Is It Safe to Fly When You Have a Fever?
Getting ill can ruin your trip abroad and taking a flight can make the symptoms worse. Traveling with a fever can cause long-term health problems. Pressure level changes during ascending and descending can damage sinuses. Moreover, the changes can cause severe pain if you have flu.
Allergies and viral infections like flu get the mucous membrane swollen. This swelling clogs the Eustachian tube that connects your inner ear with the back of your throat. This tube helps to balance pressure between your inner ear and the outside world.
When swollen due to infections, it is harder for your ears to pop. During takeoff, pressure in the cabin drops and higher pressure in your ear pushes out, but it can’t equalize with lower pressure in the cabin.
This leads to:
- Severe pain in ears
- Blocked ears
- In extreme cases, bleeding or ruptured eardrums
- Temporary ear loss
There is a solution to these problems. You just need to know what to do before and during the flight if you have a fever.
Take Decongestants
These are drugs that reduce swelling around your Eustachian tube. You should take longer-acting doses before takeoff.
Use Nasal Sprays
When used 30 minutes before takeoff and 30 minutes after landing, they can help to reduce the swellings in the tissues. They are easy to find in drug stores.
Yawn or Talk to Activate the Eustachian Tube
Yawning and talking help to reduce mild discomfort. These actions aid the opening and closure of the Eustachian tube. This enhances the balancing of pressure inside and outside of your ear.
Avoid Sleeping During Takeoff or Descent
While asleep, you don’t swallow, yawn, chew or do other things that enable your ears pop. This can lead to earache, which can be avoided by staying awake.
Traveling when you have a fever is can be uncomfortable and painful. If you have an infection, you can spread it to other travelers and ruin their trip. Nevertheless, following these tips can help you minimize the discomfort.