Why Do People Get Headaches During Flights?

Imagine your head is like a balloon. When you're on a plane, the air gets thinner, so it's like squeezing the balloon from the outside, and that makes your head hurt! It’s also easier to get dehydrated when flying because the air in airplanes is dry, which can make headaches worse too.

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Examples

A kid on a flight suddenly starts whining because their head hurts, they didn’t bring enough water.
Your friend gets a pounding headache halfway through the flight and can't enjoy the movie anymore.
You’re on a long international flight, and by hour two, your head feels like it’s inside a vacuum cleaner.

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Categories: Health · air travel· health effects· headache causes