|
||||
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|||||||
eHealth Recomends the Following Products & Services -
Fitness To Fly
In addition to preparing for other travel risks you might encounter, before embarking on air travel you should evaluate your fitness to fly based on risks associated with being in a confined cabin with dry air and a variable level of CO2, less ability to walk around, and no immediate access to medical care. Your risk will also depend on your current health condition and specific needs (for example, recent surgery, pregnancy, infectious illness, history of blood clots, flying after SCUBA diving, etc.).
In addition to discussing the risks of air travel with your health care provider, you should make your airline aware of any health problems in advance of your flight. You should explain your particular medical issue to a reservations agent who can forward the inquiry appropriately. In this way they can ensure that adequate facilities are provided if needed, including wheelchair access, diet, and extra oxygen where necessary.
There are several severe conditions that would be significantly worsened by air travel; one of these is decompression sickness following recent SCUBA diving. There is little data available, so the following guidelines represent the current "best guess" consensus for recommended waiting times before flying after diving:
You should avoid flying if you have had recent middle ear surgery or infection or recent severe sinusitis that may become painful during flight. If you have had repeated ear or sinus barotrauma following air travel, you should ask your health care provider about taking preventive medication such as oral or nasal decongestants or oral pseudoephedrine tablets. If you are healthy but are prone to ear pain on descent, remember to swallow, chew, or yawn in order to facilitate free flow of air to the middle ear and sinuses.
If you have other health conditions (such as recent surgery, heart attack, lung conditions, etc.), you will need a medical assessment before flying. If you have disease involving hemoglobin, psychiatric conditions, or a history of blood clots (deep vein thrombosis), you should consult with your treating physician.
You should delay your travel if you have an infectious disease (especially during the time when you are contagious) or if the infection would prove unacceptable to health authorities at the destination airport--such as chicken pox or other infectious diseases of childhood, influenza, and TB. Any person with a disease or ailment that would cause offense to other travelers on the aircraft (such as obvious and infectious skin diseases or tumors with foul-smelling discharges) should avoid travel.
Cabin Air Quality
Modern airliners re-circulate half of their cabin air every 3 to 4 minutes. Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the cabin can vary and may be 5 times higher than those in normal outdoor air, thus giving a sensation of "stale air." Such high levels of CO2 can lead to headache, light-headedness, and dizziness.
Another unavoidable feature of modern airliners is low humidity. This lack of moisture in the cabin air leads to dry eyes, sore throat, and thirst. To compensate for low humidity, drink lots of water before and during the flight and avoid alcohol and caffeine, both of which tend to cause dehydration. The dry atmosphere also tends to dry the skin, and therefore regular application of moisturizer to skin and lips will help. Eyeglasses rather than contact lenses should be worn for long flights.
Ozone levels in the cabin are maintained at levels found in rural settings at sea level. The pressurization in the cabin is equivalent to an altitude of 6,000 to 8,000 ft. In healthy travelers this has no effect. However it can have an effect on travelers with pulmonary problems, diseases involving hemoglobin, and where there may be "air" (or CO2) present in the body (e.g., following laparoscopy or laparoscopic surgery). "
Cabin air is passed through filters similar to those used in hospital operating rooms, removing 99% of particulate material including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Airplane cabin environments likely have fewer pathogens than other public places; however, there are rare cases where such diseases have been transmitted within the cabin during flight, but only to travelers in a seat adjacent to the infectious traveler. The risk of disease transmission is higher in crowded departure lounges.
Ionizing Radiation in the Cabin
Radiation levels in flight vary with altitude and latitude but may be 6 times higher at cruise altitudes of 40,000 feet, as compared to sea level. Frequent flyers such as business travelers or cabin staff would need to fly at least 2,000 hours a year for maximum exposures to exceed the internationally recommended ionizing radiation limit. However, pregnant women should limit flying on subsonic aircraft to less than 200 hours during the pregnancy to reduce exposure.
Disinsection
Some countries require all or certain in-bound flights to be sprayed with insecticide (this is called "disinsection"). This is done in one of three ways:
A limited number of countries require disinsection of all in-bound flights with an aerosolized spray with passengers still on board and doors closed. This is generally done during the initial phase of descent into the destination airport. These countries are Seychelles, Grenada, India, Kiribati, Madagascar, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.
Some countries require disinsection of all in-bound flights but allow this to be done while passengers are not onboard; these countries are Australia, Barbados, Cook Islands, Fiji, Jamaica, New Zealand, and Panama.
Countries that require disinsection of selected flights include: Czech Republic, Guam, Indonesia, South Africa, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.
Travelers should check on disinsection requirements with the travel agent or airline reservation agent when booking flights.
Aircraft Emergency Medical Kits
European-based airlines and U.S.-based airlines each have standards that determine what should be contained in medical emergency kits aboard aircraft. In the U.S. all ATA (Air Transport Aviation) member airlines (includes all major U.S. carriers) now include automated external defibrillators (AEDs), first aid kits, and at least one emergency medical kit on all aircraft. Requirements for airlines not serving the U.S. vary, but most major carriers do provide AEDs for emergency use and emergency medical kits, especially on international routes. The most common in-flight emergencies are cardiac and gastrointestinal problems. Airliners that don't have cardiac monitoring equipment will also lack digoxin, lidocaine, and other anti-arrhythmic agents.
Pregnancy
If you are pregnant you should take several factors into consideration before deciding to fly; among these are the risk of blood clots (deep vein thrombosis) and complications of pregnancy during flight. If you and your health care provider decide that flying is appropriate, be sure that you do leg exercises while on the flight (walking, stretching, and isometric exercises), wear support hose, and drink plenty of water before and during the flight to reduce the risk of blood clots and pulmonary embolism (where a blood clot travels to the lung). You should always wear the seat belts worn low around the pelvis, throughout the flight.
Travel by air after the 36th week of pregnancy is generally prohibited by airlines, but policies vary. If you plan to fly during this time period be sure to ask your airline about any specific restrictions. If you plan to fly during the last 3 months of pregnancy, you should carry a physician's letter indicating your due date, in the event that airline officials need confirmation.
eHealth eZine - Your Daily Dose of Good Health -
Get your Daily dose of Good Health Absolutely Free. The eZine will keep you up-to-date on Health issues and will motivate you to Live a Happy Healthy Life. Additionally you will receive Great Health Freebies..
|
