Why do I get an allergy attack on airplanes?
Author: I am 57 years old. Never had any type of allergy. For the past several years, when I fly for more than 2 consecutive hours, I have a terrible allergy attack that last for several days. No one seems to know why? Any thoughts?
Hi. Sorry to hear about your problem. That sounds miserable. Airplanes are, in general, terrible places for allergy or people with compromised immune systems, as any number of allergens can be lurking in the recycled cabin air.
That said, since it sounds like you never have allergy symptoms otherwise, and because the symptoms last for so long, it's probably not an allergy. Allergies are immune responses triggered by specific allergens, and the symptoms usually disappear fairly quickly after removing yourself from exposure to the allergen. It is possible, however, that you have a hypersensitivity to some chemical that is used on planes and that you don't otherwise encounter anywhere else (anything from jet fuel fumes to pesticides).
Given the duration of your symptoms, I would suggest that the most likely explanation is that you catch a cold each time you get on a plane. While this seems likely a fairly low-probability sequence of events, it's not all that unusual, for several reasons:
1) Germs are more abundant on planes than just about anywhere else.
2) The air in the cabin is exceedingly dry, and it dries out your mucus membranes and respiratory passages, making your body more susceptible to germs.
3) The stresses of flying, from waiting in line, to fear of crashing, to being squeezed in a tiny seat, can make your immune system less able to fight off pathogens that would otherwise be no problem.
4) Ozone exposure is greater at high altitude than on the ground, and overexposure to ozone is known to irritate and weaken the respiratory system.
5) The change in altitude, even in a pressurized cabin, can weaken your immune response.
In fact, even if you're not actually catching a cold, allergy symptoms such as runny nose, itchy eyes, and sore throat can be caused simply by the conditions I've listed above. While your symptoms seem particularly long-lasting, as we age our bodies take longer to recover, so it's entirely possible, given that this has just occurred in recent years, that this is the problem.
There are a couple things that may help, whether the symptoms are caused by allergy, pathogens, or simply the drying-out of the respiratory system. First, make sure you're well hydrated before and during the flight. Many people get dehydrated during flights because of the dry air and because they tend to drink less water on the flight than they otherwise would. Second, use a saline nasal spray to keep your nasal passages from drying out. Finally, consider wearing a mask. If you're like me, you're probably not too excited about wearing a mask for the duration of your flight, so you may just want to try the first two and see if they work.
You can find more information on this topic at:
http://www.aaaai.org/media/news_releases/2005/06/062905.stm
and at:
http://www.achooallergy.com/air-quality-airplane-cabins.asp
Keep in mind that the second one is trying to sell you a product. A lot of the information is pretty good, and the product itself may be good, but I tend to be very wary of such sites.
If you do think the problem may be an allergy, make an appointment with a board-certified allergist. He or she can give you one or more tests that can determine whether you do have an allergy and what, specifically, you're allergic to.
For more information about allergy testing, I recommend you take a look at this discussion:
http://forums.wegohealth.com/forums/viewthread/87_25/
Full disclosure: I'm the community moderator at WEGO Health, so I'm a little biased, but I do think there's some very helpful information in that thread, as allergy testing has grown pretty controversial.
Good luck!