Six Unpleasant Things Travel by Air Does to Your Body — and What to Do About Them

The environment can be significantly different aboard an airplane during a flight than when you are on the ground at home, at work, at play or at rest due to the pressure inside of a cabin aboard an airplane; as well as dry air and having to sit in one cramped place for an extended period of time — all factors of which you have no control.

Six Unpleasant Things Travel by Air Does to Your Body — and What to Do About Them

I read with interest this article written by Leah Ginsberg of Yahoo! Travel which discusses what are the six unpleasant things travel by air does to your body flying as a passenger aboard an airplane — as well as how to prevent and combat that unpleasantness. In my opinion, I am not going to skewer this article as I typically do with other articles because the advice given — basic as it may be — can be helpful to you. I included key content from that article and added my own commentary — as well as links to pertinent discussions posted on FlyerTalk.

Without further ado, let us get started…

1. Bad Breath

There is some good information here: when you are on an airplane, “many of your body’s systems slow down, including your production of saliva. That allows bacteria to flourish. To make matters worse, many travelers also alter their diets by either ODing on sugary drinks, fast food, and candy, or going without eating all day, which encourages halitosis.”

In addition to the advice on battling bad travel breath by eating healthfully, staying hydrated and brush your teeth after meals, I might also recommend using mouthwash with the capability of fighting germs in your mouth. Better yet, eating raw carrots and celery has also been known to naturally help relieve halitosis while providing needed nutrition; and when property wrapped, they do not spoil quickly — so you can take them with you aboard the airplane.

You may want to carry a few extra sticks of carrots and celery in case the person seated next to you aboard the airplane has bad breath but will not accept a mint from you — and hope that that person likes to eat raw vegetables…

…but I wonder: if you ask a member of the flight crew for food while you have bad breath, would that be an incentive for him or her to get you something to eat as soon as possible just to avoid having to experience your bad breath any longer? Garlic and onions, anyone?

2. Swollen Legs, Ankles and Feet

Oh, swell. Sitting in one place for long periods of time in a small space without a lot of legroom decreases your circulation — which in turn causes your legs to feel heavy and swell. In severe cases, it can also lead to deep vein thrombosis and other types of blood clots forming in your legs, which could travel to your lungs — and that can be deadly.

Drink plenty of water and get up at least once per hour to walk around. For me, this is a perfect opportunity to not only go people-watching; but also to explore the other cabins on the aircraft, if it is at all possible. Sometimes you might chance engaging in a casual conversation with a member of the flight crew or a fellow passenger not seated near you. Other times, it is either to go to the lavatory or retrieve something out of my baggage in the overhead compartment bin. If you are not able to walk around, you can pump your feet for a few minutes every half hour. I personally like to stretch my arms and legs, if it is at all possible.

FlyerTalk members share tips and advice about preventing legs and feet from swelling during a flight in this discussion; as well as the prevention of swollen ankles in this discussion.

3. Bloating, Flatulence and Constipation

Bloating, flatulence and constipation can be the result of a slower metabolism caused by sitting in one place for long periods of time. I personally prefer not to cut down on my calorie intake as advised — especially if I might need the energy at the conclusion of the flight to arrive at an appointment in time or to beat the time when traffic is expected to be heavy; and especially when the food is delicious as it was on this recent flight operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from Amsterdam to Seoul.

Here is a discussion on FlyerTalk on which the topic pertains to discomfort caused by gas on long flights.

Twisting side to side in my seat to “ring out the gastrointestinal tract and the muscles of the stomach, which will help everything keep moving” is something I would rather not do…

…and by the way — as an aside to Ms. Ginsburg, who wrote the original article: the word is wring, not ring.

Confidentially — between you and me — I would rather everything “stalled” until I arrive either at my home or the hotel room where I will be a guest. I feel more relaxed; there are more amenities; the fluid in the toilet is clear and not blue; and the facility is significantly larger overall. Toilet tissue paper in an airplane lavatory is not exactly luxurious, after all — and I would not want to be the woman described here who left a notorious “stinker” after desecrating an airplane lavatory.