Lap-band surgeon Dr. Terry Simpson tells you how to make airplane travel safe
Did you know last year there were over nineteen thousand people that got sick on airplanes, and there were four hundred airplanes that were diverted because of medical crisis, and there were 90 people who died on airplanes. I know because I travel a lot. And it's almost every other time that I travel that someone needs assistance from a physician and I'm there to give it to them. Let me give you a few trips to be safe when you travel on a plane.
Number one, if you are traveling make sure you drink plenty of water. Most patients that I have treated on a plane are simply dehydrated. They've been in an airport. They've been running back and forth and they haven't had enough water. So drink a lot of water.
Number 2, if you're sick don't get on a plane. Not only do I not want to get your illness, but none of the other passengers do either. It's Ok to wait a couple of days. And if you're sick and on a plane it's only going to get worse. Number 3, get up and walk a lot on the plane. Don't sit down and just go to sleep. Get up and walk. One of the things that can kill people is called a deep vein thrombosis where it's a blood clot in your leg. And it happens because you are not getting up and moving around a lot. If you drink a lot of water, that will solve part of that problem.
Finally, if you do have medications and allergies to medications that are important, think about getting a band, a wrist band that contains all of that information, or a card that you carry in your pocket. If you are a patient that may need medications periodically, like someone with asthma that might need an inhaler or someone with heart disease that might need nitroglycerin, carry it with you in your pocket. It's important because chances are on the airplane we won't have that medicine for you. So, be prepared when you fly. I'm Doctor Terry Simpson and that's your doctor's orders.
