Health advice for your trip

Additional oxygen on board
Patients with impaired pulmonary or cardiac functions are asked to ensure an additional supply of oxygen with their own devices. The following devices are permitted on board and can be used under special stipulations:

For further information and for verification of the required fitness to fly, please contact the Medical Operation Center no later than 48 hours before departure at the following email address: medicaloperation.discover-airlines@lufthansa-group.com.

Before you start your journey, please ask your doctor about the procedure at security and about any other possible risks. If you have a heart pacemaker, you must present a medical certificate to this effect at security.

Since the quantity of insulin that needs to be injected is connected to your food intake pattern, accurate time management plays a critical role. This page contains some important information for passengers with diabetes mellitus.

Before the journey

Did you arrive feeling faint and exhausted at your destination? Long-haul passengers are all too familiar with the phenomenon known as jet lag. In this section, we explain the causes and effects of jet lag and give you some general tips on what you can do to prevent it.

Causes
People normally live in a 24-hour rhythm. While we sleep, our heart and breathing rates slow, blood pressure drops, our muscles relax and mental and psychomotor performance decreases significantly.

A rapid change to a new location in a different time zone disturbs phases in the human daily rhythm. It not only interrupts our normal cycles of sleeping and waking, but also the regular patterns of a wide range of different bodily functions accustomed to operating in a 24-hour rhythm.

Effects
Tiredness and slowed reactions combined with memory and concentration problems are the most frequent results. People can also feel exhausted and suffer from headaches and a feeling of nausea due to the interruption in their normal sleep patterns.

The effects of jet lag tend to be felt more strongly after an eastbound flight than a westbound one. The reason for this difference is that our body’s "internal clock" tends towards a rhythm which is longer than 24 hours. So when we fly from east to west (such as from Germany to the USA), the day is longer – which tends to suit our biological rhythm. The human body adjusts to the new time zone about 20% faster than after an eastbound flight (such as from Germany to Thailand) because flying east means it "loses" several hours.

General tips to prevent jet lag

During the flight

When you travel to much warmer regions, you should consider that your body will need a certain amount of time to adjust to the change in climate. This is because a rapid change in temperature, especially from cold to hot climes, puts a heavy strain on your body’s circulatory system.

Tips to cope with a change of climate

Before the journey

Please note the following information to avoid problems if you need to take medication at regular intervals during your journey.

Medications taken regularly
Due to the fact that adjustments have to be made for different time zones, it can be difficult to maintain the regular intervals necessary for taking medication. If you are required to take a particular medication at regular intervals, we recommend that you consult a doctor before taking a flight across one or more time zones.

Medications in carry-on baggage
The medication packaging should be impact-resistant and, wherever possible, your medication should be distributed among several items of carry-on baggage. It is advisable to pack about one and a half to twice the amount you expect to use in your carry-on baggage. This is because, in exceptional cases, flights can sometimes be diverted or their departure delayed for a long time – even if you are already sitting in the aircraft. Please note that your medication cannot be refrigerated on board. However, you may keep your medication cool on board with cold packs or, alternatively, with dry ice.

Taking medications through customs
If you have medications and syringes in your carry-on baggage, it is advisable to take a doctor’s certificate with you which confirms that they are personally required medical items.

Loss of medications
Just in case you lose your medications during your journey or in the destination country, you should ask your doctor to provide you with a list of your blood group and other important personal health data as well as the dosage of your medications and their generic names (names not protected under commodity law, i.e. the international, non-proprietary names of medical substances). You should also have with you the documents you need for medical treatment or for the issuing of prescriptions in a foreign country. Consult your doctor or health insurance provider for the relevant information.

The contraceptive pill
The best way to achieve certainty in contraception, when you are travelling on a westbound flight which lengthens the day by a minimum of six hours, is by taking an extra pill. We recommend that you consult your doctor on this matter before travelling.

Application of medications by means of an EpiPen™
In general, we recommend that passengers with allergies or food intolerances should always carry their medications with them in their carry-on baggage. In the event of an emergency, our flight crew cannot apply medication by means of an EpiPen™ (epinephrine) auto-injector. Children and teenagers who carry an EpiPen™ (epinephrine) auto-injector with them can only fly on board Discover Airlines aircraft if accompanied by someone who is familiar with the use of this device.

Medications for travel sickness
As a preventive measure you can take non-prescription medications such as travel chewing gum, which diminishes the side effects of travel sickness such as tiredness and lack of concentration. There is also medication to suppress feelings of nausea, although, due to the potential side effects, you must have a doctor’s prescription for this.

The drop in air pressure in the aircraft can occasionally cause some passengers to suffer from earache. Read the following helpful tips on the preventive measures you can take.

Possible causes of earache on board
The cabin air pressure in commercial aircraft can drop to a level corresponding to an altitude of about 2,500 meters above sea level. This can sometimes cause passengers to suffer from earache.

This occurs, in particular, when the equalisation of pressure between the middle ear and the ambient air pressure does not function properly. These symptoms are more likely to occur in passengers who have a cold with inflammation of the nose and the passages between the back of the throat and the middle ear (known as the Eustachian tubes).

Fewer problems at take-off
When the aircraft takes off and climbs to its cruising altitude, it is usually less of a problem. That is because this process creates negative pressure in the cabin. Even for a passenger with a cold, the overpressure that builds in the middle ear can be equalised relatively easily by the Eustachian tubes.

Landing can be painful if you have a cold
Landing is more likely to present problems because during an aircraft’s descent the cabin air pressure increases and the natural equalisation of pressure may not function properly due to a cold-related inflammation of the mucous membrane. This results in negative pressure in the middle ear and increased pressure on the eardrum, and this can be painful.

What you can do to prevent earache
The most important technique you can use to equalise the pressure is the so-called Valsalva method: take a breath, hold your nose, and with your mouth closed press the air forcefully to the back of your throat. This opens the Eustachian tubes, which enables an equalisation of the pressure.

A preventive measure you can take is to apply a decongestant nasal spray to both nostrils about a half-hour before the aircraft begins its descent from cruising altitude. This will free the passages between the nasal sinuses and the middle ear again and enable an equalisation between the ambient pressure and the pressure in the middle ear.

You can also speed up the pressure equalisation process with chewing movements. The best thing to do is to bring some chewing gum with you. Deliberate yawning can also facilitate pressure equalisation.

If you are suffering from a serious infection of the sinuses and nasal passages, you should certainly consult your doctor before flying.

If you often feel unwell soon after take-off, you probably suffer from travel sickness. By taking the following effective preventive measures, you can alleviate this unpleasant feeling of nausea.

Do not fly on an empty stomach
Do not fly on an empty stomach because it doesn’t help travel sickness – as is mistakenly believed – but actually promotes it.

Instead, we recommend eating light food such as fruit, vegetables, salads, biscuits, cereal bars and rusks before and during the flight. However, you should avoid coffee, black tea, alcohol, nicotine and spicy, fatty dishes.

Take vitamin B1: it plays a major role in transmitting nerve impulses and helps travel sickness sufferers to alleviate problems with their sense of balance. These foods contain especially high levels of vitamin B1: artichokes, fish, oatmeal, brown rice, asparagus, wheat products and pork.

Ginger provides gentle, natural relief from the symptoms of travel sickness. We therefore recommend you drink some ginger tea in good time before your departure. This will provide natural relief from your feelings of nausea, with absolutely no side effects.

Choose the right seat
Ask for a seat on the centre aisle that is level with the wings as the aircraft's movements are least noticeable there.

If this is not an option, make sure you get a window seat. If you are flying during the daytime, you can calm your nervous stomach by fixing your eyes on a point on the horizon which will provide a reference point for your sense of balance. This will ease your feeling of nausea.

Find out here about the causes of travel thrombosis, whether you belong to the risk group and what you can do to avoid such complications on your flight.

Possible causes of travel thrombosis
Long stretches of immobile sitting, such as in an aircraft, restrict the return flow of blood to the heart which muscle movement normally actively promotes. This can result in the build-up of fluids, primarily in the lower leg area. The increased pressure on the tissue can, in turn, lead to a reduction in the return blood flow.

In rare cases, involving high-risk persons, a blood clot can develop on the wall of the vein. This is known as a thrombosis and it further restricts the return flow of blood significantly.

In very rare cases, part of this blood clot can become detached and then be carried to the lungs by the flow of blood, where it lodges. If a blood vessel is then blocked, this can result in a considerable reduction of the heart’s capacity to pump. Such an event is known as an embolism of the lung, which in extreme cases can lead to sudden heart failure.

Particular risk groups

If you suffer from sleep apnoea and use a sleep therapy device (CPAP device), it is not necessary to specially register the device on Discover Airlines flights simply to take it with you. You can take your sleep therapy device on board with you in addition to your usual carry-on baggage (max. 8 kg), as you would a laptop bag. If you need to use a sleep therapy device (CPAP device) during the flight, you will need to register this in advance via the Medical Operation Centre at specialservice.discover-airlines@lufthansa-group.com. Please note that the sleep therapy device can only be battery operated. Supply of the on-board power cannot be guaranteed. In addition, if the device has a humidifier, please turn it off. We recommend that you carry with you a description of the device in case it is required for presentation at the security control.

Further information on taking medical devices on board with you in your carry-on baggage and regulations regarding the carriage of batteries, for example, can be found on lufthansa.com.

Do you feel anxious or afraid on board?
Many people are unable to relax during a flight and some even suffer from fear of flying. Considering how safe flying really is, these are mostly irrational fears (mainly based on insufficient or incorrect information) which can be overcome, ideally with the support of trained experts.

Tips for coping with a fear of flying