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The High You Fly, the Drier you are: Tips for the Frequent and Long Haul Flyers

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S M Niazur Rahman at University of Toronto
S M Niazur Rahman
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The High You Fly, the Drier you are: Tips for the Frequent and
Long Haul Flyers
S M NIAZUR RAHMAN1
1. Tutor, Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University, Kedah,
Malaysia. Email: suman0171@gmail.com. H/P:
+60164255905
Flying, the quickest and most convenient means of getting
around, comes with a number of drawbacks. The typical well-
being issues that affect aeroplane travellers, for example,
are often the effect of lack of moisture in the cabin air, which
can result severe dehydration if you are not cautious.1
The human body remains in best comfort at around 50
percent of humidity, whereas moistness of an aeroplane’s
cabin can drop down to 10 percent. In turn, that could be
drier than residing in a desert.2 The air circulation of a typical
flight cabin is more than fifteen times in an hour, comparing
an office building experiencing air shift of twelve times per
hour. Moreover, the cabin air is pressurized due to its cycling
through engine. Thus the air become heated, which after that
has to be cooled. This continually repeating process produces
extremely dry air.3
Typically flying causes dehydration in travellers resulting
from breathing out of most fluids from the body through
mouth. To date, the reality is our body loses about two cups
of water for every hour completed flying.4
The health effect of dehydration in long flight can range
from mild discomfort e.g. dry skin, scratchy eyes, fatigue to
serious issue like deep vein clots.5Remaining in a low-
humidity atmosphere has another warning: the increased risk
of grasping a respiratory virus, such as a cold. Generally,
humidity in the air keeps airways moist, so that the coating
can trap germs trying to enter inside the body. The longer is
your flight, the drier your mucosa get; the drier they get, the
more prone you are to infection.6While flying, a passenger’s
risk to get a common cold attack is 100 times more than not
being in plane.7
To make the in-flight part as the pleasant section of your
trip, following these rules of thumb could be the smart way
in combating air dryness:
1. Drink plenty of beverages: Get ready for your flight
by purchasing a large bottle of water before stepping
onto the plane, and sip from it all through your time on
the aircraft. Be aware of drinks containing alcohol or
caffeine, which may aggravate the dehydration. Thus,
these beverages should be avoided or kept to a handful
only. Nothing can actually substitute the plain water or
isotonic drink.
2. Bring a good conditioner: The cabin air dryness can
affect your skin, causing it to become dry, flaky, and
itchy. You can moist your skin from inside by drinking
a lot of water and from outside by smearing a
moisturizer, may be on to your face, hands and wherever
you can add on wetness. Don’t forget to pack a travel-
size pile of yourfavourite lotion in the purse.
3. Take an eye drops: The medicated eye drops
recommended by your doctor can be a lifeguard in
dehydrated cabin, particularly if you are using contact
lenses.
4. Get nasal sprays: There are many people who
experiences nasal discomfort and even nose bleedings
due to in-flight dryness. Consider packing a saline spray
or nose drops, if your nasal lining becomes dry due to
the low cabin humidity.
5. Check your medication box: If you are asthmatic and
a steroid inhaler user, talk to your doctor to check
whether the medicines will be sufficient for the entire
trip, or your prescription need to be revisited.
At the final point, it is strongly advisable to maintain
hydration by drinking a lot of water, especially on-board as
well as prior and after a flight.
Keywords: aircraft; dehydration; humidity.
References
1. Vroomen M & Bass PF. Preventing dehydration from Air
Travel. Everyday Health Media.2009. http://
www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-travel/air-travel-and-
dehydration.aspx.Accessed on 07 Oct 2015.
2. RaymanRB. Passenger safety, health and comfort: a
review. Aviat Space Envir Md. 1997;68:432–440.
3. Space DR, Johnson RA, Rankin WL, Nagda NL. The
airplane cabin environment: past, present and future research.
J MEDICINE 2016; 17: 109-110
In: Nagda NL, editor. Air quality and comfort in airliner
cabins. West Conshohocken: American Society for Testing
and Materials; 2000:189–210.
4. Zakaria NAN, JamliIRM, TakwirMFQM, Norsam NF,
Azrina SF. Convergence.High & Dry. 2015;31:94.
5. Morse RP. The Effect of Flying and Low Humidity on the
Admittance of the Tympanic Membrane and Middle Ear
System. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol. 2013;14(5):623-633.
6. Wynters S. The Pure Cure: A Complete Guide to Freeing
Your Life From Dangerous Toxins. What to do when you
travel. 2012. pp. 375. Berkeley: Soft Skull Press.
7. Amey K. Cosmic radiation exposure, an atmosphere drier
than a desert and the dangers of DVT: The terrifying ways
air travel affects your health. Mail Online: Associated
Newspapers Ltd. 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/
travel_ news/article-2998699/The-scariest-ways-air-travel-
affects-health.html.Accessed on 18 Mar 2015.
The High You Fly, the Drier you are: Tips for the Frequent and Long Haul Flyers JM Vol. 17, No. 2
110
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
The Airplane Cabin Environment - Past, Present and Future Research
Article
  • Jan 2000
The purpose of this paper is to review current information on the airplane cabin environment and other factors that affect passenger and flight attendant comfort and health-related symptoms, and to discuss the need for future research. The paper begins with a discussion of cabin environmental issues reported since the start of large commercial transport category aircraft in the 1930s until the present. Next, the effect of cabin environmental factors in combination with individual and job-related factors are discussed. These multiple factors are the likely predominant influences for flight attendant and passenger perceptions of the cabin environment. The last section discusses possible future research aimed toward improvement of cabin environment comfort given our current understanding and the need to involve airplane manufacturers, airlines, flight attendants and passengers. The comprehensive research would need to include chamber studies designed to evaluate tradeoffs between recirculation rates, humidity, air velocities and temperature; and inflight studies utilizing questionnaires and objective measurement techniques to evaluate multiple factors on passenger and flight attendant comfort and health-related symptoms.
View
The Effect of Flying and Low Humidity on the Admittance of the Tympanic Membrane and Middle Ear System
Article
  • Jul 2013
  • JARO-J ASSOC RES OTO
Many passengers experience discomfort during flight because of the effect of low humidity on the skin, eyes, throat, and nose. In this physiological study, we have investigated whether flight and low humidity also affect the tympanic membrane. From previous studies, a decrease in admittance of the tympanic membrane through drying might be expected to affect the buffering capacity of the middle ear and to disrupt automatic pressure regulation. This investigation involved an observational study onboard an aircraft combined with experiments in an environmental chamber, where the humidity could be controlled but could not be made to be as low as during flight. For the flight study, there was a linear relationship between the peak compensated static admittance of the tympanic membrane and relative humidity with a constant of proportionality of 0.00315 mmho/% relative humidity. The low humidity at cruise altitude (minimum 22.7 %) was associated with a mean decrease in admittance of about 20 % compared with measures in the airport. From the chamber study, we further found that a mean decrease in relative humidity of 23.4 % led to a significant decrease in mean admittance by 0.11 mmho [F(1,8) = 18.95, P = 0.002], a decrease of 9.4 %. The order of magnitude for the effect of humidity was similar for the flight and environmental chamber studies. We conclude that admittance changes during flight were likely to have been caused by the low humidity in the aircraft cabin and that these changes may affect the automatic pressure regulation of the middle ear during descent.
View
Passenger safety, health, and comfort: A review
Article
  • Jun 1997
  • AVIAT SPACE ENVIR MD
Since the birth of aviation medicine approximately 80 yrs ago, practitioners and scientists have given their attention primarily to flight deck crew, cabin crew, and ground support personnel. However, in more recent years we have broadened our horizons to include the safety, health, and comfort of passengers flying commercial aircraft. This will be even more compelling as more passengers take to the air in larger aircraft and flying longer hours to more distant destinations. Further, we can expect to see more older passengers because people in many countries are living longer, healthier lives. The author first discusses the stresses imposed by ordinary commercial flight upon travelers such as airport tumult, barometric pressure changes, immobility, jet lag, noise/ vibration, and radiation. Medical considerations are next addressed describing inflight illness and medical care capability aboard U.S. air carriers. Passenger safety, cabin air quality, and the preventive medicine aspects of air travel are next reviewed in the context of passenger safety, health, and comfort. Recommendations are addressed to regulator agencies, airlines aircraft manufacturers, and the aerospace medicine community.
View
The Pure Cure: A Complete Guide to Freeing Your Life From Dangerous Toxins. What to do when you travel
  • Jan 2012
  • 375
  • S Wynters
Wynters S. The Pure Cure: A Complete Guide to Freeing Your Life From Dangerous Toxins. What to do when you travel. 2012. pp. 375. Berkeley: Soft Skull Press.
Cosmic radiation exposure, an atmosphere drier than a desert and the dangers of DVT: The terrifying ways air travel affects your health. Mail Online: Associated Newspapers Ltd/travel/ travel_ news/article-2998699/The-scariest-ways-air-travel- affects-health.htmlAccessed on
  • Apr 2015
  • K Amey
Amey K. Cosmic radiation exposure, an atmosphere drier than a desert and the dangers of DVT: The terrifying ways air travel affects your health. Mail Online: Associated Newspapers Ltd. 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ travel_ news/article-2998699/The-scariest-ways-air-travel- affects-health.html.Accessed on 18 Mar 2015.
Preventing dehydration from Air Travel. Everyday Health Media
  • Oct 2009
  • 7
  • M V Roomen
  • P F Bass
V roomen M & Bass PF. Preventing dehydration from Air Travel. Everyday Health Media.2009. http:// www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-travel/air-travel-anddehydration.aspx.Accessed on 07 Oct 2015.
  • Jan 2015
  • 94
  • Nan Zakaria
  • Jamliirm
  • Takwirmfqm
  • N F Norsam
  • S F Azrina
Zakaria NAN, JamliIRM, TakwirMFQM, Norsam NF, Azrina SF. Convergence.High & Dry. 2015;31:94.
Air quality and comfort in airliner cabins
  • Jan 2000
  • 189-210
In: Nagda NL, editor. Air quality and comfort in airliner cabins. West Conshohocken: American Society for Testing and Materials; 2000:189-210.
Cosmic radiation exposure, an atmosphere drier than a desert and the dangers of DVT: The terrifying ways air travel affects your health. Mail Online: Associated Newspapers Ltd
  • Mar 2015
  • K Amey
Amey K. Cosmic radiation exposure, an atmosphere drier than a desert and the dangers of DVT: The terrifying ways air travel affects your health. Mail Online: Associated Newspapers Ltd. 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ travel_ news/article-2998699/The-scariest-ways-air-travelaffects-health.html.Accessed on 18 Mar 2015.