Air travel with a cold - any advice?

I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.

Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?

wrote:
I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.

Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?


Yes. Do what you can to avoid infecting everyone else.

wrote:

I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Correct. Because air pressure during flight changes, you may not be able
to equalise as the aircraft descends because of blocked sinus,
preventing air BEHIND your ears from being equalised and your ears will hurt.

You should consider taking a decongestant and making sure it is active
during the descent/landing phase of flight.

As soon as aircraft begins its descent, you should frequently try to
equalise your ears (block nose and push air "up"). Normally, this
techniques makes your ears "pop". With a cold, it is much harder to
accomplish. The smaller the pressure difference, the easier it is to do,
hence the frequent attempts.

A warning though: for very long flights, a decongestant may dry your
nose and, combined with dry cabin air, cause a signifcant nose bleed.
(happened to me on a 24 hour journey towards the end).

"mrtravel" wrote in message
t...
wrote:
I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.

Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?


Yes. Do what you can to avoid infecting everyone else.

And take some (solid) decongestants so your ears dont bow up.

writes:

I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.

Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?

If the path to your inner ears is blocked by the cold, you can end up
with quite an earache for a while. Otherwise there isn't much risk,
especially for a short trip.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

On 24 Sep 2006 22:30:50 -0700, wrote:

I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.

Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?

You can always check with airport medical just
before boarding. They will advise what to do.

Mxsmanic wrote:

If the path to your inner ears is blocked by the cold, you can end up
with quite an earache for a while.

Yep. I have been in that situation several times and it isn't pleasant. If your
sinuses are blocked on descent, you'll very quickly be trying to tear your face
off.

Take Pseudaphed before the flight and have a spray bottle of Afrin with you in
case it feels like a knife is going though your head.

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 05:30:50 UTC, wrote:

I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.

Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?

Nyquil works for me to unclog and dull the pain a bit. Certain
planes give me problems during decent. Nyquil is a liquid so
that isn't allowed any more. I'd suggest you take whatever
pills work for you an hour before the flight and an hour
before you land.

David

I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.
Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.
Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?

Take a Benadryl about an hour before you fly

Yea, wear a surgical mask so you don't spread your germs and cold to
everyone else. It has been proven this is how the flu is spread the most by
the way.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have heard that it is not always a good idea to travel by air when
you have a cold.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid a particular 2 hour trip.

Any general advice from anyone who has travelled with a cold?