes. We're flying this summer and I'm also getting them for my DS. Good luck and don't listen to the trolls who love to start trouble.

 

[parkhopping]

Another vote for Earplanes! When I was a kid I had really bad problems with air pressure on planes. I used these when I was 9 on a loooong flight overseas and had no problems at all. For a few years I would wear them during the entire flight anytime we flew, then only needed them for takeoff and landing. It wasn't long before I didn't need them anymore at all...not sure if I just grew out of the problem, or if they somehow trained my ears. Either way, they are a godsend and I highly recommend them

 

[moopdog]

I think you may be misunderstanding what you've been told, or the people giving your advice were misinformed. Antihistamines will do nothing to prevent ear pressure problems during a flight, unless you currently have congestion caused by allergies and that's contributing to the ear problems.

Flonase, Nasonex and Sudafed are not antihistamines. Sudafed is a decongestant, and Nasonex and Flonase are topical antinflammatory medications. The two sprays are maintenance medications, unless you've been using them daily for some time, they're not going to help you much if at all during the flight. Sudafed might help some.

The best thing I've found for preventing ear pressure pain during a flight is Earplanes. They're special earplugs that have a little valve in them that helps equalize pressure in your ears. I have ongoing sinus congestion issues, and used to have a lot of trouble during and after flights with ear pressure and pain. Never had a problem at all since I started using Earplanes. You can find them in any drug store, Walmart, Target, etc.

I guess I need to try those out! And maybe question my doc after all. Since he is the one that prescribed both nasal sprays for the trip, telling us to use them for two weeks prior. He actually wanted me to take Nasonex as well, but its too pricey on my insurance. of vouse i shelled it out for DD.... but for me i asked for a cheaper alternative ;-). He mentioned the antihistamines as well but didn't specify which one. I think maybe he 'meant ' to tell me decongestant. I need to track this guy down! i only had his attention for about 60 seconds that day! Thanks to the helpful people.... Gotta run!

 

[66Tink]

Have you ever tried, or considered trying, earplanes?

I haven't, but I fly with a friend that swears by them. I've had issues in the past as well, so I've purchased some for an up-coming flight.

Worth a try!

20 years ago both of my ear drums ruptured while on a flight to the Caribbean (yes on our honeymoon flight). About 10 years later I flew (very scared) and did not want to medicate with decongestants...someone suggested ear planes and YAY no popping, clogging or rupturing. My DD also wears them and no issues what so ever. We fly about 2 or 3 times a year. Good luck and I really think the earplanes would be worth a try