anonymous , Woman, 59
I often fly by plane. Not afraid. Recently, cases have become more frequent when, during long flights, there is a feeling that there is no oxygen in the air. I breathe calmly, but as in an airless space, I begin to lose consciousness. The pressure reading is very low. Caffeine tablets and strong sweet tea usually help. What is it connected with? And how to prevent such unpleasant situations?
Good afternoon. Be sure to do a complete blood count, serum iron and tissue ferritin (anemia must be ruled out), blood tests, an ECG (cardiac pathology must be excluded) and blood biochemistry. In addition, this is also possible against the background of clinical health - it is quite possible that this is an autonomic reaction of the vascular system (often mild hypotension develops with age, which, against the background of changes in atmospheric pressure, gives such symptoms). First, exclude physiological causes (, diseases of the cardiovascular system, hypotension, etc.). Until the cause is clarified - try to preventively drink strong and sweet coffee or tea before the flight, rub your earlobes, hands (especially before takeoff), keep caffeine tablets with you, something irritating (such as ammonia).
anonymously
Thank you very much! My hemoglobin is always low, the ECG does not reveal anything terrible, all changes are in accordance with age (59 years). What kind of blood biochemistry should be done additionally? Glucose is usually normal. We regularly go through Prof. inspection. Thanks again. (friendliness rating - 5/5)
Thank you for appreciating my work! It is better to perform biochemistry while standard screening in order to understand if there are any abnormalities in other organs (liver, kidneys, and so on). If hemoglobin is low, then it is quite possible that the matter is in it. With age, compensatory mechanisms work worse and worse, so if in your youth low hemoglobin did not prevent you from flying, now the oxygen delivery function (which hemoglobin is in charge of) suffers, hence the feeling of lack of oxygen, semi-consciousness and so on. The condition may worsen, for example, hunger (or simply low blood glucose), excitement, stress, initially low blood pressure. If no serious deviations from health are found, you will have to cope with this situation symptomatically: try to raise the level of hemoglobin (nutrition, iron supplements, multivitamins), always eat before the flight (light nutritious food, preferably strong tea or coffee with sugar), try not to worry (light sedatives, for example, based on herbs) and control the level of blood pressure.
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!
The tragic incident with Artem Chechikov showed that both passengers and flight services are not always ready for such a critical situation. "Mercy.RU" tells about who and how can and is obliged to help the passenger of the aircraft.
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according to internal regulations
The British Medical Association has long called for attention to the health of air passengers: the association's experts noted that no one is concerned about the safety of air transport passengers in terms of their condition. And in the US, it has been estimated that more than 350,000 Americans experience heart failure every year, and in most cases this happens on board an aircraft.
The tragedy that happened at Sheremetyevo, when Chelyabinsk student Artem Chechikov died of a sudden heart attack, became an out of the ordinary event for the capital's airport. According to the chief doctor of Sheremetyevo Artur Bunin, passengers with heart attacks are constantly removed from aircraft. In 2012, there were 283 such cases, in 2013 - already 395. At the same time, in general, in 2012, the airport provided medical assistance to passengers in 533 cases, and in 2013 - 621 times. But there were no deaths, as happened with Artem Chechikov, before that.
At the same time, according to Andrei Nikulin, Deputy General Director of Sheremetyevo, all airport services worked smoothly and within the framework of local orders: “We received a signal from the board at 04.33 am. Ten minutes later the liner sat down. We understand the feelings of passengers - the plane taxied for 10 minutes, and they seemed like an eternity to everyone. But the pilots worked within the instructions. Everything was done clearly, down to the second.”
Hope for a companion
You are flying in an airplane, and suddenly you or your loved one becomes ill. What to do, to whom to rush for help? Unfortunately, while you are in the sky, the only hope, oddly enough, is not for the crew, but for fellow travelers.
Of course, first of all, you will contact the stewardess. There is a first aid kit on the plane. Another thing is that its contents may not ensure the maintenance of the patient's normal state. Moreover, there are no uniform requirements for airlines to provide even the simplest medical care on board an aircraft. Many airlines solve this problem on their own, but the amount of possible assistance varies widely.
Can the crew - pilots or flight attendants - provide medical assistance to the victim? In Europe, the crew of the liner must have first aid skills, but very little is said about the standards by which such training should be conducted. Our crews, Artur Bunin says, are also trained in first aid skills. But the training lasts only three days. How much will you learn during this time?
It turns out that if a passenger has a sudden acute poisoning, childbirth begins, a heart attack occurs, there is no need to rely on flight attendants. “According to the rules, the flight attendant or the pilot is required to report the incident to all passengers of the aircraft over the speakerphone. And to find out if there is a professional doctor on board, and it is better - with a specific specialization, ”says the head physician of Sheremetyevo.
According to the US Federal Aviation Service and the International Civil Aviation Organization, the death rate of passengers on board aircraft is 25.1 cases per one million flights. Of these, 13.1 cases are related to heart disease. At the same time, 62 percent of passengers who died on board the aircraft already suffered from cardiovascular diseases.
Difficulties in translation
So, on board (oh, happiness!) There was a professional physician, and the passenger is provided with the necessary assistance. Meanwhile, the crew is on the move. As Andrey Nikulin, deputy general director of the airport, explains, the board immediately transmits information about the incident to the dispatchers of the nearest airport, the dispatchers notify the flight director, who contacts the responsible airport services. While the plane is making an emergency landing at the nearest airport, medical assistance is being prepared here.
However, unpleasant nuances must be taken into account. According to the management of Sheremetyevo Airport, in the case of Artem Chechikov, the pilots indeed told the dispatchers that the passenger had a heart attack and an immediate landing was required. “But we have not received information that resuscitation measures are being carried out on board. And therefore, they were not ready for such a situation, ”says Andrey Nikulin. Although Artyom's widow Elena Chechikova, as well as passengers who witnessed the events, told reporters that resuscitation was needed, the crew reported to the ground.
However, this discrepancy in testimony cost the young student his life. According to Nikulin, the Spanish pilots could, speaking not in Russian, give somewhat distorted information. And the dispatchers, perhaps, as a result, misunderstood the crew. Apparently, if you are flying on board a foreign company, you need to personally monitor what information the crew reports to the ground, and if serious assistance is required, ensure that ground services are informed about this.
Who is waiting on earth?
Unfortunately, the airport medical service is qualified for emergency care only. According to Artur Bunin, the doctors - a doctor and a paramedic - boarded the plane not only with "brilliant green and iodine", as witnesses of the incident claim, but also with a defibrillator. But they cannot and should not provide resuscitation.
“Our medical staff comes on board to assess the patient's condition. If you need first aid, he provides it. Then everything depends on the situation - it can be intoxication, childbirth, infection - whatever. In this situation, the opinion of a qualified doctor is important. Our staff calls for appropriate assistance,” says Artur Bunin. According to the chief doctor of Sheremetyevo, this was done in the case of Artem Chechikov. Airport doctors did not interfere with the actions of the passenger-resuscitator, who is providing resuscitation to the student. After 15 minutes, the resuscitation team was called.
There are also nuances. How to deal with patients with infectious diseases? And what if the passenger is flying from an exotic country and it turns out that he has become a carrier of hemorrhagic fever or malaria? This is dangerous for others, so there are special sanitary and quarantine control points at international airports.
Often, employees of such points inspect the cargo or interview the crew and passengers about the state of health. The carrier of a dangerous infection is first isolated, then hospitalized in the infectious disease department of the hospital. Medical assistance will also be provided to everyone who has been in contact with this passenger.
But in calling the resuscitation team, perhaps, lies the greatest difficulty. The fact is that Sheremetyevo is obliged to call an ambulance from Moscow - after all, a long time ago the airport was assigned to the capital, and since then this jurisdiction has been preserved. Although calling an ambulance from the Moscow region will not save the situation: according to representatives of the airport, in Lobnya, the nearest settlement, there are no resuscitation vehicles at all.
The resuscitation team can also be called by passengers. But it is the duty of the airport doctors to call the ambulance doctors. At the same time, they explain at the airport, you still have to call 911. But in an emergency - which happened to Artem Chechikov - you can use the direct number, which is what the Sheremetyevo doctors did. However, the ambulance still drove for an hour. The reason for this delay of the car is still unknown.
Artem Bunin notes that, according to him, not a single airport in the world has its own intensive care unit. In the event that such specialized assistance is required, the airport calls in a brigade from outside. But, according to Andrey Nikulin, deputy general director of Sheremteyevo, the tragedy that happened to Artem Chechikov may force us to reconsider the existing practice.
“It is precisely such sad cases that force us to change the legislation,” the airport management says. Here they intend to initiate such changes in the laws and, perhaps, it will be possible to achieve the appearance of a resuscitation service on the territory of airports.
Legal support
There is no need to fear that bureaucratic delays on the ground will interfere with the prompt actions of doctors. Anna Zakharenkova, the head of the press service of Sheremetyevo Airport, explained that the border guards really boarded the liner to check the documents, but they communicated with the crew, and the doctors acted in parallel and medical assistance to Artem Chechikov did not stop being provided. In addition, landing at a Russian airport, any foreign aircraft is already in the jurisdiction of our airport, and our medical workers have the right to act boldly.
There is a staff psychologist at the airport. Feel free to ask for psychological help. Often it is needed not even by the victim, but by his relatives who flew with him. Help such passengers to find a psychologist who can calm people down and provide, among other things, practical assistance (give water, organize assistance with luggage, food).
However, it may turn out that the passenger will not receive proper medical care. Or there will be a tragic ending. What to do? Lawyers advise in any case not to give up. Lawyer Igor Trunov is convinced that it is necessary to demand payment of material and moral damage - and this can be done through the courts, or you can negotiate with the guilty companies themselves.
The lawyer advises not to stand on ceremony with determining the amount of damage and demand the maximum amount of payment. Igor Trunov has handled many cases of plane crashes and other cases where people were injured or killed, and says that in many cases he claims a fabulous amount by Russian standards. This is 40 million rubles. However, judging by Western standards, this is not even enough.
“This amount follows from the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR has several decisions that the court made on the complaints of Europeans. Strasbourg has established that a human life cannot be worth less than 1 million euros.”
Of course, our courts exact much more modest compensation from the perpetrators, but, according to the lawyer, the more the victim asks, the greater the likelihood of receiving the maximum winnings.
Important! Risk group
Passengers need to remember which diseases can cause complications at a 10-kilometer altitude. First of all, these are cardiovascular diseases: coronary heart disease, angina pectoris and hypertension. It is contraindicated to fly for those who have recently suffered a heart attack, stroke or hypertensive crisis (you need to wait at least six months). It is worth remembering that the pressure on board the aircraft is low, corresponding to the pressure at an altitude of about 2,000 meters above sea level, because of which less oxygen enters the human blood, and this is dangerous for both cores and passengers with increased intracranial pressure. Passengers with a bleeding disorder are also at risk.
Flights are dangerous for those who suffer from venous diseases, thrombophlebitis, thrombosis - a sedentary state during the flight leads to stagnation of blood and edema. This is fraught with the separation of a blood clot.
Pressure drops during the flight can have a bad effect on the condition of people suffering from pneumonia, asthma. Otitis can flow into aerootitis, sinusitis and a simple runny nose are also dangerous - in this case, you should at least use vasoconstrictor drops.
You can not fly to those who have recently undergone surgery. There is also a flight ban for expectant mothers: different airlines have different rules; a pregnant woman may not be taken on board for a period starting from 36 weeks (in some companies - already at the 28th week). And newborns can be transported on an airplane only if accompanied by a doctor.
help yourself
But can you somehow play it safe in flight? Doctors advise: if your illness in a critical situation may require urgent medical intervention, ask your doctor for detailed written recommendations, translate the memo into English and several other languages, and travel with these rules.
This is especially true for patients with diabetes, asthma, arrhythmias, and hypertension. It is better to have the necessary medicines with you on the plane. Think not only about yourself, but also about your loved ones, especially the elderly, parents who are flying somewhere on their own, without your accompaniment. Give them this memo.
By the way, about medicines. It must be remembered that the composition of the drug usually contains a specific active substance that has an international name. It is he - as well as all possible analogues - that needs to be included in the list of important drugs that can help in an acute situation. Requirements for the transportation of medicines, as well as syringes, should be clarified with your airline in advance, before the flight.
If you are allergic to any medications, anesthetics, if your body has implants, titanium prostheses, also add this information to your memo.
If you are pregnant, it is also worth taking an extract from your doctor, with all the necessary recommendations.
And most importantly - warn the flight attendant that you may become ill in flight. Tell the flight attendants where your instructions and required lists are located.
Hello dear readers! Today we will talk with you about a fairly common and important problem. We all have to travel by plane from time to time. It doesn’t matter if you are doing it for the first time or have already experienced flights, but the fear that in the sky it can become bad is experienced by a lot of people. How to deal with it?
Often I hear the phrase: "I'm afraid that it will become bad on the plane, what to do." How to behave correctly so that fear does not affect the desire and ability to travel by air? This is what we will talk about today. In this case, psychology will help best of all to cope with the problem.
Don't wind yourself up
Thoughts, especially about the physical condition of a person, directly affect his well-being. I think that many people are familiar with the word "psychosomatics". This is a direction in psychology that studies how the nervous system affects the physical condition of people and the course of their illnesses.
Each of us can feel a headache if we constantly think about it. What can we say about the situation when a person subconsciously prepares himself for?
If you are wondering if a person can actually become ill on an airplane, then most likely you will run into problems as soon as you are on board an airliner.
I will not describe what moments you will begin to pay attention to and what exactly you will experience. You yourself should not think about such things, so as not to program yourself and cheat.
What are you really afraid of
If you want to avoid problems, it is best to think for a moment: “Why, in fact, should I feel bad? What exactly am I afraid of? Is it all in a confined space? But you are unlikely to experience discomfort in a room or a car, why should everything be different on an airplane?
Now, many readers may seize on this thought and start looking for excuses for themselves, for example, that in the air you cannot control what is happening. You can leave the car at any time, stop it, but what if you want to get off the plane?
Many people experience intense fear when they cannot control the situation. In fact, this happens every day, but in the case of an airplane, the feeling of defenselessness becomes all too obvious. You just sit down and put yourself in the hands of the pilot and crew.
Man has come up with many ways to create the illusion of control. We trust fate and for some reason wear rabbit feet for good luck, even though we understand with reason that a part of the body of a dead animal cannot in any way be in our wallet or.
However, this is a good way to help you deal with fear. If you are superstitious, this may be your salvation. Find the first stone that comes along and start thinking that it will protect you if the plane gets really bad. Now any methods are good. It's a sin not to use them.
Why is it important to overcome your fear and how to do it
The world and psychology know thousands of examples when they even managed to overcome their fear on their own. They found strength in themselves, because they understood the need.
The fear of closed space, flight, darkness, or even prevented them from living so much that they were ready to do anything in order not to experience this discomfort again, to get rid of the annoying problem. It is extremely difficult, but at such moments, too important things are on the scales.
If now you convince yourself that you really have something to fear, and then you feel bad symptoms on the plane, just think about it, can you continue to travel safely? No. You will know about the danger and you will have only two options - to come to terms with fear or to meet it from time to time face to face.
What do you think the characters that I talked about a little earlier do with phobias? Some go to a psychologist and begin to work gradually through persuasion, reasoning, encounters with a stressful situation. Others act through shock - locking themselves in dark rooms if they are afraid of confined spaces, holding spiders in their hands if they are afraid of them. It is difficult to imagine what they are experiencing at the same time, but they see no other way out.
It is quite easy to fall into the trap of fear. You just need to start to be afraid of something and then make sure that the fears were not in vain. After that, each new meeting will only confirm the relevance of the phobia. Try to anticipate this ahead of time. Reassure yourself that your fears are justified.
Now we are not talking about phobias. We are ready to board the plane, which means that we are able to cope with our problem ourselves, trying to prove the groundlessness of fear right now. First, stop thinking about it, and then try and do what you can to minimize the consequences if you really get sick on the plane.
How to achieve this?
We put a straw
Remember the old saying that if you knew where you would fall, you would definitely put a straw in it? Let's try to do this.
The first thing you may experience on an airplane is a panic attack. Fear has emotional and physical manifestations. Breathing techniques allow not only to be distracted, but also to cope with the influence of fear on the human body.
For relaxation, techniques are used in which inhalations are shorter than exhalations. That is, you calmly take in air for a count of two and exhale it for 4. Your pulse slows down, your heart beats not so fast. You can take a book with you Tit Nat Khana "In the same breath", and practice directly in the sky.
I can also recommend Andrey Goloshchapov “Anxiety, fear and panic attacks. Self Help Book» if you want to learn a little more about other methods that help get rid of fears.
Be sure to tell the steward about your concerns. This is another way to take control of the situation. If a passenger or a child becomes ill, the team will definitely come to the rescue faster if they know about his ailments.
You can also consult a doctor in advance to find out what medicines are best to take with you in order to avoid problems in the sky. You probably assume what exactly can happen to you. If this is a panic attack - consult a psychologist, a headache or other physiological manifestations - go to an appointment with a therapist.
That's basically it. See you soon and don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter.
Many of us cannot even imagine how difficult the simple daily work of employees of aviation companies is. In addition to the general danger of flying on an airplane, a constant factor of disgruntled passengers cannot be ruled out. Those who have flown know that on every flight there will always be someone who will say that the place is bad, the neighbors are unlucky, the coffee is too hot, and so on. This list is endless. I must say that the code of courtesy makes aviation workers treat even outright boors and rude people with a smile: all because the client is always right. However, many are unaware that flight attendants are already doing everything to make you feel comfortable and convenient during the flight.
One of the stories that perfectly demonstrates this thesis occurred not so long ago in front of a health worker named Sharon Radcliffe. The woman was flying to Nashville on a flight from Detroit. As soon as her board rose into the air, things started to go wrong in the cabin.
Literally a few seats away from Sharon was an elderly lady. After takeoff, she suddenly began to convulse. It was obvious that the woman was very ill and she urgently needed the help of a doctor. Simultaneously with Radcliffe, a flight attendant named Jeffrey noticed what was happening. He rushed to the old lady and lifted her up, saying that he would accompany her. Sharon decided that the woman was going to be removed from the flight or something. However, as it turned out later, the airline employee only wanted to transfer the old woman from economy class to business, and without any additional payments. It turned out that the victim had Parkinson's disease. Geoffrey recognized the symptoms of the disease and realized that the elderly woman needed more comfortable flight conditions.
It should be noted that the situation did not end with a free transfer to more convenient places. Throughout the flight, Geoffrey constantly approached the old woman, wondering if she was getting worse. He also cheered her up, offered her a free lunch (not covered by the flight terms), escorted the woman to and from the bathroom, and generally looked after her as if she were his own child.
At the same time, no one would have known about such an act of a young guy, if not for Sharon Radcliffe, who described the situation on Facebook upon arrival in Nashville. She also personally thanked the flight attendant for his sensitivity and kindness at the end of the flight. The nurse was struck by the fact that for Joffrey it was, in general, a completely normal working day. She also expressed her hope that one day all flight attendants will be as courteous and kind as the one she caught.