Flights & flying

  • To minimise the risk of travel sickness, eat lightly before and during the journey.

 

  • Avoid alcohol and stimulating drinks (tea, coffee).

 

  • Choose the spots where there are less oscillations, near the wings on a plane, in the centre on board a boat or a bus.

 

  • In a car, avoid reading and smoking.

 

  • Stay in a vertical position as much as you can, lean your head-supportbackwards, stay still and avoid any rotation of the head. During transportation, if the first signs of sickness appear, look at a steady point in the distance or try sleeping. If all these preventive measures aren't enough, your doctor can prescribe you drugs like light sleeping pills or anti-sickness pills.

 

  • If you take any such medication - here are some precautions to follow: make sure the driver of any vehicle doesn't use them (risk of drowsiness), do not drink alcohol during the treatment (risk of disorderly behaviour), take them before departure for effectiveness; vomiting would make them ineffective.

 

  • On board a plane, to avoid or ease sharp ear aches (due to the pressure variations of the cabin), one should blow through the nose whilst pinching it in order to pop your ears. If you have a cold or a runny nose, drink extra fluids, increase the humidity in the air with a vaporizer or humidifier, use saline nasal sprays, or ask the air hostess.

 

  • During long flights, stretch your legs by walking up and down the plane, peddle movements with your feet or muscle contractions of the thigh are strongly recommended for people suffering from arthrisis or back pains.

 

For people who are vicitms of anxiety or panic attacks during take off and landing it is recommended to inform the aircraft staff who are trained to deal with this kind of situation.

 

Drowsiness, confusion, insomnia, jet lag affects various biological functions, hormonal, digestive and intellectual. It is felt when you cross three or more time zones. Generally, the adaptation period is estimated at a few days.

 

To ease jet lag, here are a few precautions: rest before leaving and avoid precipitation and anxiety before departure, avoid big meals that inflate your stomach, and alcohol which dehydrates. Drink still water or non-alcoholic beverages like fruit juice.

Wear losely fitting clothing in order to travel at ease. Recuperation time depends on the individual and the number of time zones crossed, as well as the how long the trip is.

 

For those wanting get over their flying anxieties Virgin Atlantic's, British Airways, and Flybes' have courses in order to control stress in the case of turbulence or motor failures. Each of these courses costs between 180 and 250 pounds approximately.

These courses include an explanation of how flying works, an explanation of turbulence, a discussion calming fears of safety and crashing, a relaxation seminar, a question and answer session, a flight, and a buffet lunch.

 

You can get more information on their website. http://www.flyingwithoutfear.info/thecourses.htm,

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/health/public/en_gb,

and http://www.flyingfear.co.uk/