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Before Take-Off
By Myrna Chandler Goldstein
From Natural Health
November-December 1995
Last January, my husband and I treated ourselves to
a Caribbean vacation. We were going to get away from it all,
stroll on white sandy beaches, relax in the sun.
Unfortunately, several people on the flight down were sick, coughing
and sniffling their way from Boston to San Juan.
Within forty-eight hours of landing, I had a
low-grade fever and a continuous hacking cough. In fact, I
remained sick for more than a month. And that wasn't the first
time I had gotten sick after flying.
While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
claims that flying is no more injurious to your health than sitting
in an office, FAA air surgeon Jon Jordan, M.D., reported to a Senate
committee in May 1994 that "studies confirm that air quality aboard
an aircraft is at least as good as that commonly found in many other
indoor workplaces or office environments." Other experts
disagree, charging that the unnatural cabin air and cramped quarters
in airplanes do in fact present passengers with numerous health
risks.
"You're in intimate contact with everyone's
microorganisms -- everyone's airborne microorganisms -- even if
you're in row 20 and they're in row l," says Adriane Fugh-Bemian,
M.D., who is a board member of the National Women's Health Network
(a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group) and frequent flier.
Former international flight attendant Diana
Fairechild would agree. Fairechild "circled the planet" more
than a hundred times before she was medically "grounded" by multiple
chemical sensitivities illness her doctor attributes to repeated
exposure to the
pesticides sprayed on international flights.
In her book Jet Smart (Flyana Rhyme /
Celestial Arts, 1992), she writes, "Most jets provide only 40 to 60
percent fresh air; the rest is recirculated, usually through a
particle filter that does not remove germs." That means that the
germs that are present in the cabin air continue to bop back and
forth from passenger to passenger.
What's worse, this cabin air is not only recycled,
it is incredibly dry, says Fugh-Berman. The humidity level of
cabin air is often only 20 percent and sometimes dips as low as zero
percent humidity. That's drier than desert air, which is
usually at least 20 to 25 percent humid. In this environment,
the protective mucous layers in your nose, mouth, and throat dry
out, leaving you more prone to microbial infection.
The most serious -- although rare -- health threat
of flying is not related to the poor air quality, but the
unreasonably tight quarters, says Fugh-Berman. Sitting
immobile in the tiny seats of airplanes increases your risk of
developing a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the lungs.
When you sit in one position without moving for a
prolonged period, the blood in the veins of your legs slows down and
can pool and clot, setting the stage for an embolism. Former
Vice President Dan Quayle blames frequent air travel for the
embolism that hospitalized him.
"The problem is that the seats are so terrible.
You sit cramped. You're sitting in the middle of three seats,
so you're loathe to get up and walk around," says pulmonologist
Joseph Pines, an M.D. at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston,
Massachusetts. "And unless you get up to walk around, you
don't increase the speed of circulation and venous return, and that
leads to stasis and blood clots."
But there is good news, says Pines. "It's an
avoidable phenomenon." In fact, many of these flying pitfalls
are avoidable or at least in many ways manageable. So here are
some natural ways to lessen your chances of getting sick from flying
and make your air travel more comfortable.
Prepare Your Immune System
There are steps you can take to protect yourself
from the microbial onslaught associated with flying even before you
travel. Glenn Rothfeld, M.D., a family practitioner and
acupuncturist in Arlington, Massachusetts, recommends beefing up
your immune system before you take off. "Take two
500-milligram capsules of echinacea, 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams of
vitamin C, and 25,000 units of beta-carotene a few hours before a
flight," he says.
Drink Up
In addition to increasing your susceptibility to
germs, breathing dry cabin air throughout a flight poses a real risk
of dehydration, which can cause fatigue, dry skin, dry and itchy
eyes, lightheadedness, and headaches. The number one way to
avoid dehydration is easy and obvious. Drink lots of water;
noncarbonated water, that is. (Carbonated water in your
stomach may cause gas pain and discomfort as the plane changes
altitude.)
Both Fugh-Berman and Fairechild recommend drinking
between twelve to sixteen ounces an hour. "If you want to
follow only one piece of advice, this would be it," Fairechild
advises. "Carry your own bottled water on board as a backup in
case the airplane runs out."
It's also important to avoid alcohol and caffeine,
says Fugh-Berman. "They are diuretics which increase the frequency
of urination, so you aren't really winning."
Fairechild also recommends holding a wet
handkerchief or washcloth to your nose and mouth during flight to
moisten the air you breathe. This also will help block the
spread of germs, providing you wash your hands before touching your
eyes, nose, or mouth. You will have to wet the cloth
periodically throughout the flight.
In-Flight Fitness
As Pulmonologist Pines suggests, embolisms are
avoidable. In fact, embolisms are not a risk if you exercise
the muscles in your legs when flying.
Airplane seats are generally small, but Fugh-Berman
offers a few simple exercises you can do every half hour right in
your seat:
Point and flex your toes twenty times. Stretch
out your legs as far as you can. Place your hands on your
thighs, pushing down slightly, and lift your legs against the
pressure. Pines recommends walking up and down the aisle
whenever you get the chance: "Be up and around. Keep the
circulation moving. You should not sit immobile for more than
an hour and a half to two hours max."
Watch Out for Thin Air
On longer flights, hypoxia, a deficiency of oxygen
in the blood, can occur. Jets cruise at altitudes between
twenty-five thousand and sixty thousand feet, heights with too
little oxygen to sustain human life. To make the air
breathable, air outside the plane has to be compressed by the
engines before being pumped into the cabin.
However, this air is only pressurized to the level
of high mountain locales such as Mexico City (7,500 feet), says
Fairechild. This air can seem "thin" to some people and can
cause hypoxic symptoms such as shortness of breath, headaches,
mental confusion, fatigue, and dizziness.
Passengers in business and first class sections
usually do not suffer from hypoxia as often as passengers in the
economy section. "On an average flight, a passenger sitting in
coach gets about seven cubic feet of fresh air per minute," says
Michele Barry, M.D., director of the Department of International
Travel and Tropical Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.
"In first class, it's about fifty cubic feet."
What makes matters worse for those in the economy
section is that pilots commonly turn off one or more of the air
conditioning "packs" as a fuel-saving measure, says Fairechild,
which further lessens the air pressure.
If you experience difficulty breathing or have any
of the other symptoms of hypoxia, Fairechild recommends notifying a
flight attendant and asking for "full utilization of air."
Once the pack is turned back on, it should be easier for you to
breathe. You may even hear a "whoosh" from the plane's air
conditioning. However, if you do not feel better, ask for an
oxygen bottle.
Jettison Jet Lag
Jet lag -- with its laundry list of symptoms:
insomnia, anxiety, constipation, and low energy -- is probably the
most common problem for the long-distance traveler. Jet lag
occurs when we fly from one time zone to another, skewing our
circadian clock, the body's internal timepiece, which regulates our
daily metabolic functions.
Since this clock is set by the amount of light that
enters our eyes throughout the day (bright light suppresses the
secretion of melatonin, a hormone that regulates our sleep cycles),
flying into a time zone where the day ends earlier or later than you
are accustomed to can throw you out of balance.
A number of ways exist to help your body adjust to
your body's time zone and lessen the effects of jet lag. Set
your watch to the new time as soon as you board the plane to help
you "psychologically" adjust. Get as much sunshine as possible
once you reach your destination. In other words, sleep only
when it's bedtime and not because you are tired.
Diana Fairechild had to stop working as an
international flight attendant because of an illness (multiple
chemical sensitivities) she developed from repeatedly being exposed
to pesticides sprayed inside the airplanes she flew on. Now,
Fairechild becomes ill when exposed to petrochemical derivatives and
so must avoid such common objects as dry-cleaned clothes, newsprint,
carpets, paint, and even perfume.
Although occasional fliers are not likely to suffer
such a severe reaction, pesticide spraying on airplanes can cause
allergic reactions, respiratory problems, and flu-like symptoms in
passengers.
In response to public outcry, many countries have
stopped spraying pesticides on incoming flights while passengers are
still on board. However, according to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, the following nations still require the practice:
Argentina, Barbados, Congo, Grenada, India, Kenya, Madagascar,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Trinidad, and Tobago.
When flying to one of these countries, Fairechild
recommends two ways to diminish your exposure to these pesticides.
First, if you are pregnant, asthmatic, or allergic to pesticides,
you can avoid exposure altogether. Ask your physician to write
you a note of exemption. The flight attendants will escort you
off the plane before they spray. Be sure to remind them that
you are exempt when you board. Second, if you are not exempt,
completely cover yourself with an airline blanket to reduce your
exposure to the pesticide.
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Note: Be sure to see our other article on
Jetlag Treatments.
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