• Guilherme Antonio Morais Lima, Francisco Clezion Franca Vasconcelos Júnior, Isadora Maria de Almeida Morais, Víctor Trindade Cruz, Ana Gabriela Krymchantowski, Carla Jevoux, Abouch Krymchantowski, and Raimundo Pereira Silva-Néto.
• Department of Neurology, Federal University of Delta of Parnaíba, Parnaíba, Brazil.
• Headache. 2020 Nov 1; 60 (10): 2406-2412.

BackgroundHeadache attributed to airplane travel is a rare form of headache that develops exclusively during airplane travel. It is characterized by occurring during takeoff, landing, or both, and improves spontaneously within 30 minutes after the ascent or descent of the airplane is completed.ObjectivesOur objectives were to determine the prevalence of headache attributed to airplane travel among medical students who traveled by plane, the time of flight when it occurred, and the emotional state of passengers on new trips.MethodsThe study was prospective, cross-sectional, using a non-random sample of medical students who traveled by plane. In total, 155 passengers who traveled by plane on at least 3 flights, regardless of duration were interviewed.ResultsHeadache during flight occurred 3 or more times in 7.5% (80/1070) of the trips and 14.2% (22/155) of the passengers, especially during takeoff or landing (17/22; 77.3%), having a stabbing character and lasting less than 30 minutes. The headache improved spontaneously at the end of the landing phase (17/22; 77.3%). When traveling again, 68.2% (15/22) of passengers traveled normally, despite previous painful experience.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that headache attributed to airplane travel is not as rare as previously thought, being predominant during takeoff or landing. In addition, despite the bothersome feeling, most passengers who experienced this headache traveled normally, despite previous painful experience.© 2020 American Headache Society.

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