1. AIRLINE TRAVEL & PRESSURIZED CABINS
Although aircraft cabins are pressurised, cabin air pressure at cruising altitude is lower than air pressure at sea level. At typical cruising altitudes in the range 11 000–12 200 m (36 000–40 000 feet), air pressure in the cabin is equivalent to the outside air pressure at 1800–2400 m (6000–8000 feet) above sea level. As a consequence, less oxygen is taken up by the blood (hypoxia) and gases within the body expand. The effects of reduced cabin air pressure are usually well tolerated by healthy passengers.
Oxygen and hypoxia
Cabin air contains ample oxygen for healthy passengers and crew. However, because cabin air pressure is relatively low, the amount of oxygen carried in the blood is reduced compared with that at sea level. Passengers with certain medical conditions, particularly heart and lung diseases and blood disorders such as anaemia (in particular sickle-cell anaemia), may not tolerate this reduced oxygen level (hypoxia) very well. Some of these passengers are able to travel safely if arrangements are made with the airline for the provision of an additional oxygen supply during flight. However, because regulations and practices differ from country to country and between airlines, it is strongly recommended that these travellers, especially those wishing to carry their own oxygen, contact the airline early in their travel plans. An additional charge is often levied on passengers who require supplemental oxygen to be provided by the airline.
Gas expansion
As the aircraft climbs in altitude after take-off, the decreasing cabin air pressure causes gases to expand. Similarly, as the aircraft descends in altitude before landing, the increasing pressure in the cabin causes gases to contract. These changes may have effects where air is trapped in the body.
Passengers often experience a “popping” sensation in the ears caused by air escaping from the middle ear and the sinuses during the aircraft’s climb. This is not usually considered a problem. As the aircraft descends in altitude prior to landing, air must flow back into the middle ear and sinuses in order to equalize pressure. If this does not happen, the ears or sinuses may feel as if they are blocked and pain can result. Swallowing, chewing or yawning (“clearing the ears”) will usually relieve any discomfort. As soon as it is recognized that the problem will not resolve itself using these methods, a short forceful expiration against a pinched nose and closed mouth (Valsalva manoeuvre) should be tried and will usually help. For infants, feeding or giving a pacifier (dummy) to stimulate swallowing may reduce the symptoms.
Individuals with ear, nose and sinus infections should avoid flying because pain and injury may result from the inability to equalise pressure differences. If travel cannot be avoided, the use of decongestant nasal drops shortly before the flight and again before descent may be helpful.
As the aircraft climbs, expansion of gas in the abdomen can cause discomfort, although this is usually mild.
Some forms of surgery (e.g. abdominal surgery) and other medical treatments or tests (e.g. treatment for a detached retina) may introduce air or other gases into a body cavity. Travellers who have recently undergone such procedures should ask a travel medicine physician or their treating physician how long they should wait before undertaking air travel
In flight Air Pressure
Airplane cabins are pressurised so that when you’re at cruising altitude (36,000 to 40,000 feet), the air pressure in the cabin is equal to about what you’d experience at 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. The reduced air pressure means the amount of oxygen in your blood is lower than it would be at sea level.
If you’ve ever spent time at high altitudes, you’re likely familiar with the fatigue, headaches, and insomnia that come with reduced oxygen. Add this to the dehydration of air travel and the challenge of shifting time zones and it begins to make sense why jet lag is such a beast.
As the trend of mHBOT grows, so do concerns about it being sold as an off-label miracle cure for conditions ranging from autism to cancer. That said, it’s been successfully used for many years by college and pro athletes, who use the method to recover from workouts, heal from injuries faster, and reduce the effects of jet lag while traveling between games.
The Process:
Receiving mild hyperbaric oxygen treatment requires a prescription. In my phone consultation with the doctor (the treatment clinic referred me to a doctor who did a phone consultation) we discussed mHBOT. I wanted to use it right after landing after my return flight home for both jet lag and muscle soreness, since I was anticipating—correctly—muscle pain from a trip spent cycling, kayaking, and hiking.
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Experience
After an 11-hour flight, I went home, had a light meal and a quick shower, and then headed to a clinic called Holistic Hyperbarics for a 90-minute session.
I am mildly claustrophobic, so I had some concerns about being in the hyperbaric chamber. But Alex Williams, who runs the clinic (who I know and who offered me the treatment), calmly talked me through the process and then helped me get comfortable and oriented inside the chamber. While it wasn’t big, it was roomy enough that I could prop myself up on my elbows inside and still have a bit of headspace. The chamber was outfitted with a little window, a comfortable mat for resting on, pillows for my head and under my knees, a remote-control fan and light, and a soft blanket (everything is cleaned and sanitized for each patient).
The first few minutes were spent chewing gum and popping my ears as the chamber pressurized. Once the pressure in my ears equalized, I got more comfortable. After a 16-hour travel day, it was easy to fall asleep, and I slept deeply for the length of the treatment. When I woke up, it was time to depressurize, a process that lasted about 10 minutes and allowed my body to readjust to the exterior air pressure. After I exited the chamber, I had the juice and vitamins offered as part of the treatment package, and then headed home.
Jet Lag Recovery Time:
I spent the next week monitoring the jet lag differences between myself and my husband, who had traveled with me but who stayed home to watch the kids while I underwent the mHBOT session. For the first day, we were both feeling pretty rough—exhausted at the wrong time of day and headachy. But I immediately started sleeping through the night, while he was plagued by 3 a.m.
Would I do it again? Yes. Jet lag is terrible, and while the treatment didn’t erase it entirely, I did bounce back significantly faster than my control subject, who, after 10 days, is still falling asleep at 8 p.m. most nights.
Reference :
1. http://www.who.int/ith/mode_of_travel/cab/en/
2. https://www.smartertravel.com/2017/09/01/mild-hyperbaric-oxygen-treatment-jet-lag/
From,
Dr. Khurrum Shaukat Yousafzai
Director Ksy Hyperbarics Consultancy,
Founder Hyperbaric Medical Society Pakistan,
Twitter: ksybiz
We Chat :ksybiz
LinkedIn: ksybiz
YouTube: ksybiz
Skype: Dr Khurrum Shaukat
Web: ksybiz.wixsite.com/hbot
Blogsite: ksybiz.blogspot.com
Facebook: facebook.com/hbotpk
Mobile / Whatsapp: +92 343 2 333 555
Oxygen and hypoxia
Cabin air contains ample oxygen for healthy passengers and crew. However, because cabin air pressure is relatively low, the amount of oxygen carried in the blood is reduced compared with that at sea level. Passengers with certain medical conditions, particularly heart and lung diseases and blood disorders such as anaemia (in particular sickle-cell anaemia), may not tolerate this reduced oxygen level (hypoxia) very well. Some of these passengers are able to travel safely if arrangements are made with the airline for the provision of an additional oxygen supply during flight. However, because regulations and practices differ from country to country and between airlines, it is strongly recommended that these travellers, especially those wishing to carry their own oxygen, contact the airline early in their travel plans. An additional charge is often levied on passengers who require supplemental oxygen to be provided by the airline.
Gas expansion
As the aircraft climbs in altitude after take-off, the decreasing cabin air pressure causes gases to expand. Similarly, as the aircraft descends in altitude before landing, the increasing pressure in the cabin causes gases to contract. These changes may have effects where air is trapped in the body.
Passengers often experience a “popping” sensation in the ears caused by air escaping from the middle ear and the sinuses during the aircraft’s climb. This is not usually considered a problem. As the aircraft descends in altitude prior to landing, air must flow back into the middle ear and sinuses in order to equalize pressure. If this does not happen, the ears or sinuses may feel as if they are blocked and pain can result. Swallowing, chewing or yawning (“clearing the ears”) will usually relieve any discomfort. As soon as it is recognized that the problem will not resolve itself using these methods, a short forceful expiration against a pinched nose and closed mouth (Valsalva manoeuvre) should be tried and will usually help. For infants, feeding or giving a pacifier (dummy) to stimulate swallowing may reduce the symptoms.
Individuals with ear, nose and sinus infections should avoid flying because pain and injury may result from the inability to equalise pressure differences. If travel cannot be avoided, the use of decongestant nasal drops shortly before the flight and again before descent may be helpful.
As the aircraft climbs, expansion of gas in the abdomen can cause discomfort, although this is usually mild.
Some forms of surgery (e.g. abdominal surgery) and other medical treatments or tests (e.g. treatment for a detached retina) may introduce air or other gases into a body cavity. Travellers who have recently undergone such procedures should ask a travel medicine physician or their treating physician how long they should wait before undertaking air travel
In flight Air Pressure
Airplane cabins are pressurised so that when you’re at cruising altitude (36,000 to 40,000 feet), the air pressure in the cabin is equal to about what you’d experience at 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. The reduced air pressure means the amount of oxygen in your blood is lower than it would be at sea level.
If you’ve ever spent time at high altitudes, you’re likely familiar with the fatigue, headaches, and insomnia that come with reduced oxygen. Add this to the dehydration of air travel and the challenge of shifting time zones and it begins to make sense why jet lag is such a beast.
2. HYPERBARIC MEDICINE FOR JET LAG & AIRLINE TRAVEL RELATED PROBLEMS:
While air-plane cabin air pressure is lower than sea-level air pressure, air pressure inside the hyperbaric oxygen chamber is higher—by two to three times. Mild hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment, or mHBOT, involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurised tube, allowing your lungs to gather more oxygen than it gets from breathing pure oxygen at regular air pressure. This helps your blood deliver more oxygen to your organs and tissues, and can help, according to Mayo Clinic, “fight bacteria and stimulate the release of substances called growth factors and stem cells, which promote healing.”
As the trend of mHBOT grows, so do concerns about it being sold as an off-label miracle cure for conditions ranging from autism to cancer. That said, it’s been successfully used for many years by college and pro athletes, who use the method to recover from workouts, heal from injuries faster, and reduce the effects of jet lag while traveling between games.
The Process:
Receiving mild hyperbaric oxygen treatment requires a prescription. In my phone consultation with the doctor (the treatment clinic referred me to a doctor who did a phone consultation) we discussed mHBOT. I wanted to use it right after landing after my return flight home for both jet lag and muscle soreness, since I was anticipating—correctly—muscle pain from a trip spent cycling, kayaking, and hiking.
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Experience
After an 11-hour flight, I went home, had a light meal and a quick shower, and then headed to a clinic called Holistic Hyperbarics for a 90-minute session.
I am mildly claustrophobic, so I had some concerns about being in the hyperbaric chamber. But Alex Williams, who runs the clinic (who I know and who offered me the treatment), calmly talked me through the process and then helped me get comfortable and oriented inside the chamber. While it wasn’t big, it was roomy enough that I could prop myself up on my elbows inside and still have a bit of headspace. The chamber was outfitted with a little window, a comfortable mat for resting on, pillows for my head and under my knees, a remote-control fan and light, and a soft blanket (everything is cleaned and sanitized for each patient).
The first few minutes were spent chewing gum and popping my ears as the chamber pressurized. Once the pressure in my ears equalized, I got more comfortable. After a 16-hour travel day, it was easy to fall asleep, and I slept deeply for the length of the treatment. When I woke up, it was time to depressurize, a process that lasted about 10 minutes and allowed my body to readjust to the exterior air pressure. After I exited the chamber, I had the juice and vitamins offered as part of the treatment package, and then headed home.
Jet Lag Recovery Time:
I spent the next week monitoring the jet lag differences between myself and my husband, who had traveled with me but who stayed home to watch the kids while I underwent the mHBOT session. For the first day, we were both feeling pretty rough—exhausted at the wrong time of day and headachy. But I immediately started sleeping through the night, while he was plagued by 3 a.m.
wakeups.
About three days post-travel, I felt almost normal again, while he continued to feel the ill-effects of jet lag for more than a week. And while we’re different people with different reactions to jet lag, I did feel like my recovery time was faster than it has been on recent trips with the same time-zone change.
Would I do it again? Yes. Jet lag is terrible, and while the treatment didn’t erase it entirely, I did bounce back significantly faster than my control subject, who, after 10 days, is still falling asleep at 8 p.m. most nights.
Reference :
1. http://www.who.int/ith/mode_of_travel/cab/en/
2. https://www.smartertravel.com/2017/09/01/mild-hyperbaric-oxygen-treatment-jet-lag/
Thanking in Anticipation ,
Sincerely,
Dr. Khurrum Shaukat Yousafzai
Director Ksy Hyperbarics Consultancy,
Founder Hyperbaric Medical Society Pakistan,
Twitter: ksybiz
We Chat :ksybiz
LinkedIn: ksybiz
YouTube: ksybiz
Skype: Dr Khurrum Shaukat
Web: ksybiz.wixsite.com/hbot
Blogsite: ksybiz.blogspot.com
Facebook: facebook.com/hbotpk
Mobile / Whatsapp: +92 343 2 333 555
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