Flying with a cold

[KimWDW]

I have a headcold (sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose) and we're leaving to go to WDW. A friend told me that you shouldn't fly with a headcold because you'll be in excrutiating pain the whole flight and you could burst your eardrum. Is this true? What should I do to prevent this?

 

[Bob P]

I'm not a doctor (and I don't even play one on TV), but I've flown with a cold several times. I pop a couple of Sudafeds (or any other OTC decongestant) about an hour before takeoff to keep my passages clear.

I should point out that I am not prone to ear problems or sinus infections. But if everyone who flew with a cold wound up with a burst eardrum, there'd be a whole lot of burst eardrums around! Though it may happen once in a great while, I've never met anyone who burst an eardrum in flight.

Bob

 

[SB in KY]

Not true....if your eustachian tubes are occluded your ears may feel plugged during take off and landing, but unless you have an acute ear infection there is no reason not to fly. If you are afraid your ears will hurt take an oral decongestant like Sudafed an hour or so before you leave and use a nasal spray like Afrin or NeoSynefrin 30 minutes or so before take off.....you should be fine.

 

[tkldisney]

That's the craziest thing I've ever heard of. Go have a great time!!

 

[punkin]

My daughter did get a perforated eardrum flying with a cold...BUT she was only 4 years old and children's ears are shaped differently; their tubes are more horizonal than those of adults. My pediatrician said that this was the first time she had seen this as a result of a flight. I have flown many times with headcolds and never had a problem if I popped decongestant before I flew.

 

[stage manager]

I agree with everyone else. I used to make my living travelling and flew with head colds all the time. Sudafed is a great solution. If it's a long flight, remember to drink LOTS of water as sudafed will dry you out, and the air in the plane is dry too, so you could feel rather parched. But that is advice whether you are on a decongestant or not. Fly on and have a great time.

 

[donmil723]

If your ears feel stopped up, by some Earplanes at Walmart or any drug store. They are rubber coils that you put in your ear that helps equalize the pressure especially during takeoff and landing. If I'm the slightest bit congested when I fly, my ears hurt really bad during landing. The Earplanes help alot. After one flight in which my ear pain during landing was horrible, I also now use a nasal spray and a decongestant before flying as a preventative. I usually don't have much problems any more. Good luck!

Donna

 

[DisneyDotty]

Flew overseas last month with a head cold and I was miserable during the landing. Actually, I was miserable during the landing and for several days after. Seemed like my left ear never really "popped." The flight attendant suggested I take an antihistamine when I got home to dry me up. Didn't help much. Highly recommend taking lots of sudafed and an antihistamine to dry you up/clear you out BEFORE you get on the plane. Good luck.

 

[minkydog]

And take some tylenol or Advil prior to takeoff. It's better to treat pain before it starts. Once your ears start hurting it can take an hour or more for the meds to kick in. Good luck! I've had to fly with a bad sinus infection. I thought my head was going to pop, but it didn't and I lived to tell the tale.

 

[NotUrsula]

Antihistamine won't help, and in fact may do harm, because it dries up and thickens the mucous in your sinuses. A decongestant will help, and I also recommend Guaifenesin (Robitussin or equiv. generic); it's classed as an expectorant, but what it really does is thin out and water down nasal secretions so that they can more easily drain through your Eustachian tubes. Always carry bottled water with you on a flight and drink it often; it helps a LOT, because swallowing helps open the Eustachian tubes, and planes are dehydrating anyway.

I have chronic ear/sinus problems due to Meniere's disease, and I have had my left eardrum rupture on two occasions while on an aircraft. A simple cold would almost never do it; but a raging sinus infection could. You would know if it happened to you, the pain is initially excruciating, and you would suffer a hearing loss for at least several days, probably accompanied by unceasing ringing in that ear. Eardrums do heal with proper medical treatment, so a ruptured drum does not automatically mean permanent hearing loss.

Preventative meds are your best defense, but if they don't prove effective, there is something else you can do in-flight that will help: cups for your ears.
FA's will know what you want if you ask for them. They will give you two disposable coffee cups stuffed with paper napkins, over which boiling water has been poured. First, turn the cups sideways over the floor to make sure that all the water has been absorbed by the napkins, you don't want to burn yourself. Once you're sure they won't drip, put the cups over your ears Princess-Leia-style and hold them in place as long as you can tolerate them. The steam from the water will help to equalize the pressure in your Eustachian tubes, and will almost certainly reduce or even eliminate any pain. If you anticipate that this will be an issue, ask for the cups before the actual descent, and then keep them covered to retain the steam. (This is because the FA's can't actually get them for you on final descent; you need to get them before they have to strap in.)

 

[nuke]

Afrin! But don't use it for more than 3 days and follow the directions on the package. It can mess up your nasal passages if taken too much.

 

[Donna]

LOL! it sounds like your friend is a tad envious of you going to disney world!

 

[mishtb]

if you just have a cold.... you should be fine.... in the past when I flew with a sinus infection I had no problems during the flight, but when we were landing I head felt like it was going to burst.... but if you dont have sinus but just a regular cold you should be fine.

Also for those traveling with an ear infection --- I would only fly if you had no other choice. working in the airlines I know that when a flight attendant's ears are "blocked" (having slight ear infection) per medical they can not fly due to they can damage their ear drum..so I would think it would be the same for passengers...

 

[Snoozan]

I'm a big fan of Earplanes as I have gotten "stuffy" ears when flying. I would probably take Sudafed, Afrin nosespray and wear Earplanes if flying with a cold. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

[jenimay]

While flying to Orlando, I had excruciating pain from one year, it went from my neck to the top of my head. I didn't even have cold symptoms. Everyone else around me seemed fine. Took 2 days for my ear to get back to normal. Luckily everything was fine on the way back.

Jeni

 

[WHIT1]

Antihistamine won't help, and in fact may do harm, because it dries up and thickens the mucous in your sinuses. A decongestant will help, and I also recommend Guaifenesin (Robitussin or equiv. generic); it's classed as an expectorant, but what it really does is thin out and water down nasal secretions so that they can more easily drain through your Eustachian tubes. Always carry bottled water with you on a flight and drink it often; it helps a LOT, because swallowing helps open the Eustachian tubes, and planes are dehydrating anyway.

I have chronic ear/sinus problems due to Meniere's disease, and I have had my left eardrum rupture on two occasions while on an aircraft. A simple cold would almost never do it; but a raging sinus infection could. You would know if it happened to you, the pain is initially excruciating, and you would suffer a hearing loss for at least several days, probably accompanied by unceasing ringing in that ear. Eardrums do heal with proper medical treatment, so a ruptured drum does not automatically mean permanent hearing loss.

Preventative meds are your best defense, but if they don't prove effective, there is something else you can do in-flight that will help: cups for your ears.
FA's will know what you want if you ask for them. They will give you two disposable coffee cups stuffed with paper napkins, over which boiling water has been poured. First, turn the cups sideways over the floor to make sure that all the water has been absorbed by the napkins, you don't want to burn yourself. Once you're sure they won't drip, put the cups over your ears Princess-Leia-style and hold them in place as long as you can tolerate them. The steam from the water will help to equalize the pressure in your Eustachian tubes, and will almost certainly reduce or even eliminate any pain. If you anticipate that this will be an issue, ask for the cups before the actual descent, and then keep them covered to retain the steam. (This is because the FA's can't actually get them for you on final descent; you need to get them before they have to strap in.)

i have meniere's disease also and this was my first plane trip with it. i got earplanes and they worked. i had to use them on the whole flight couldn't take them out until we landed. but no pain. used the same ones for the flight back and still the ear felt good. no pain. my dr did say to take something for pain before getting on the plane which i did. also had halls plus in case i got stopped up but that didn't happen so i can say i had a great flight with no problem. but without the earplanes i would have been in great pain. this disease is so unpredictable with its flare ups. fla weather seem to help with my sinuses and allergies and felt great the whole time there. the heat was the only factor. could you tell me how long you've had this disease? its been a year for me and i take no meds, just watch my salt intake.

 

[April]

My ears would plug all the time on flights and sometimes take hours/days to clear. I love Earplanes. They made all the difference in the world. I also take some sudafed and chew gum.