Should I fly with both ears clogged from a cold?
 

In 12 hours I depart BKK for SFO. Last valid day for my SWU. No upgrades available in the coming week. The doc gave me antihistamines, sudafed, and nasal spray. They don't seem to do much.

In addition to the pain as we come down to approach at NRT and SFO, is there some chance of real damage?

You should think about delaying your flight out of consideration to your fellow passengers. It's not nice to spread germs if you can delay your plans. Other than that, you may be uncomfortable during descent.

I forgot to mention: no snotty comments, please. :D

Actually, what's so strange is that I'm not coughing nor sniffling. It was a very mild bug except for what it did to my ears.

If the (otherwise) great agent at UA BKK had been willing to attempt an extension of the SWU*, I would gladly have waitlisted for the coming weekend.


*I'm not 1K this year, only 1P. The SWU was gifted.

One word - Afrin. I never travel without it. Clears your sinus in two minutes.

[QUOTE=mahjongguy]I forgot to mention: no snotty comments, please. [QUOTE]

Not meant to be snotty. In your post you didn't mention there weren't any coughing or sniffling symptoms. Based on what you did say it wasn't a stretch to assume you had the other standard cold symptoms. That clearly makes a difference as coughing and sneezing are how the germs get spread.

Oh, not chiding you at all. I understood and agreed with your comment.

My statement was not in direct reply to yours; I just took the opportunity to make a childish pun, and hoped that the big smiley would suffice.

Notes to self:
- don't schedule SWU's for their last day of validity
- don't schedule the return flight for a few days before the 6-month ticket expires
- start buying those great ex-BKK D fares so NC availability isn't the deciding factor in how I manage my life

You should not fly with a head cold. But you will. In such a case you might try installing ear plugs before the cabin is pressurized and keeping them in until arrival at the gate at the other end. Be prepared for anything. It could be very painful or nothing at all. I hope for the latter. Good luck.

Yes. In the event of a real blockage, you could puncture your eardrum.

The ear has three ways of equalizing pressure on the two sides of the eardrum:

1. equalize with air pressure. This is the normal way.
2. If that fails, equalize with fluid. This usually means blood, but that's not always possible.
3. If that fails, remove the barrier. i.e., puncture the eardrum.

I once had an equalization problem that resorted to #2, though it could just as easily have progressed to #3. In my opinion, it's not worth the risk.

But then it comes back.

Sudafed. Just don't take so much you dry out your eyeballs and sinuses.

No. 3 has happened to me, i.e, at different times both eardrums have popped due to pressure inside and changing altitude. Bad news was that it hurt so bad that the good news was the eardrum popped. Actually they more kind of tore/split. Gook poured out and then they healed up.

Go ahead and fly.

I've had to fly with dozens and dozens of nasty colds with tons of upper congestion.

When I asked the doc about this, he explained that there is NO danger on ascent. The pressure from the ears releases through the phlegm and into the throat.

But on descent for landing, the passageways (in/near the throat) MUST be clear or the above described pain and damage could occur. Appropriate heavy duty decongestants can be taken 90 minutes before descent to deal with this with no guaranteed results.

Another strong vote for SUDAFED. About two weeks ago, I was landing in PDX with a cold, and thought my head was going to explode with pain. I was flying again in two days, and was concerned. Called my Doctor, and she recommended Sudafed about 2 hours before each takeoff and landing--no need to take it during the flight ( it opens the eustachian tubes in the ears, which is the source of the problem in equalizing changes in pressure). Worked great!
"Never leave home without it"

No, for your head may explode and ruin your hat (and "snotty" may well describe that which is coating your seatmates).

This may be a stretch, but I think for babies its good for them to breastfeed during takeoff\landing to help pop the ears. Maybe plead your case accordingly, and report back?

[QUOTE=mahjongguy] The doc gave me antihistamines, sudafed, and nasal spray. They don't seem to do much.
[QUOTE]

They might when you're up there, in entirely the wrong way... Beware that overuse of standard antihistamines can constrict the sinusues and cause severe pain.

You're better off with a saline nasal spray.