We are anecdotally seeing an unusually high number of passengers on Hawaii flights who are sick and coughing. More than we can ever recall. This is happening as domestic Hawaii travel is at record levels, the dreaded known and unknown respiratory diseases are circulating, and masks and social distancing are all but out the window.
We’re left trying to define the new normal in travel behavior. It comes at a time when Hawaii travel is at record levels, all the dreaded known and unknown respiratory diseases are circulating, and masks and social distancing are all but out the window.
Beat of Hawaii editor Collin just became sick with a respiratory virus. This comes as we’ve been reading that Covid, flu, and RSV are all now at levels that are overwhelming hospitals. We’re keeping him off Hawaii flights for now.
Flying to Hawaii sick: a bad recipe.
You’ll help others by staying off flights, especially long ones to Hawaii when sick. Not only that, being on a long flight when sick could make you feel worse.
Hawaii flight health issues: what we learned.
Health issues that affect your sinuses, ears, and throat are prone to worsen with flight and more so with long Hawaii flights. These problems make pressure in the ears impossible to equalize during normal airliner altitude changes.
Without offering any of our own medical advice, we can report that Editor Jeff went to see Kauai ENT specialist Jay Murphy who gave him some suggestions specifically for Hawaii flights. Recently Jeff did multiple back-to-back mainland flights to review airline service and ended up with not one but two sinus infections thereafter.
Dr. Murphy shared what he does. That is to use over-the-counter Oxymetazoline nasal spray (Afrin) before the flight, which has an effective duration long enough for the entire flight to or from Hawaii. Jeff inquired why he was prone to sinus infections following Hawaii flights in the first place. Dr. Murphy said that nasal passage drainage could become clogged during flight, which makes the mucus more susceptible to viral and bacterial infections. Jeff plans to try this recommendation for a number of his upcoming Hawaii flights to avoid getting sick in the first place, hopefully. We’ll report back.
Not only that, but once you are sick, or in Jeff’s case, when he gets a dreaded sinus infection, the return flight is even worse. That is a result of the inability to equalize the pressure once sick. Not only is it very uncomfortable, but it can even lead to worse problems, we were told.
While other medical sources online have recommended taking a systemic decongestant, Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed), many, including editor Jeff, report that Sudafed’s side effects make that impossible for him to take.
Not only that, but 5+ hour flights at extremely low humidity may be good for helping arrest the spread of disease. It also irritates mucus membranes, which can worsen what you already have.
Why people fly to Hawaii when they are sick.
It is clearly both difficult and unpleasant to extricate oneself from long-planned Hawaii vacations. And for that matter, who even wants to? Many think they can still fly to Hawaii while sick and, hopefully, soon recover enough to enjoy all or at least most of their cherished vacation.
People are coughing away while everyone is trying to ignore it.
As is the case today with editor Collin, it isn’t clear just what he has. Covid testing has come back negative. It could just be a cold, or the flu, or, less likely, RSV; who knows? We’re keeping him off Hawaii flights, that’s for sure.
On Hawaii flights we took in the past number of days, many people were coughing. But everyone seemed to be ignoring it, unlike during the peak of Covid when coughing would have made you tantamount to being a pariah. At first, we even ignored it ourselves, maybe hoping it just wasn’t really happening.
Do you remember when airlines restricted travelers from boarding Hawaii flights if they appeared visibly sick?
Valsalva maneuver on flights for nasal congestion?
We’d honestly not heard of this before, but some are suggesting what’s called the Valsalva maneuver of holding your nose and blowing out right before takeoff in order to relieve or avoid congestion.
Should sick passengers don masks – what’s the rule?
Common courtesy, which largely existed before Covid and revenge travel, would indicate wearing an appropriate mask when on a plane and not feeling well. Strangely we don’t see that. Others have mentioned that wearing a mask creates a higher humidity environment which may even be beneficial for your nose and throat when sick.
We are all trying to figure out the new normal for Hawaii flights.
Especially in winter, when health problems tend to be exacerbated anyway. Your editors have taken to wearing masks when boarding, on the ground, and deplaning. Once the plane is pressurized and in the air, we are relying, wisely or not, on the aircraft HEPA filters to feel safer without masks. We do, however, appear to be in a small minority in wearing masks at all.
keep on wearing that mask. I will definitely do so when travelling and shopping and don’t care that I am in the minority.
Was it not in War of the Worlds that the only way Earth got rid of the aliens was because they didn’t have immunity for the common cold? We keep wearing masks and that will soon be us…just my two cents
You are referencing a fictional radio show from the 1940s based on an HG Wells science-fiction story as something that might relevant today? OK, if you say so…
I am referencing the book, not the radio program. While indeed many science fiction ideas have come to actualization, I was just making a comment for thought, not as fact.
I’m typing this comment on a 100% full plane flying to Hawaii as I type this. I haven’t heard a single cough or sneeze, although a toddler a few rows away has been trying out his or her vocal chords. They work great.
I’ve flown a lot during the last 4 decades. I can recall flights to Europe that were packed with sick coughing/nose blowing people. I’ve been one of those persons. Happens, especially on overseas flights that can be 10+ hours long.
I remember being a child and flying to Dallas to visit my grandmother. Everytime, I would end up with a cold or sore throat, etc
I knew airplanes were not good for me, but we went anyway.
Unfortunately people’s immune systems are not as robust as before, so this will be common on any flight. 🙏🏼
I am prone to sinus issues even after two sinus surgeries. I take an allergy pill (claritin, Allegra or Zyrtec) daily. I irrigate my sinuses daily. Usually before the long flight I use my nasal spray also to clear my sinus passages. And I continue the regime while in Hawaii. Hopefully that could help others.
In recent years (COVID time) we have always used a good N95 mask and have not gotten sick while using a good mask on flights. In years past before the use of a mask, it seemed like we always got some kind of a cold or sickness while flying or in airports. Got to say, I’m an avid user of a mask as I’m not a fan of getting sick.
Call me crazy but I have worn a mask on long flights for 22years. I coat my nostrils with Vaseline, and put a respiratory oil like eucalyptus in the mask. My nasal passages don’t dry out on the flight. The air I breathe is warmer and more moist. Rarely have I gotten sick from a flight. I wish others would be more considerate.
Mask’s don’t work, nor do lockdowns!
I do my best to eat healthy/exercise, treat my immune system right: sure I’ve gotten sick, but mildly. It’s a shame people blame other people for the reason they got terribly sick, when in actuality, if you eat healthy/exercise and give your immune system the proper nutrients (staying away from smoking, alcohol, processed foods, sugar etc) then you will more than likely not get sick at all or mildly sick. Unfortunately most of America has gotten more and more obese over the decades, we really ought to focus on improving our health/keeping our immune system strong so it can easily fight off colds, flus etc, instead of blaming our sickness on other people not wearing (Useless) masks/not being jailed to their home.
Could not have phrased it better myself. We should proactively take care of our health. It will take care if us!! Heaven forbid anyone would suggest improving our diet, exercising or taking a vitamin instead of “the alternative.” Not every cough is cringe worthy. If you feel it is …. maybe stay home where you are “safe.”
Exactly! There is certainly not enough emphasis on staying healthy, eating healthy foods like fruits and veggies, and exercising daily even if it’s just walking sometimes, will do wonders for your health, and your immune system which is the single most important factor for staying out of the hospital, and definitely better than the recent alternative/mandated shots which will actually makes things worse for a person not better if you read between the lines. Simply getting a cold/flu that has always been here and will always be here. And if you want to live in fear for something that is a cold for most people, then maybe those people should be the ones staying home, not the rest of us.
Agreed. And vaccines are exactly that: proactive.
I take good care of myself and, in return, and with lucky genes I am healthy. But, I still wear a mask because I understand that it does, indeed, help. And, we all know that they do work and I might just be helping someone who has not had as good of luck, healthwise, that I have.
“And, we all know that they do work”
Many comments to this blog post do not support this conclusion.
Comments on this blog post that don’t cite actual data don’t really support any conclusion. They’re just opinions.
This is the US’s problem in a nutshell. Because they’think’ something it’s somehow ‘truth’.
N95 masks work, and well – that’s been settled, resolved, and beyond debate. And they can be purchased by anyone. What do not work very well at all are the typical paper or cloth masks that most people wear. The virus can filter right on through, and up your nostrils it goes. And no matter how much the airlines tout their HEPA air filtrations systems, they won’t protect you much if you happen to be sitting next to or in front of an infected patient.
Who knows, covid has changed our way of thinking,
We flew over to Maui on New Year’s Day. I had a woman sitting behind me to the left, who coughed loudly, and uncovered, for a good portion of the flight. I wanted to offer her one of my masks, but I figured that she would’ve already had one on if she was a thoughtful person. Luckily, I did not catch whatever she had. It did cause me a lot of anxiety though. I kept thinking about how much I hoped that I wouldn’t catch whatever she had. I sure wish that people wouldn’t fly when they’re sick. Or at the very least, wear a mask to help protect other people from their germs.