Air Travel Tips for Someone With Frequent Vertigo Episodes

travel, vertigo chiropractor in Spartanburg

Have you started making new plans to complete your travel bucket list? However, are you growing weary of your vertigo episodes and fear that your symptoms will manifest while you’re on your flight to your vacation destination? 

Now that the travel industry has finally started to bounce back and more people are booking flights in hopes of reuniting with loved ones or exploring unfamiliar cities, it can get frustrating to think about vertigo attacks. 

What happens if I get dizzy while on board a plane?

What if my vertigo episodes ruin my travel itinerary and force me to stay in my hotel for the hours?

Indeed, it can be pretty unpleasant to deal with massive health hiccups while you’re about 35,000 to 42,000 feet up in the air or thousands of miles away from the comforts of your home. Find out everything you need to cope from your go-to vertigo chiropractor in Spartanburg.

 

Vertigo Episodes During and After a Plane Ride

There are plenty of legitimate health reasons why countless travelers dread boarding a plane because of vertigo episodes. Here’s a quick look at the different vertigo-causing conditions and how they fare against air travel: 

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Dubbed by studies as the most common cause of vertigo, BPPV tops our list of air travelers’ most commonly reported health concerns. This condition stems from displaced inner ear crystals that interfere with normal signal communication between the brain and the tiny organs that detect balance and movement. It often worsens with movement, causing significant discomfort to travel BPPV patients during a turbulent plane ride. 

Meniere’s Disease

You might have heard about Meniere’s from Jessie J or Kristin Chenoweth. Essentially, this vestibular condition stems from an imbalance of fluids inside the ears. It’s a rare disorder that causes significant balance problems and increases risks for drop attacks

Ear Barotrauma 

Fluctuating pressure (air or water) in your surroundings can lead to temporary ear congestion issues like ear barotrauma (airplane’s ear). While this can be a usual body response during a flight, it can cause slight discomfort and set off mild to severe dizzying spells and spinning sensations.  

Mal de Debarquement Syndrome

MDS is a prevalent vestibular condition among frequent travelers. It causes a rocking or swaying sensation long after you disembark from an aircraft (hence the name). If you have this condition, you should consider seeking a professional ear doctor.

How to Keep Travelling Even if You Have a Vertigo-Causing Condition

As long as your doctor clears you for air travel, we don’t see why you shouldn’t give in to your wanderlust. To cope, you can tap into helpful travel tips such as avoiding long connecting flights to lessen the time spent in the aircraft. We also strongly suggest tapping into remedies like receiving adjustments from a vertigo chiropractor in Spartanburg a few weeks before your scheduled departure date to help condition your body and cope better during an episode. Some of the best vertigo relief options you can explore include the following:  

  • Acupuncture
  • Acupressure
  • Biofeedback training
  • Aromatherapy
  • The Epley Maneuver
  • Upper Cervical care
  • Diet management/modification 
  • Proper hydration
  • Food supplementation
  • Stress management
travel, vertigo chiropractor in Spartanburg

Schedule a Consultation with Your Vertigo Chiropractor in Spartanburg

With travel restrictions finally lifted in several countries and the health crisis showing significant improvements over the last few months, you should be able to enjoy a hassle-free trip to whatever destination you want. Make sure to follow the tips we shared above and book your appointment with our upper cervical chiropractor at least a few weeks before your target departure date.

This way, we can look at your current spinal alignment and provide necessary adjustments to lessen the risks for debilitating vertigo episodes. Assessing your neck bones shouldn’t take long as long as you keep up with your regular appointment. It’s also a brilliant and practical way to keep your health in check especially if you’ve had incidents that caused massive neck and head trauma. 

As we always remind our patients, injuries of the past can most certainly haunt you in the present so it’s best to have your neck bones checked for misalignments and come in for your routine adjustments and assessments here at our Spartanburg-based practice. 

When in their proper places, the atlas and axis bones won’t cause the rest of the spinal bones to misalign and cause mishaps like impaired blood flow and fluid drainage in the ears. This will help you experience lasting relief, especially when your vertigo episodes stem from previous neck or head trauma. Book your consultation with Upper Cervical Chiropractic of Spartanburg today!

 

To schedule a consultation with Dr. Baker, call our Boiling Springs office at 864-804-6886. You can also click the button below.

If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.

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