Eye Pain: What might cause it during flying?

On a flight, as we landed at Gatwick, I felt a sharp pain above one eye as if someone had put a needle through my eyebrow. When I touched the painful area, the skin was very sensitive and my eye got bloodshot. It has happened once before. What might cause it?

Dr Fred Kavalier answers your health question:

This is not something I have come across before. A sharp pain followed by a hypersensitivity suggests that something acutely disturbed the sensory nerves that supply your forehead. The nerve that supplies sensation to the skin above the eye is known as the trigeminal nerve. It is possible that the change in cabin pressure as the aeroplane descended somehow disturbed the nerve. Another possibility is that a sudden neck movement as the plane landed tweaked a nerve. Are there any neurologists out there who can explain this symptom?

Please mail your questions for Dr Fred to health@independent.co.uk. He regrets that he is unable to respond personally to questions.