Effect of very long flights
in [Airline Travel]
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From: Frank F. Matthews on 31 Mar 2007 23:45 arouth(a)radiology.umsmed.edu wrote: > Greetings! Now a days there are very long flights lasting more than > twelve hours. One can go directly from Dallas to Tokyo or Chicago to > Delhi. I am a senior citizen. I am wondering the effect of such a > long distance flight on senior citizens like me. Has any member has > taken such a long flight? Please write about your experience with such > long flights. With thanks. > In my case the problem is the loss of sleep. I do not sleep much the first night and arrive fairly wasted. If I can manage a flight which arrives in the evening I do pretty well although operating machinery might not be indicated. Drink lots of fluids and stay hydrated. Get up at least every 2 hours unless you are sleeping. Unless the connections are chancy I prefer leaving early and making a transfer to a direct flight. A couple of hours wasted in an airport makes things easier. You are upping the baggage risks though. If you do get in in the morning to early afternoon do not take more than a 2 hour nap and make sure that you get some sunlight.
From: Tchiowa on 1 Apr 2007 22:06 On Apr 1, 6:05 am, "aro...(a)radiology.umsmed.edu" <aro...(a)radiology.umsmed.edu> wrote: > Greetings! Now a days there are very long flights lasting more than > twelve hours. One can go directly from Dallas to Tokyo or Chicago to > Delhi. I am a senior citizen. I am wondering the effect of such a > long distance flight on senior citizens like me. Has any member has > taken such a long flight? Please write about your experience with such > long flights. With thanks. I fly 12+ hour flights several times a year. Direct flights with layovers often as long as 24 hours (including layover time). Other than being tired, no adverse affects. A lot will depend on your class of service and choice of airlines. Coach for 12 hours in a second tier (or even low quality first tier like Continental) can be a dreadful experience. Business or First Class on a top airline like Singapore or Cathay is actually enjoyable. You pay your money and you make your choices and you live with the results.
From: qansett on 4 Apr 2007 00:15 "Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:677u031i6jhhjvs3efmps66e4e2gm5eg45(a)4ax.com... > (PeteCresswell) writes: > >> Senior or otherwise, blood clots from lack of motion seem tb a >> significant >> consideration from what I've read so far. > > DVT can occur anywhere, whenever one stays in the same place for a long > time. > Air travel doesn't make one especially prone to DVT. Getting up and > moving > around periodically (even for just a minute or two) helps. DVT is rare in > people who are in good health, irrespective of age. > >> And I'll be they're under-reported, since the bad stuff happens sometime >> *after* >> the flight. > > I think in recent years the danger of DVT on aircraft has been greatly > exaggerated. I think so to, particularly when back in the 1970's a flight between LHR and SYD was 36 hrs. DVT was never spoken about. It never affected me either. > > -- > Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.
From: Rupa Bose www.rupabose.org on 4 Apr 2007 01:36 On Mar 31, 4:05 pm, "aro...(a)radiology.umsmed.edu" <aro...(a)radiology.umsmed.edu> wrote: > Greetings! Now a days there are very long flights lasting more than > twelve hours. One can go directly from Dallas to Tokyo or Chicago to > Delhi. I am a senior citizen. I am wondering the effect of such a > long distance flight on senior citizens like me. Has any member has > taken such a long flight? Please write about your experience with such > long flights. With thanks. I've taken quite a few long flights recently. I actually find it quite pleasant to break journey (any place other than LHR) rather than flying all the way, but frankly I don't know if there's that much difference between a 10 hour flight and a 14 hour one. Getting a decent seat becomes much more important, of course. The medical risks are as the others have posted. I sleep reasonably well on planes, and I read a lot, so I am usually OK. I try to get up every few hours, unless the person next to me is asleep, when I hesitate to disturb. A couple of occasions I've felt a that the cabin air was very stale.
From: Mxsmanic on 4 Apr 2007 03:36
Rupa Bose www.rupabose.org writes: > A couple of occasions I've felt a that the cabin air was very stale. Cabin air is actually quite fresh in modern aircraft. There is some recirculation, but also a considerable amount of outside air introduced into the cabin, and the air at altitude is very clean. The recirculated air is very heavily filtered to remove just about everything it might contain. However, the air can be very dry (some aircraft allow the crew to control humidity to some extent). -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |