Flying

[judyjudyjudy]

Has anyone observed any changes in their counts after airline travel? My husband who is transfusion-dependent has had bad days (fever, weakness, rapid drop in HCT count) after airplane flights. Any explanations?

[Loretta]

I don't know why, but I did experience a drop after flying to Fla. to escape the reality of MDS. I didn't think I would make it across the parking lot to the car and had a transfusion as soon as I could. (But the escape was fun!)

[EJ Shepherd]

Hi
I just flew from North Bay Ontario Canada to Comox BC Canada and my blood work didnt drop. I was very tired bu that was because of the length of the trip. In Canada they do a diferent way of counting. For instance if I go below 85 then I need a transfusion. I hav e gone down to 75 and was really bad. 82 has had me in tears and wishing to go to hospital.
Erna

[Bruce Lande]

Although they do try to clean it, airplanes in esence recirculate the air from everyone throughout the entire plane so if anybody on the place is sick you are going to be exposed. When my white counts were below 2.0, I wore a mask. Received lots of funny looks but figured it was worth to keep myself alive. I avoid crowds in confined spaces as much as possible.

[Steve Kessler]

I recently traveled to Eastern Europe and back, as well as flights and trains within the area. My HCT stayed high enough during the time, over one month, that I exceeded my usual interval of 3 wks to a month between TX's. While in the air and in crowded places, I wore a personal ionizer. About the size of a D-cell battery, it emits ions which supposedly are sterilizing and keep harmful germs away from your immediate breathing space. I don't know for sure that it works, but I didn't get sick. One web site to find the product is http://searchlightdental.com/personal_air_purifier.html. I paid $129 for mine, so the price there is a bargain.

[Linda Payne]

Steve, I also use the ionizer. I seem to tolerate crowds and travel better with its use. Also, when traveling, most aircraft cabins are pressurized to somewhere between 7,000 to 10,000 feet.That is considerably higher than Denver,the mile high city. Less oxygen and more difficulty moving about. Many experience swelling on longer flights.