Airsickness? or maybe lack of oxygen?
 

I have traveled internationally on several occasion. Twice, in relatively recent times, I have had troubling experiences and am looking for suggestions and/or ideas.

The most recent time was last fall when I traveled from San Fransisco to Hong Kong. It was on Cathay Pacific. Of course it was an enormous jet and for all Cathay's perks, the one thing they didn't have was individual air jets over each seat. And, the cabin temperature seemed to be very warm.

Long story short, it was a stuffy night flight. And there were no air vents over the seats. I fell asleep and after about two hours I awoke feeling awful -- faint, somewhat nauseous, and too warm. I won't go into the details of the efforts of the kind flight attendants to "fan" me back to consciousness with the in-flight magazines and their efforts to tactfully ask my husband if I had had too much to drink. (Answer: nothing) Two weeks later I had the same experience on the return flight.

Have any of you had similar issues? I am 55 years old, healthy, average weight and know of no physical problems which might explain this. I will be taking an international overnight flight (Delta, not Cathay Pacific -- heading to Europe) in a couple of months and really do want to avoid having a similar experience.

I have never really had motion sickness. Does this sound like it? Or is it maybe just too little oxygen caused by the lack of the air vent combined with slower breathing from being asleep?

Thoughts are appreciated.

It is hard to imagine that there was a lack of oxygen on the plane - air vents do not dispense oxygen but circulate the same air as on the rest of the plane. My guess is that it has something to do with your sleeping upright and your own body - not necessarily any horrible disorder - but just that something anatomical happened merely because you were upright - combined with being overheated, which in itself can cause nausea. If it had not happened again ont he return I would have guessed a virus or food-borne illness.

Oxygen is a component of regular air and disperses thruout a closed space like a cabin - so many others would have had the same symptoms if that were the case.

Stay hydrated: drink lots and lots of water. You'll be making more trips to the loo, but you will feel enormously better. Also, get one of those travel-size Evian sprays, and spray your face every couple of hours -- extremely refreshing.

I thought airsickness makes people nauseous (i.e., the barf bags)?

And I agree with what was already said, those vents don't dispense "oxygen" they just blow the cabin air around.

I don't think that I have ever, in my life, said I felt nauseous, so I had to look it up: <i>nausea - a stomach distress with distaste for food and an urge to vomit</i>.

So I still can't say it. But I can say that I have felt woozy on flights - a bit dizzy, fuzzy-brained. Stomach distress, but ok for food a no urge to vomit.

I took Dramamine a couple of times, suspecting it was motion sickness and because the drug might help sleep. It seemed to have helped, but I no longer take it or have much trouble without it.

Here is a recipe for producing the symptoms, except maybe for the dizziness (which was the worst part):
1) get about four hours for a nights sleep
2) drink a lot of coffee after waking up
3) two hours after waking up take a two-hour nap in a warm/hot room.

It could be a combination of cabin pressure and inner ear pressure. Try taking the non-drowsy Dramamine which works better for vertigo type symptoms (it's prescribed by doctors for vertigo - generic is meclizine). Being dizzy or having inner ear pressure will make you nauseous. The non-drowsy version is not the same drug as regular Dramamine.

The pressurization of the cabin ensures an adequate supply of oxygen, and it is largely independent of ventilation, so a lack of oxygen wasn't the problem.

However, if the ventilation wasn't turned on or was poorly adjusted, it could get very stagnant and/or warm inside the cabin, and these conditions can aggravate a preexisting tendency to airsickness. The warmth you describe and the inoperative gaspers (that's what those little vents above the seat are called) imply that the crew had something turned off or dialed down (or up).

Usually motion sickness improves if you have good ventilation and air movement and cool air. Maybe you're prone to airsickness, and some aspect of the way the air conditioning was adjusted on these flights combined with that to make you feel faint.

Dehydration (possible in a warm environment with the low humidity typical of airplane cabins) or heat exhaustion (also possible if it's very warm and stuffy) can also produce these symptoms.

There are also certain health problems (respiratory and cardiovascular issues) that could make you feel faint even with the normal cabin pressurization. Cabin pressure on a long flight can rise to a maximum equivalent of 8000 feet, which is like walking around in Telluride, Colorado. If you've had similar symptoms up in the mountains, or if these symptoms occur every time you take a long flight, you might want to ask your doctor about it. If a whiff of oxygen clears up the symptoms rapidly, then you definitely want to talk to your doctor about it (just being fanned would not help if it were a medical issue).

I have fainted twice on Cathay Pacific and once so did another woman behind me. This resulted in me being on oxygen all the way from Hk to melbourne.It is always wise to have a check up with your doctor which I did and nothing was wrong. These seem to be isolated incidents and happened many years and flights ago.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts. I will check in with my doctor before my upcoming flight end of September. The overheated cabin really did seem to make me feel bad. And I seemed to be somewhat better when I managed to stay awake. It did occur to me that my respiration rate slowed when I was asleep and I just wasn't getting enough oxygen. I am aware that there is substantially less oxygen in the cabin of an airline at 30,000 feet, than what Iam accustomed to on terra firma. A cold wash cloth helped and breathing more rapidly seemed to be somewhat helpful also. In any event, I will see what the family MD has to suggest.

Airsickness is definitely accompanied by nausea, as I know to my chagrin.

When you check with your doctor, ask about syncope: http://www.americanheart.org/present...dentifier=4749

I know someone who has had similar incidents of random fainting and low blood pressure on flights. It was diagnosed as syncope. Good luck!

There is more than enough oxygen in cabin air while the aircraft is cruising at 30,000 feet to allow anyone in normal health to breathe without difficulty. If you experience symptoms that suggest altitude sickness or hypoxia in the cabin of an airliner, you may be suffering from a medical condition that warrants investigation (this could be anything from heavy smoking to heart disease).

My husband tells me he was always carsick as a child. Except as soon as he started riding in cars with adults other than his parents, that is, adults not smoking like chimneys...he had no carsickness at all. So....I deduce that air quality must have some effect on motion sickness.

Good grief litesppedchick, I often had carsickness as a child. And yes, my beloved father smoked liked a chimney. I have never had carsickness once I got out of HS and no longer was in the car with him except for some short drive of 15 minutes or so. And my mother always critized me about my carsickness as I was growing up..and all the time it was the cigarette smoke no doubt. I don't know whether to laugh or cry! And thinking about it, when I was on long car trips with my aunt and uncle, neither who were smokers, I never felt ill. I never put two and two together!

Could be a combination of factors here. I definitely must 2nd Rizzuto's advice on staying hydrated, it's utterly imperative. I've staved off motion-sickness (in medical scanners, of all places) by using those prescription motion-sickness patches. From what you've described, I'd recommend staying hydrated (ice in the drinks/water, too), staying relatively cool (hydrating will help a lot with this, but you may want to bring some cooling wipes on the plane; the Body Shop makes some refreshing ones with Tea Tree essence, but as you're probably already aware, there are literally dozens on the market), and something specific--even if it's only OTC dramamine--to counteract the air sickness. Then again, I'm always one for multi-pronged approaches to problems. Best wishes to you--you shouldn't let anything stop you from traveling if that's what you want to do.

BC

You may find this report re. level of oxygen saturation on planes interesting:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/23392.php

The info in the above article is surprising only in that the measured blood oxygen saturation levels are as high as they are ("Ground levels averaged 97 per cent and these fell to an average of 93 per cent at altitude.")

The partial pressure of oxygen at a typical cabin altitude of 8000 feet is about 25% lower than at ground level. To compare, roughly below 35% is where the FAA requires cockpit crews to use supplementary oxygen.

Shows that the body compensates quite a bit, but not completely, for the lowered pressure.

I am aware that there is less oxygen. And I believe that that, coupled with possibly some other issues with air qualify during the flight, were what was responsible for most of my discomfort. I am 55 years old and have never had problems with motion sickness. I will run this by my physician in a couple of weeks and will be interested to see what he has to say.

I have severe vertigo problems when flying, but get Scopolamine Patches from my doctor. Works like a miracle!

I have the same thing. Did you make any headway with this issue? I believe it's related to the type of plane and where it's pressurized at. Any info would be really helpful. thanks

Since the OP created this thread 7 years ago and hasn't posted since 2015, I'd recommend starting your own thread on the subject. You are more likely to get better info.