I am a traveler a nervous airplane guy with a vivid imagination, which is not an ideal combination. Moving forward at a dizzying pace in a crowded space, with heavier oxygen for hours, can give me material for all kinds of issues to worry about. A random stomach pain can make me panic: what happens if I get sick right here?
It turns out that there is a discipline -“airspace medicine-, which focuses on treating pilots, crew and astronauts.
“We try to keep people healthy in an environment that is unhealthy“said Leigh Speicher, an airspace medicine specialist and internist in Jacksonville, Florida, and president of the Aviation Medical Association.
I asked her and other experts for their best advice on how to stay healthy during travel season.
When booking a flight: which seats should be reserved
You can start thinking about your health from the moment you start the flight searchsaid Paulo Alves, global medical director of aviation health at MedAire, which provides remote medical assistance to airlines, and part of the Aerospace Medical Association.
If, for example, you frequently get motion sickness, reserve a seat in the wing area, which is more stableaccording to Alves.
And reconsider your trip if you have a sinus or ear infection, Alves said. When in flight, the congestion It may become more difficult to adjust to changing air pressure, which could result in pain, bleeding, and even a ruptured eardrum.
Las untreated dental conditions and postponed root canals can be equally painful during the flight, said Meghan Hattfield, an endodontist in Summit, New Jersey. If you notice any pain or swelling, see your dentist before boarding a flight.
Alves agreed with this: If you don’t feel well in general, avoid flying or discuss the situation with your doctor first.
“Many of the heart attacks we see happen on flights, for example,” Alves said. In retrospect the person will say, ‘You know what? “I wasn’t feeling really well before I boarded the flight.”
Care when packing the suitcase
Take all your medications in your carry on or handbagdo not send it.
People often forget this “and then they have problems like a seizure or an allergic reaction,” Alves said. “And what happens? “His medication is locked in the warehouse.”
Speicher carries his own water with him on board, and not just because it’s important stay hydrated (ideally, drink a quarter of a liter every hour). If there is turbulence, the flight attendants must remain seated and you may have to spend a long time thirsty.
You can bring it in your handbag ginger or mint tea bagswhich can calm your stomach, Speicher recommended. If you have stomach problems, ask the flight attendant for a glass of hot water.
at the airport
Avoid carbonated drinks with meals for at least an hour before boarding, Alves said.
Eating a very large meal increases the chance of swallowing air, adhesion, and all gas expands at height. That can hurt. Sometimes so strong, he said, that people think they have appendicitis.
Before boarding, take a second to Check your travel list carefully with everything you need for the flightincluding snacks and over-the-counter medications, Speicher said. You have to ask yourself: What could make this flight better, safer and healthier?
While on the flight
Memory intenta move as much as possible during the flight to prevent venous thrombosiswhich occurs when a blood clot forms inside a long vein deep in the body, usually in the legs.
Clots tend to occur mostly when you sit for long periods of time, so get up at least every two hours It’s a good idea, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
should also stretch and perform exercises with your feet and ankles while remaining seated, Speicher said. “I try to do this between TV shows, movies or book chapters,” he explained.
and if you want brush your teeth in the airplane bathroom, use a water bottle instead of airplane tap water, which is not drinkable, Speicher said.
When I told my mother about these tips, she reminded me of one of the dangers that travelers should no longer have to deal with: cigarettes. When she was a stewardess in the ’60s, passengers left their cigarettes on their armrests.
“I had to dodge them when I walked through the hallways so my uniform wouldn’t catch on fire,” Speicher’s mother said.