Migraine headaches when you fly
About 5% of people will experience headaches when they travel by plane. This headache has been called “Flight-Associated-Headache”.
A recent paper from Dr Potasman on headache associated with air travel has studied these people. It will come as no surprise that people with a previous history of headache, that’s usually those people with migraine, were twice as likely to experience flight-associated headache, than those without a previous history of headache.
When the headaches that happened during flight were studied in more detail, about 20% were diagnosed as migraine headaches.
The other headaches were not migraine, and the researchers said that low oxygen levels in the cabin, poor quality of recirculated air or changes in air pressure in the sinuses may have contributed to other headaches.
The researchers do not give any specific preventative advice, but if you have migraine and are going to be flying, it may be worth carrying rescue treatment with you - you have a fair chance of experiencing a headache when you fly.
For the airline industry - they may wish to take note - 20% of airline passengers is an awful lot of people who are experiencing migraine or other pain after spending a lot of money on a plane ticket. The first airline to offer a reduction in headache risk will become very popular!
The preferred rescue treatments for migraine are (as you may know):
- Aspirin or Ibuprofen or Naproxen or Tolfenamic Acid
- Anti-emetics such as prochlorperazine or buclizine
- Triptans - such as Imigran (Imitrex), Zomig
Remember that prevention is better than cure - I can’t repeat the seven simple steps to control migraine enough - the better you look after yourself, the less migraine you will experience.