Staying Healthy During Air Travel

In today’s show, we will talk about some of the most common health issues experienced during and after a flight. When the plane begins its ascent, the air pressure inside the cabin also begins to drop. This creates pain in the ears as well as the temporary experience of some level of hearing loss or muffled hearing because the eardrum can’t vibrate properly. Here are some tips to avoid airplane ear. You can try to yawn, chew gum or swallow during ascent and descent. This may open the eustachian tubes to help balance the pressure inside and outside the ears.

Airsickness, which is a form of motion sickness, is one of the common conditions people experience during a flight. Typical symptoms include cold sweating, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. It happens when there is a mixture of conflicting signals being sent to the brain from various parts of the body. When booking your flight, try to choose a window seat in the middle sections, over the wings, where shaking is felt the least on the plane. In addition to reducing motion-detecting signals being sent from the inner ears to the brain, also try to avoid reading books. You may close your eyes and listen to some music instead. If nausea happens to you often when traveling, you may want to eat light food one or two hours before departing.

If we sit in a confined space for a long time, we should always remember to stretch ourselves whenever we can. The reason is that when we sit in a position for extended periods, the risk of developing Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) also increases. Wear loose and comfortable clothes so that they do not restrict blood flow. In addition, make sure to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. Also, try to move around by walking back and forth in the aisles whenever it is possible, such as going for a bathroom break.

After long flights, especially those that cross multiple time zones, jet lag is a common short-lived disorder. Before the trip, rest as much as you can. During the flight, drink plenty of water to keep hydrated, and you may want to consider eating light meals and limiting caffeine intake. After arrival, find time to go for a walk or do some light exercise outside under the sun. Lastly, remember we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, so please make sure that you wear your mask properly while you are in flight.