Travel wellness: can flying make you sick?

Phil Slater writes
I have just lately returned from India and Nepal, and by mindful precautions managed to escape all sickness whilst out there. Even so a single day soon after returning, I went down with a virus — headaches, nausea, extreme tiredness. Right after a few days making an attempt to shake it off with out achievement I went to my GP who mentioned “it was something I had picked up from the air circulation in the aircraft”. He mentioned it had impacted my sinuses and there was practically nothing he could give me, it would sooner or later go. I have by no means encountered this prior to on a number of lengthy haul flights. Right after 3 weeks it had not disappeared and I am now on antibiotics. Can you advise if this is uncommon? Is is identified that men and women endure from the result of recirculated air in an aircraft? If so what can be done to minimise the threat?

Dr Richard Dawood, travel medicine specialist, replies
The trigger of your sickness is not clear, but it is very probably to have had nothing to do with recirculation of cabin air on board your flight. An intriguing research in the US in contrast patterns of illness following travel on two different types of aircraft – an older sort with no recirculation, and far more modern airliners with regular recirculation. The examine discovered no measurable difference in illness charges between the two groups of passengers but the interesting obtaining was that the two groups of passengers suffered from a considerably enhanced price of upper respiratory sickness compared with the “background” fee in individuals who had been not travelling, and merely stayed at residence. It is easy to emphasis on a single component of one’s journey – the flight – as being to blame. But for most people, a journey affords a host of other possibilities to obtain infection: in the taxi to the airport, on buses and trains, in crowded departure lounges, and a lot of close get in touch with with individuals at your destination.

Even though intestinal infections are by far the most likely infective issue for anybody travelling to a tropical destination (and to the Indian Subcontinent in specific), respiratory infections are also a important difficulty, accounting for around 13 per cent of all infections reported by travellers who have turn into unwell even though abroad. Such infections acquire scant consideration, but as your personal expertise demonstrates, they can be troubling, inconvenient and hard to deal with.

Washing hands usually, and making use of hand sanitisers when travelling, are sensible precautions that might give some limited protection. If seated shut to another passenger who is coughing, or visibly unwell, try out to move, or flip up the ventilation. Encounter masks are not very practical, and unless you are extremely skilled in using them properly, are of small worth. Really don’t neglect that flu happens 12 months-round in the tropics and in the southern hemisphere, the flu season falls throughout our summertime months. Flu vaccination is as a result a very sensible precaution. Lastly, if you are susceptible to infection and have had issues in the previous, speak issues above with your medical doctor, and contemplate travelling with a provide of antibiotics in reserve.

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About Dr Richard Dawood

Richard is the health care director of the Fleet Street Clinic in London and has travelled in much more than one hundred countries. The fifth edition of his book Travellers’ Well being: How to Keep Healthier Abroad is now out. He runs the Fleet Street Travel Clinic (020 7353 5678).

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Travel wellness: can flying make you sick?