Jen and I are back from a fun-filled but exhausting weekend in New York. We were there for Jen’s cousin Jack’s marriage to Kim in Cooperstown. The wedding was beautiful and the reception tons of fun — 20-piece big band, chandelier-adorned tent, and more (details later, with pictures, from Jen herself, who plans to write a guest entry here in my blog).
We flew all day Friday, went to the wedding Saturday, and traveled back home to San Francisco last night. We got home around midnight and the pressure in my left eye remains.
I do a lot of flying and had never had any kind of problems in the air until recently. Not every time, but every once in a while during a descent, I’ll suddenly experience this piercing pressure in my left eye that extends upward through my forehead. My eyes water and my head sharply aches. I’m sure it’s somehow related to the pressure, but I can’t figure out why it had never happened until just this year. Our itinerary this weekend included a total of 6 take-offs and 6 landings, and only during last night’s landing into Oakland did I experience this strange eye pressure. It’s not as bad today, but still a bit noticeable.
Perhaps there’s a correlation with how tired I am, too. So far, we have a slow week ahead, so hopefully the pressure will secede soon and I’ll feel more rested.
Jen’s breathing was much better in New York (following last week’s asthma scare), but is already a bit worse since arriving home last night. She’s had allergy shots in New York, but not here in California, where a different set of fall pollens really inhibits her breathing every September.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Silus Grok // Sep 22, 2003 at 11:04 am
Don’t take the eye pressure thing lightly.
As we age, the chance that for glacoma increases, and if memory serves, glacoma has to do with pressure within the eye.
At any rate, have it checked out by your opthamologist.
And an idea on why it may only be periodic… dropping from 30000 feet to the tarmac is a process full of variables : pressure outside the cabin is affected by weather systems and altitude (lot’s more pressure in Oakland — at sea level — than, say, at Salt Lake City — just shy of a mile up), also cabin pressure varies based on settings and the like.
– sG
2 gabe // Sep 22, 2003 at 1:13 pm
thanks very much for the great input, silus. i really appreciate it. i do see my eye doctor regularly (once per year) and he always does the glaucoma test. i was just there a couple months ago, but i’ll be sure to mention it next time.
also, i heard from my dad that he, too, has experienced this problem. he said he asked a doctor about it and the doctor suggested Afrin nasal spray, which my dad says helps to prevent the pressure.
interesting, too, is your point about the air pressure in oakland being greater since it’s at sea level. i certainly hadn’t thought about that.
3 Silus Grok // Sep 22, 2003 at 9:20 pm
I do my best…
: )
Here’s to it being sinus issues!