Unfortunately, not all air passengers are distinguished by good health, but even quite healthy people can complain that they became ill on the plane. Among travelers, this is a very common disease that can manifest its symptoms in any transport. As a result of motion sickness, pain in the head, dizziness can be felt, but the most striking sign is nausea. Many passengers are wondering what to do if they feel sick on the plane and feel sick? We have collected some practical tips for tourists and travelers on how to avoid unpleasant moments during the trip.
Choose the right seats in the cabin
To reduce the impact of unpleasant sensations when passing through zones of turbulence and shaking during takeoff and landing, choose seats in the front of the cabin or opposite the wing. You can ask for this at the counter during check-in, but places of interest may not always be free. What to do? It is better to take care of the reservation of specific chairs in advance if.
Eat right before your flight
Passengers who have already been ill on the plane before the flight try to refrain from eating food so that they do not feel sick. From a medical point of view, this is completely wrong and hunger can only increase the discomfort of motion sickness. A couple of hours before departure, you need to eat, but eat only light and low-fat foods: fruits, vegetables, pastries. Do not eat fatty, spicy, salty and do not drink coffee and alcohol. To quench your thirst, it is better to use plain water or juices without pulp.
During the flight, be distracted and do not think about anything
Movies and books are bad helpers if you are afraid that you will become ill on an airplane. The peculiarities of the human body do not allow without consequences to look at a stationary object when it itself is moving. The brain is confused in the signals from the senses and as a result produces symptoms of motion sickness. Best advice: close your eyes, don't think about anything and relax.
Lozenges and menthol chewing gum can serve as a good taste sedative.
What to do if you still feel bad on the plane and feel sick
If you suddenly feel bad on the plane, do not panic because of bouts of nausea Use the hygiene bags that are issued on the plane. Direct a stream of cool air from the ventilation system above the seat towards you, unfold the bag, put it to your mouth and nose and breathe into it calmly until you feel better.
Stock up on medications for motion sickness
If you know that you regularly feel sick on the plane and feel sick, go to the pharmacy before the flight and stock up on motion sickness drugs. The range of remedies for motion sickness in transport is quite large. The pharmacy can suggest the most popular remedy, but it would be more correct to consult with your doctor, who will select the best option. A feature of such drugs is the manifestation of a feeling of drowsiness and this is worth remembering. There are no contraindications for a folk remedy for motion sickness - ginger. It can also be purchased at any pharmacy.
In this article, we have collected all the main tips for tourists and travelers so that everyone can figure out what to do if they often feel bad on an airplane and experience them for themselves. Put into practice our advice, and do not be afraid of air travel before you.
Travel comfortably and in good health!
It all happened on my last flight to Sochi. First I saw a woman's hand pressing the flight attendant's call. Then an incomprehensible commotion began. All the stewardesses came running at once and cackled anxiously. It became clear that there was an emergency situation on board. As it turned out, the aunt of 50 years old became ill, so much so that it was necessary to pump out. This happened to me for the first time in the history of flying.
In fact, health problems among air passengers in the sky are quite common. People lift experienced heart attacks, strokes, high / low blood pressure, as well as rotten puffs-mockingbirds from the Tychtynbek & Partners bakery near the railway station to a height of 10,000 meters. As a result, each Moscow airport provides first aid to about 500 patients who arrived from somewhere or who did not have time to fly. And from every million flights, 25 cold corpses are brought to earth, such a sad statistic. And hello to you - exactly two rows later a person bends over, and you sit and do not know what to do.
The flight attendants, as it turned out, began to act strictly according to the instructions - they kicked out the aunt's neighbor and laid her on blanket pillows, dragged an impressive first-aid kit and a fire extinguisher, an oxygen cylinder, and began to loudly invite possible passengers-doctors to the patient.
And here, if you yourself find yourself in such a situation, the wheel of Fortune begins to rotate. Whether you are lucky or not, whether there are doctors, and what competence they have. After all, the flight attendants themselves can provide only the very first aid, unskilled. They are taught this in ... three-day courses (!). It is clear that they will not be able to deal with a diagnosis, especially an unusual one.
But the aunt from our flight was very lucky: a whole council gathered. Together they interrogated the patient, rummaged through the first-aid kit, found what they needed, injected a dose, gave them pills and oxygen, and then laid her out on the last row and escorted her until the landing, when a team of Sochi doctors boarded.
In general, thanks to these wonderful caring people. It is quite possible that, thanks to their efforts, 25 air dead did not turn into 26. The flight attendants of Ural Airlines were also great, they actively took part and even asked if it was necessary to land the plane at the nearest airfield. The only thing that spoiled my impression of them was the categorical requirement for me to stop taking pictures and delete the photos. I do not understand this paranoia around ordinary photos on the phone. But do not think that your freelance correspondent can only harm - I heroically tore it from my heart and offered the rescued reinforcements in the form of a wonderful railway station pie, but for some reason it was not useful.
But this is not the end of the story that can happen to each of us. The bad news is that airports do not have their own resuscitators, and the team that arrived, again, can only provide general medical care. So if a passenger has a serious attack before landing or during takeoff, for example, at Sheremetyevo, then the ambulance will have to wait all the way from Moscow (there are simply no such cars in neighboring Lobnya). Therefore, you can not use air transport after recent heart attacks, strokes, and also eat foul-smelling products of the same Tychtynbek and partners on the road. Suddenly do not hold out?
It all ended with a happy ending for us, my aunt felt better already on the road. In Sochi, as you know, there is no time to get sick, you paid for the rest! The people vigorously discussed the situation, knocking on wood and repeating folk spells. And I hastily hid the pictures from the formidable flight attendants, I also have an educational mission ...
Did you have to bend in the air, or pump out your neighbors?
A flight is not the most pleasant procedure for the body: takeoff, landing, pressure, and, moreover, turbulence zones. Not to mention the jet lags after the flight. Pranks of the vestibular apparatus are different: from headaches and tinnitus to panic attacks. But besides these more or less expected things, sometimes real force majeure happens. Who to contact for medical assistance if you feel bad on the plane? Who is responsible for the health of the passenger on board? Is insurance valid? Who is to blame and what to do - we answer everything in order.
Who is at risk?
Flight is a stressful state for the body, even if its owner is calm like a boa constrictor in his thoughts. In addition, chronic diseases are often exacerbated on board an aircraft. Due to low pressure, blood is saturated with oxygen more slowly: first of all, passengers with cardiovascular diseases (ischemic heart disease, angina pectoris, hypertension), increased intracranial pressure, low blood clotting or diseases associated with its circulation (vegetovascular dystonia, pathology cerebral circulation).
Be especially attentive (flax) to the respiratory organs. Humidity (or dryness) of the air in an aircraft is an additional test for a passenger with pneumonia, asthma, and airway inflammation. Pressure affects the ear-nasal-throat comfort: ear pain intensifies (otitis media can become aerootitis), and sinusitis and a simple runny nose should be curbed at least with vasoconstrictor drops.
If the flight is scheduled for a long time, a sedentary state risks rewarding the traveler with edema, stagnation of blood or separation of a blood clot - in those who have venous diseases, thrombophlebitis and thrombosis.
On the plane, the mental state is also checked: phobias, nervousness, pathological anxiety come out. This sets off a chain of other physiological reactions. For example, a more acute air period in the stomach and intestines.
And who is not allowed to fly?
This decision remains with the passenger and depends on his state of health. In disputed cases, it is better to obtain the permission of a doctor. Although even at the gates, if the traveler's condition is objectively serious, he can be removed from the flight in order to protect him from more serious consequences.
Each airline sets its own rules. Detailed and clear, for example, the manual from British Airways. But there are also general recommendations. Flying is not advised for those who have recently undergone surgery, who are recovering from a heart attack, stroke or hypertensive crisis. For the next six months, it is better for them to use other modes of transport (however, if there is an urgent need for a flight, it is enough to wait a couple of days). People think about pregnancy in different ways: depending on the airline, the deadline for flying is 36 or 28 weeks. And newborns are allowed to be transported only accompanied by a doctor.
Who is responsible for the health of the passenger during the flight?
Everything related to flights within one state is regulated by its internal legislation. In the case of Belarus - the Air Code with references to the Civil Code.
Responsibility for the well-being of international flights is dictated by the 1999 Montreal Convention. According to it, the air carrier is responsible for the damage (both to the health and property of the passenger) that occurred during air transportation. Now the convention operates in 119 countries, including 28 states of the European Union, the USA, Russia, and China.
Is the insurance valid on the plane?
The air ticket is your automatic insurance. Remember: the airline is responsible for everyone on board the aircraft and what happens there. Injuries, if they are received during the flight, when a professional pilot is at the controls, are a generally recognized insured event. But the costs are more often borne not by the company where you took out insurance, but by the air carrier company. This is determined by the details of the policy.
An important nuance: the incident must be documented right on board the aircraft. As an option - an act of what happened from the commander of the ship.
Medical insurance is valid on the road, if it is written in the contract. For example, the insurance contract of Belgosstrakh (Chapter 2, paragraph 18) states the following: “insurance protection is valid only abroad, in countries (a group of countries) indicated in the insurance policy as the territory of coverage of insurance, as well as in countries of travel along the way following of the insured person". However, not in the air, but in countries, which implies at least a landing.
Most cases are recognized as insured if they occur in the territory of the declared country. But an unharmed passenger, as soon as he steps on board, becomes the concern of the airline itself.
The main document is not medical insurance, but a boarding pass (ticket). This is an agreement that obliges the carrier not only to inform the passenger about flight conditions or safety rules, not only to feed him and hand him a magazine, but also, if necessary, to provide first aid. As for alcohol: unlike the medical insurance that you take out before the trip, there are no reservations in the rules of air transportation whether the passenger is in a state of intoxication and why it was necessary to provide first aid.
Who can help on board?
First, a professional doctor from among fellow travelers. According to the rules, someone from the crew (flight attendant or pilot) reports the incident to all passengers of the aircraft through the speakerphone. So they find out if there is a doctor among them. Better - with a specific specialization. Usually there is a doctor, nurse or paramedic on most flights: more often than on every second plane.
Not all airlines have their own medical staff. There are, for example, American Airlines and United Airlines: they can be consulted about various cases - from headaches, nausea and anxiety to life-threatening conditions. Usually, the medical powers of the staff are more modest, and if intervention is required, it is entrusted to professionals.
What if there was no doctor on the plane?
The crew of the liner must be able to provide first aid, but the standards and requirements of the companies differ. Belavia flight attendants, for example, will help with injuries, poisoning and colds. They can detect shock, give artificial respiration and chest compressions. Flight attendants must be ready for anything, up to an emergency delivery. True, very little time is allotted for medical training in the training of flight attendants of any carrier.
Most airlines have some form of medical insurance. All airlines can contact a doctor on the ground during the flight. In the US, for example, most companies use the MedLink service, which, with the help of a doctor's consultation, allows the travel companions of the victim to identify the symptoms and / or provide assistance to him.
Flight attendants cannot administer medication to a passenger, but may offer something suitable from their first aid kit. Crew members are not allowed to administer their own drugs to passengers.
There are always medicines on the plane: a first aid kit used by flight attendants, and a first aid kit that can only be opened by a doctor (from among the passengers).
What to do when the necessary assistance cannot be provided on board the aircraft?
When more serious intervention is urgently needed, the best deal is an emergency landing. To make sure that the intention is correct, the ship's personnel can contact the ground consultant. If landing there is recommended, the final decision rests with the commander of the ship. But keep in mind: planes cannot land at any airport. Because of permits, because of dimensions and not only.
Preparing for an unscheduled landing, the crew immediately reports the incident to the dispatchers of the nearest airport. They notify the flight director, who contacts the responsible services of the air harbor. While the plane is landing, medical assistance is being prepared there.
Be careful: if you are flying with a foreign-language company, you should check how correctly and fully the crew informs colleagues on the ground. The language barrier can greatly affect the situation: which team will be waiting upon arrival, what doctors will face, etc.
Under whose care are passengers during an emergency landing?
Having landed, any foreign airliner is in the jurisdiction of this airport and this country. Therefore, local health workers have the right to act boldly. A sick passenger can be hospitalized as soon as the plane stops.
For specialized medical care, a brigade from the outside is called to the airport (using a standard ambulance number). Not a single airport in the world has its own intensive care unit. By itself, the medical service in the hubs is designed only for cases of emergency. Their employees cannot and should not provide resuscitation actions.
What about infections?
At airports open to international traffic, there are special sanitary and quarantine control points. Their workers inspect all aircraft, check cargo and ask the crew and passengers about their well-being.
If it turns out that someone is carrying an infection, this passenger is isolated and then admitted to the appropriate department of the hospital. They will examine and offer medical assistance to everyone who has been in contact with the patient.
How can I help myself?
In the cabin, take the necessary medicines and tools - inhalers, syringes, and other things that are likely to come in handy. What are the airline's requirements for the transportation of medicines and syringes, check in advance.
If you know for sure that you will need medical assistance during the flight, even before departure, ask the attending physician to give detailed written recommendations on what to do if you become ill. It is better to enter other nuances there: allergies, prostheses, implants. This memo should be translated into English, into the language of the country where you are going, and several others (preferably common ones). Be sure to warn the flight attendant about the risks and tell where the instructions are. This will be useful for travelers with diabetes, asthma, arrhythmia, hypertension - the list is open.
In the memo format, it is better to write down the international name of the active substance that is part of the drug you need. In addition to it - several drugs-analogues.
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What to do if a person needs medical assistance, but is in an enclosed space of an aircraft? The stress experienced by the body during air travel often provokes ailments, exacerbation of chronic diseases or life-threatening conditions.
We are in website learned what rules apply on board to help passengers who feel unwell, what medicines are on the plane and what medical knowledge the crew is required to receive, constantly improving their skills.
When it is dangerous to fly and may not be allowed on board
Each airline has rules (you can read them online) that regulate medical issues: who may not be taken on board, what assistance is provided to the disabled, what happens in case of force majeure. They describe how to prepare for a flight if you have a chronic illness and what to warn staff about (such as allergies). One example is that some airlines will not sell peanuts and will ask passengers not to eat them if someone in the cabin has warned them of an allergy. Other companies will replace peanut snacks with alternatives just for you.
The main prohibitions on being on board concern late dates (you may be asked to provide a certificate from a doctor to relieve yourself of responsibility) and acute respiratory diseases, when the passenger can clearly pose a threat to others, as well as receive serious complications in flight conditions. They can also refuse boarding to an overweight person if he has not bought two tickets. These rules apply to the comfort of other passengers. In severe forms of disability, a person may also not be allowed on board if there are no special conditions for him on the plane.
Aircraft First Aid Kit
Usually there are two types of first aid kits on the plane. The first will be used to provide emergency assistance to passengers, there are painkillers, antiemetics, sorbents, drugs to reduce temperature, normalize blood pressure, thermometers, a pressure measuring device, oxygen masks, and in some cases defibrillators.
The second type of first aid kit is for the doctor and can only be opened and used by people with a medical background. Usually there are syringes and injection solutions, hormonal drugs, bronchodilators.
Flight attendants are prohibited from taking medicine from other passengers to provide assistance, unless it is the property of the person being assisted.
How staff are trained
Stewards must undergo a course of medical care, and then regularly improve their skills. The rules for exactly what kind of assistance a flight attendant can provide may vary from company to company. In some, only emergency care is allowed, and, for example, injections are prohibited. In other companies, flight attendants even know how to take birth.
Mandatory crew skills are, as a rule, measuring pressure and stopping a hypertensive or hypotensive attack, helping with fractures and bleeding, respiratory failure, epilepsy, and loss of consciousness.
There are instructions on how to deal with infected passengers. So, with signs of an acute infection, a passenger should be seated close to the toilet, provided with a mask, and he must be served with a mask and gloves. If possible, such a passenger will be served by a separate stewardess, and one of the toilets will be closed to other passengers.
What happens in an emergency
But what if the passenger's condition threatens his life? In this case, there are clear algorithms. Crew members make an announcement over the public address system about the problem, in case there are medical personnel on board, preferably with a specific specialization. It is they who can open the first aid kit intended for the doctor to help the passenger.
At the same time, the provision of assistance by an accidental doctor is a rather controversial issue. After all, he may not have the proper qualifications, which means that time will be lost. Responsibility for the wrong decision lies with the airline and the insurance company of the injured passenger. However, each country has its own laws about the responsibility of doctors for poorly provided medical care or leaving in danger. Moreover, every airline has them, and if you do not study them before flying, you do not know if you are protected or not.
Therefore, in severe conditions, communication with the medical service on the ground must be established without fail. The doctor will remotely manage the actions of the crew, and the aircraft commander decides when to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport.
Some companies have a "Doctor on board" offer. When buying a ticket or when registering, you can indicate your medical qualification, then you will have access to medical kits on board and information about liability. In the presence of such registered doctors, the crew has the right not to contact the medical service on the ground.
Flying in an airplane is stressful for any organism. But for people with a number of diseases, it can pose a serious danger to life. It is known that in most cases, death is caused by diseases that a person suffered before the flight.
Who can't fly?
The risk group includes, first of all, patients cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, angina and hypertension. It is contraindicated to fly for those who have recently suffered a heart attack, stroke or hypertensive crisis. The hearts can become ill due to low pressure in the cabin - on board it corresponds to the pressure at an altitude of about 2,000 meters above sea level, which is why less oxygen enters the human blood. People with high intracranial pressure should also not fly. There is also a risk for those who have a pathology of blood clotting.
Another risk group is people who suffer from thrombophlebitis or deep vein thrombosis. The danger for them is that during the flight a person spends a long time in a sedentary state. The blood in the legs stagnates, the legs swell and hurt, the formation and separation of blood clots and blockage of arteries by blood clots (thromboembolism) are possible.
It is not allowed to fly to people suffering from diseases respiratory tract such as pneumonia, bronchial asthma, bronchitis and pneumothorax. It is also necessary to refrain from flying for some time for those who have recently undergone surgical operations, especially operations in the chest or abdomen.
For those who suffer psychiatric illnesses, for example, epilepsy, a seizure may occur in the cabin, so it is also better for them not to fly. Diabetics also need to be careful. An absolute contraindication for flying is also contagious infectious diseases.
The pressure drops that occur at altitude can adversely affect the course of a disease such as otitis, so if your ears hurt, it’s better to refrain from flying - otherwise it will only get worse. Even a simple cold can lead to aerootitis, because the nasopharynx and auditory tube are connected. For the same reason, patients with sinusitis and sinusitis should think several times before flying. If a patient with a runny nose still decided to fly, he needs to use vasoconstrictor drops before the flight.
They may also not let you on the plane pregnant after 36 weeks. Different airlines have their own rules on this, some airlines refuse to take pregnant women on board at a period of already 28 weeks due to the risk of premature birth. Newborn babies can only be taken on a plane if a doctor is flying with you.
Will they help?
Aircraft crews are required to be trained to provide first aid, so if someone becomes ill, flight attendants will help him.
There is a first aid kit on board for the crew to use. There is also a first-aid kit, but only a doctor from among the passengers can open it.
In special cases, the crew contacts the nearest airport and asks allow emergency landing.
Doctors are on duty at airports to provide a person with the necessary medical care.
Directly from the aircraft, a sick passenger can immediately hospitalize.
If the illness of one of the passengers became known even before the flight, he can be removed from the flight.
Quarantine
Patients with infectious diseases such as cholera, plague, hemorrhagic fever, malaria pose a great danger to others. In many exotic countries, there are areas where the population is infected with these diseases.
Therefore, at airports open to international traffic, there are special sanitary and quarantine control points. Employees of these points inspect all aircraft departing abroad or arriving from other countries. They inspect the cargo and also question the crew and passengers about their state of health.
If the staff of the sanitary control point finds out that someone is sick with a contagious disease, this person is first isolated from other people, and then admitted to the infectious diseases department of the hospital. Everyone who came into contact with him is also being isolated and examined.
What to remember?
For a healthy person, a flight is also stressful. Overloads, pressure drops and inactivity negatively affect the body. In addition, the air humidity in the cabin is low (20%), so the mucous membranes can dry out. Experts advise drinking more water during the flight and avoiding alcohol and caffeinated drinks. It's also worth bringing "artificial tears" with you in case your eyes hurt, and avoid contact lenses by wearing glasses instead.
Since we sit most of the time during the flight, we need to periodically get up and walk around the cabin, stretch our legs so that they do not swell and the blood does not stagnate. Do not put hand luggage under your feet either.
Even for those who do not have otitis media, clicks and pain in the ears can occur due to pressure drops. In this case, you need to chew gum.
Do not forget to take a first aid kit with a minimum set of medicines with you in your hand luggage. In vials of liquid should be no more than 100 milliliters.
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