Long flights may carry hidden health risks
Long-haul flights can be risky for people with certain types of heart and lung conditions as well as anyone who have had surgery recently.
Long-haul flights can be risky for people with certain types of
heart and lung conditions as well as anyone who have had
surgery recently.
The environmental and physiologic changes that occur during routine commercial air travel can incite or exacerbate pre-existing cardiac and lung conditions. People should check with their physicians if they have significant health problems before they get on a plane.
The drop in pressure that occurs as an airplane reaches cruising altitude makes it tougher for the blood to hold oxygen. Most healthy people can cope with this reduction in oxygen saturation, but for people with illnesses that cause them to have low oxygen blood levels in the first place, such as emphysema or congestive heart failure, it can be hazardous, particularly on flights more than a couple of hours long. Doctors may advise these patients to bring oxygen with them on the plane.
Flying too soon after surgery can also cause problems. This is a particular concern for people who travel to have certain procedures. So-called long-haul flights, defined as any trip lasting eight hours or more, are known to increase the risk of a potentially fatal blood clot forming in the legs. The risk of these blood clots is quadrupled during long flights for the average person, while people with conditions that promote blood clotting are at even greater risk.
The best strategies for preventing these deadly blood clots are common-sense and include keeping well-hydrated, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, getting up to stretch and walk around the cabin, and doing calf-stretching exercises in your seat. One in-flight health concern that people shouldn't worry about too much is the risk of contracting contagious disease. While flights can indeed promote the geographic spread of disease during an epidemic, the risk of catching the
infection is typically limited to people sitting within two rows of the contagious person. In fact, because airplanes use HEPA filters to keep cabin air clean, a plane may actually be a bit safer than other modes of mass transportation, for example buses and subways, at least when it comes to catching the flu.
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