Dizziness after flying issues

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4RNB

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4RNB
When she started flying with me my wife said she has ear issues, things don't equalize well when she flies, takes a while. As she flew more with me she thought this was getting better.

Saturday we flew 4 hours. Both of us were careful of food and liquid intake that could make the flight uncomfortable, during the flight she had NO oral intake and at dinner and before bed it seemed like less than 8 ounces total. Breakfast yesterday she had less than 8 ounces, had a few sips of water on our 3.8 hour flight home. Upon landing home she pretty quickly drank 3 bottles of water. Last night she said she had some light headed symptoms, I made her a salty sweet lemonade. Lying down in bed she got dizzy again. BP was checked, it was not low, actually it was higher than normal. This am she is mostly better but just kind of out of sorts.

I noticed yesterday after a hasty pre departure lunch where I ate very little that I had a touch of unease in the air, rectified by a raisin snack at a fuel stop. I drank some water while flying, no issues upon return home.

We are both retired acute care nurses. I'm willing to chalk this up to just dehydration over >24 hours catching up to her, but I am new to aviation.

1. Might her issues be anything else?
2. She vaguely said she liked flying lower than higher, 3500 better than 6500, felt more comfortable. "Felt more pressure higher up". Does this ring true?
3. What do you and your regular passengers do with regards to hydration and food while balancing a desire to not bring on toilet stops?
4. How often do you stop? In cars we find 2-3 hours is about enough. C172 seems tighter, two hours was enough.
5. Any ideas how I can best have my wife be comfortable?

Thank you!
 
Slow descents, my wife has issues if I descend over 500 fpm, so I stay below that. She has allergies so if she is stuffy I have her use afrin before the flight. I don't dehydrate myself before a flight, I just make sure we visit the bathroom before we go. I'm usually good up to 3 hours, she is too, but 2 hour legs are generally good for us. Stopping fluids the day before seem extreme. They sell portable bags with gel in them that work well for male and female. Keep a few of those for emergencies, better than being sick. Finally hypoxia can be an issue above 5,000 feet for some, get a pulse oximeter and use it, I've started using oxygen above 8k, I seem to be less tired after a flight.
 
There's nothing wrong with pit stops. It may make the flight a bit longer but definitely more comfortable.
 
Most of the time, we fly on 2 hour hops. Much more pleasant when you can snack and drink without worrying about emergency pit stops.
 
Probably a bit of hypoxia involved mixed with dehydration. Even though symptoms are different, I’d make sure you’ve got a CO monitor in the cabin.

It’s strange though, anytime I go above 4-5K my medcrew gets a bit uncomfortable. I think they feel early signs of hypoxia. I kinda wonder how they feel on airliners since most cabins are around 6-8K. Obviously people react differently though because on XCs I’m usually shooting for around 8K and I feel fine. Around 10K is where I start to get a little “air hunger” / anxiety.
 
Velocity173 said:
Probably a bit of hypoxia involved mixed with dehydration. Even though symptoms are different, I’d make sure you’ve got a CO monitor in the cabin.

It’s strange though, anytime I go above 4-5K my medcrew gets a bit uncomfortable. I think they feel early signs of hypoxia. I kinda wonder how they feel on airliners since most cabins are around 6-8K. Obviously people react differently though because on XCs I’m usually shooting for around 8K and I feel fine. Around 10K is where I start to get a little “air hunger” / anxiety.
Click to expand...

A med crew is probably more physically active than a passenger strapped into a small airplane which could explain why they are more sensitive. I've been to 12k without issue, but I don't like doing it. Oxygen is much better IMO.
 
We have one of those fancy GPS receivers with CO monitoring. There is a different unit on the dash but needs new batteries.
 
I'm not a medical professional, but it sure sounds to me like you're not hydrating enough out of fear of having "to go" while airborne. I often tell people that my plane's bladders have a four hour range, and my own has a two hour range. Just in case, I carry these on board. https://tinyurl.com/ymknzkct. They work for males and females. My suggestion is to hydrate and eat more pre-flight, have water and healthy snacks aboard the plane, and have Travel Johns on-board "just in case."

My $.02. Take it for what it's worth.
 
SoCal 182 Driver said:
I'm not a medical professional, but it sure sounds to me like you're not hydrating enough out of fear of having "to go" while airborne. I often tell people that my plane's bladders have a four hour range, and my own has a two hour range. Just in case, I carry these on board. https://tinyurl.com/ymknzkct. They work for males and females. My suggestion is to hydrate and eat more pre-flight, have water and healthy snacks aboard the plane, and have Travel Johns on-board "just in case."

My $.02. Take it for what it's worth.
Click to expand...

I use the same travel johns. Too many more bad things can happen to you as a result of being dehydrated, it's not worth it.
 
If it was my wife? Open an air vent and blow it toward her. Try different headsets.
 
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