Flying (as in airplanes)

[anonymous]

Do any of you feel that flying really takes a toll on you? Any time I go anywhere I feel AWFUL when I get there, and it sometimes takes me a while to feel normal again. I think this has to do with flying and with being in a different place...I do think my body is subtly aware of small climate changes. I travel alot so this makes this annoying. Also, every once in a while I experience hemoptysis (at home) and I have noticed that this almost always happens to me on a vacation. It really pisses me off because I think "great, i cant even get through a week vacation without a problem" but then I thought that maybe being up in the airplane might have something to do with it.

Whenever I fly I take "airborne"...just something you can get at the drugstore but is an herbal thing to help ward of catching things, and I drink tons of water (from my own bottle) and haha, put vaseline in my nose (this is a trick to keep you from catching germs through the membranes in your nose, especially during winter months when it is dry, and on dry airplanes.) I do not drink alcohol on flights anymore as much as I'd like to because i HATE flying and want to numb the experience!

Anyway, does anyone else feel that flights just put them feeling in a weird way?

Caitlin

 

[jenhum]

Lol...I don't think I've ever noticed feeling worse after flying but I had to respond b/c I cracked up when I read the "as in airplanes" part of your title <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">.

 

[Mockingbird]

I've never had a problem with flying, either. =-)

 

[cfgirl38]

I have never had a problem flying either. One time my knees kept feeling tickley. I know thats stupid but it was constant. HeeHee. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">

 

[anonymous]

It might be that flying just doesn't agree with you, but it could also be that your oxygen level goes down - even though planes are pressurized, there is a significant pressure change and if your oxygen is OK, but borderline at sealevel, it could be quite low up there. I would stronly suggest telling your Dr. about this and s/he might recommend doing a blood gas to check your oxygen level. If s/he feels it could be the cause, fear not, you can still travel. Airlines can arrange for you to have oxygen during the flight, you'll feel A LOT better afterwards, and you'll still be OK without it when you are on solid ground.

PS - This happened to my sister who has CF and it took us a long time to figure out that this was the problem!!

JC

 

[anonymous]

It is not being in the air that is the problem, it is afterwards. During the flight I feel totally normal. My SATS are usually 98-99%. Hm, maybe I am just an overly sensitive traveler.
Caitlin

 

[anonymous]

As a traveller I have found that I get sick once I am home after a long journey on an air plane. I have found it strange and sometimes wonder if it is the poor circulation of the air on the plane. But you are not alone on this I always show symptoms of a cold or just weakness after I fly.

 

[UKBASEDJON]

Hi

Have asked my consultant about this and this is his view. It depends on what your oxygen sats are like at ground level, i.e. normal. The oxygen level in a plane drops by about 2-3 points. So if your normal is say 12 (Normal lungs) and you drop to 10 you won't really notice the difference, but if you are at only say 8 dropping to 6 would be very hard on your system. At my clinic anything below 7.25 requires oxygen. So using this as a guide you would have to be at least 9.5 to not need oxygen. However most airlines will provide oxygen if requested in time but there may be an additional cost.

As far as a pneumothorax goes, my consultant informs me that flying carries no additional risk from this if your lungs are OK to start with, however if you have a small undetectable air bubble near or on the lining of the lungs, and we Cf'ers can indeed have this, this will under the planes change in air pressure increase in size and can then cause a problem. So to sum up, not a problem unless it already is if you see what I mean.

Regards

Jon.

 

[NoDayButToday]

Just a question... are saturation levels measured differently in the UK? A level of 12 would be considered awful here. Good is like... in the 90s in the US, so I hope UK has a different measuring system.

 

[UKBASEDJON]

Hi

Sorry to confuse. When I said sats I meant to say Stats. The measure you are thinking about is the saturation level in your blood measured in percent. And anything above 90% in a person with lung disease is OK. Most people have this measured using a figure probe. The problem with this measure is that it is only ever very vague. It changes throughout the day and can be effected by the sweat on your hands, your heart rate, the ambient temperature etc. So it is only a guide. The more accurate way to measure this is a full blood gas Test. This is taken from arterial blood. Either from the wrist or the ear lobe. This measures many things, oxygen level (sats) carbon dioxide level, oxygen to haemoglobin level, etc. These are the STATS I meant to say. The level I was referring to was the Kpa levels. This is the actual amount of oxygen molecules that bind to the haemoglobin in your blood. It is the best most accurate measure of how well your lungs transfer the oxygen across its lining. It is measured in Kilopascals in the UK apparently. 10-12 is normal, 8 in a person with lung disease is OK, anything below 7.35 would normally require Oxygen if it is part of a regular trend.

Sorry for the above but there was no quick way to explain this.

Regards

Jon

 

[JohnnaMarie]

I dont know if this is a wierd thing or not...when I fly my ears wont pop. So they get to burning and hurting really bad. (excruciating pain) I really hate it. I have tried gum, candy, eating stuff, drinking stuff....none of it helps. I got this idea last time that I flew to try to take an expectorant before I fly. It cut the pain down by 50%. Flying is not my first choice. I much rather take the day or two to drive it than suffer through the air pressure changes!