Sinus problems at altitude

[Jeremy Lew]

The last couple of flights where I have gone above 7000 ft, I have
experienced this strange physiological effect:

My left front teeth, gum, and upper lip go completely numb, exactly as if I
had gotten a shot of novocaine. It stays that way until I start descending.
This happened to me once on an airline flight years ago, and was accompanied
by a splitting sinus headache. The two recent events have been pain free,
but it's disconcerting to have parts of your body lose feeling while flying.
I had a linering low-grade cold during the first flight, but it had cleared
up by the second. My father (a physician) had never heard of anything like
this, but hypothesized that my sinus is swelling up and pressing on the
facial nerve in that area.

So, has anyone experienced anythning like this, and what can I possibly do
to stop it?

Jeremy

[Matthew P. Cummings]

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 13:48:16 -0500, Jeremy Lew wrote:

> had gotten a shot of novocaine. It stays that way until I start descending.
> This happened to me once on an airline flight years ago, and was accompanied
> by a splitting sinus headache. The two recent events have been pain free,

You didn't say how long it was since you got over your cold, but I can
tell you this. I had a similar thing happen to me, I thought I was over
my cold and apparently I wasn't. I felt fine, didn't have any issues or
anything, yet had a problem. A week later everything was back to normal.
That's a week after I had already thought I was well with no symptoms,
which I didn't fly until 3 days after I thought I was better. So it
actually took about 10 days from when I thought I was well to when
altitude didn't bother me.

My doctor said that you can still have a small amount of fluid buildup in
the cavities and not know it, i.e. have no symptoms.

[Cub Driver]

>This happened to me once on an airline flight years ago, and was accompanied
>by a splitting sinus headache.

I am familiar with the headache, but not the numbness. When I flew to
Saigon in 1964, the Pan Am jetliners followed a policy of positioning
themselves over Tan Son Nhut airport at 30,000 feet, then descending
in a tight, fast spiral so as not to be hit by small-arms fire. I
thought I was dying of a stroke until I saw that my seatmate's face
was streaming with tears. I don'tr recall a worse or more frightening
pain.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Marvin]

> The last couple of flights where I have gone above 7000 ft, I have
> experienced this strange physiological effect:
>
> My left front teeth, gum, and upper lip go completely numb, exactly as if
I
> had gotten a shot of novocaine. It stays that way until I start
descending.
> This happened to me once on an airline flight years ago, and was
accompanied
> by a splitting sinus headache. The two recent events have been pain free,
> but it's disconcerting to have parts of your body lose feeling while
flying.
> I had a linering low-grade cold during the first flight, but it had
cleared
> up by the second. My father (a physician) had never heard of anything
like
> this, but hypothesized that my sinus is swelling up and pressing on the
> facial nerve in that area.
>
> So, has anyone experienced anythning like this, and what can I possibly do
> to stop it?
>
> Jeremy
>

I have a similar problem. When I have seasonal allergies and get stuffy for
a few weeks at a time, I have to blow my nose a lot. If I blow too hard, I
will start to get the same kind of numbness you describe. This happens on
the ground. Less often, when flying privately or commercially with allergy
symptoms, I'll get the numbness with fast pressure changes. I've never had
it happen just by being at altitude, and it never happens unless its
associated with allergy problems. I had my dentist take some X-rays and he
said my teeth and nerves are a lot closer to my sinus cavity on the left
side where I have the numbness problem than on the right. Said there was
nothing permanently that could be done except with facial surgery. My
solution to the problem is much easier - Allegra D stop the sinus
inflamation ! Going flying actually helps my symptoms, maybe because I'm
away from the allergens in the air near the surface.

[Morgans]

"Marvin" > wrote

I had my dentist take some X-rays and he
> said my teeth and nerves are a lot closer to my sinus cavity on the left
> side where I have the numbness problem than on the right. Said there was
> nothing permanently that could be done except with facial surgery. My
> solution to the problem is much easier - Allegra D stop the sinus
> inflamation ! Going flying actually helps my symptoms, maybe because I'm
> away from the allergens in the air near the surface.
>
>

Be aware, that people who have had chronic sinus infections for extended
periods (years) of time, can have the bone structure eaten away. There can
be so little bone left that you could fracture your upper jaw by biting down
on something hard.

My dad had exactly this condition.

Moral of the story: if your snot is runny yellow or green, get to a doctor
and get checked out; you probably have a rip-roaring infection. Antibiotics
can help.
--
Jim in NC