Ask Nurse Aubrey: Flying with POTS

This week's blog post will answer an Ask Nurse Aubrey question! The question was: "Can I fly with having POTS? I used to love travel and now it's nerve wracking for me" This is a great question!! So thanks for asking it:) You are definitely not alone because I have had a lot of similar emotions! Traveling has always been one of my very favorite things to do, but it has been a lot more nerve wracking since getting sick! In this blog post I am going to do my best to answer your question by sharing my experience and some tips and tricks that have helped me over the years, I hope it helps! :) 

1) Can you fly with POTS? 

I haven't seen any official articles or papers that have talked about not being able to fly with POTS, but that being said it is always best to talk to your doctor/health care provider if you have any questions or concerns! I know that some things that can prevent you from flying are increased Intracranial pressure (I will talk more about this in the future), a blood clot disorder, a recent heart attack, a recent ear drum rupture and other more emergent conditions! You can read the articles below to see if you find them helpful:) So, from what I understand, POTS doesn't necessarily prevent you from flying, but that being said, I would definitely still talk to your doctor about it! 

https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/advice/general-travel-health-advice/air-travel

https://www.who.int/philippines/news/q-a-detail/air-travel-advice

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/traveling-with-chronic-conditions

2) My Experiences Flying

I have flown many times since getting diagnosed with POTS! I have been able to do it, but it can be hard at times! I know that higher elevation makes POTS a lot worse and I definitely notice that while flying! I think taking off and landing are the worst for me, I get really dizzy and my head hurts quite a bit, but I haven't ever passed out! I normally try to be watching a movie during that time so I can distract myself😅 Sometimes I like to sit by the window because having something to look at can help ground me, but other times I am on the aisle since I have to pee a lot haha😂 We normally don't plan very much for the day of the flight so I can rest and recover a bit and that seems to help:) And I avoid red eyes because I often feel worse after those! So even though it is hard, I can still do it and I have found ways to make it better, I'll share those with you💙 

3) Tips & Tricks for Flying

• Stay hydrated!!! People avoid drinking water when they are traveling because they don't want to use the bathroom during the flight, but it is worth it to stay hydrated! Dehydration is really common while flying, and that will definitely make your POTS feel worse! Since you can't bring any drinks in, I either pack electrolyte packets and an empty water bottle in my backpack to fill up once I'm past security; or I buy electrolyte drinks from the gift shops before my flight. And I almost always buy a ginger ale to help with nausea 🤢 I notice a big difference when I do this! And keep up on your salt intake! Flying causes fluid shifts and you want to keep as much fluid in your bloodstream as you can🧂💧🩸 

• Pack lots of snacks! Flying can also affect blood sugar! I always feel a lot worse when I haven't eaten in awhile, and my appetite is always a lot lower when traveling because of how sick I feel at times🤢 I have noticed that packing snacks makes a really big difference! I often bring cheerios and other simple carbs to settle my stomach and help with nausea:) And pretzels are a great option because of the salt! 🥨 It can also be helpful to chew on a snack or gum to help your ears pop! And mints can help a lot with nausea 🤢

• Wear compression stockings! This is actually recommended for anyone who is going on a long flight, even if they don't have any health problems! High altitude makes POTS a lot worse, so wearing compression stockings or leggings can make a really big difference with blood flow! 

• Use a wheelchair if you need to! I had never used a wheelchair at the airport before, but there was a time where we had 5 minutes to catch our next flight because the airline switched our flights🙄 Of course we were in the farthest terminal and gate from our next flight, so we had to sprint across the airport! We made it within those 5 minutes, but the plane had already left! 😡 Needless to say I felt SO sick after that sprint! Then the next time we flew, the airline switched our flight again and we had a really short layover! I told my husband that I didn't think I could handle running across the airport again😬 So, when we asked the flight attendant what we should do, she recommended a wheelchair👩🏼‍🦽 I hadn't used one before and I was a little self conscious, but it made a HUGE difference! Not having to walk across all the terminals while wearing my heavy backpack was amazing! And not having to stand in a really long line while we boarded was so helpful! I didn't realize how sick I normally felt before the plane even took off! So, I would highly recommend asking to use a wheelchair! It made a huge difference for me! 

• Talk to your doctor beforehand to ask about anything you can take to help with motion sickness and other symptoms while flying! This has made a really big difference for me! Even if your provider doesn't understand a lot about POTS, they should be able to help with motion sickness or nausea while flying✈️There are over the counter medications that help with those symptoms (meaning you can buy them at the store/you don't need a prescription) so you could even just ask your doctor if they would recommend those or ask if they would have any bad interactions with some of the medications you are on💊 It's always a good idea to ask just in case:) And some of the medications I gotten for nausea have helped a lot!

Here is what I try to have in my carry on/accessible during the flight! 

Ask Nurse Aubrey

I am really excited to announce that today's blog post is all about a new feature I am launching called Ask Nurse Aubrey! Here is what it will look like:

Ask Nurse Aubrey will be on the Navigating POTS Instagram Story on Mondays! There will be a question feature where people can type in a specific question they have and then I will choose one to answer in a future blog post! The goal of the Ask Nurse Aubrey questions and blog posts is to provide more detailed answers to general questions or recommendations, so I hope it can be helpful! There will likely be some weeks where I have a different kind of blog post, so when I announce the weekly Blog Post on Instagram & Facebook, I will specify what kind of post it will be:) 

Since I will only be choosing one question to answer, if yours is not chosen, you can ask it again the next week! While you are able to ask me anything, there are some kinds of questions I might be more likely to choose, so here are some guidelines for that:

• You are more than welcome to ask specific questions about your personal situation, but those kinds of questions will likely be better for upcoming individual consultation appointments, so stay tuned for more information about those:) Once those are up and running, I can reach out to you individually and recommend setting up an appointment if I think your question would be best answered in a 1-on-1 situation!

• Some questions might require a bit more context to understand, and those kinds of questions will likely be answered in future courses! So again, stay tuned for more information about that:) Once they are up and running, I can reach out and recommend a specific course that has that information!

• Some questions might be better suited for your health care provider because my licenses have some legal limitations about what I can and cannot do outside of my state and if you are not my specific patient👩🏽‍⚕️ 

•  Remember the primary purpose of this is to provide general education that will be helpful for a large group of people:) That being said, it doesn't have to be limited to POTS! You can ask questions about any of the comorbidities I have posted or any other chronic health challenges! I will do my best to answer them:) Again, I want this to be helpful for you!