Yes I have heard of using vaseline in the nose, might give that a try next time as most of the time I do get a cold after a couple of days of being there.
Lucy you may know the answer to this one, is it true that they can control the amount of oxygen that is added to the recycled air? As a few times I have seen poeple faint on board. In fact sometimes I feel a little short of breath too.
Steve & Dawn
Steve & Dawn
Steve and Dawn,
It is true that the flight crew can turn on/off the airconditioning packs (there are several) to save fuel but for a more technical view I found the following for you..................
Airplane cabin air is a mixture of outside and recirculated air and altitudes of more than 27,000 feet that require pressurized cabins, oxygen levels, ozone concentrations, contamination with hydraulic fuels, de-icing fluids and engine oils, low humidity. The use of pesticides on international flights can be a problem.
For example, oxygen pressures are supposed to equate with pressures found at 8,000 feet. Reduced pressures are known to pose risks for people with certain health conditions, such as heart or lung problems.
Add to that the sheer number of people onboard and all with their own odors and germs. The committee reports that the number of people getting on planes has nearly quadrupled in the past 30 years to nearly 1.5 billion a year. The issue, therefore, is whether or not environmental control systems on today's aircraft can handle pressurization, fuel contaminants and circulating germs.
The air recirculation system in today's planes, designed to reduce odors and air contamination as well as to control heat, circulate only about half as much air as required in an office building. The result can be the constellation of symptoms found in inadequately ventilated buildings -- dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue and difficulty breathing. The plane's ventilation system of oil, hydraulic fluids or de-icing solutions only makes things worse. Just ask flight attendants.
"We've had thousands of reports over the years," says Judith Murawski, an industrial hygienist in the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) air safety and health department in Washington, D.C. "We've had reports of headaches, nausea, fatigue and dizziness. We've had reports of heart failure in flight, fainting and breathing problems."
Having a sick seatmate or sitting near someone who is sneezing or has the flu may be the flying passenger's biggest threat. Because you're in confined air space, you're at a greater risk of infection, according to the Fair Air Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy organization run by airline passengers.
In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned travelers they were at risk from catching tuberculosis if there was an infectious passenger on board during a long flight. Tuberculosis, which is spread through the air, is still a problem in the United States, even though its prevalence has been declining because of the discovery of drugs to treat it.
So what's a member of the flying public to do? Wear a surgical mask?
You could if you're concerned about catching something from another passenger. Or, you could cover your nose with a water-saturated cotton handkerchief, and drink plenty of bottled water when you fly to battle dehydration, which can make you prone to catching the flu or a cold. Air safety advocate Diana Fairechild, a former flight attendant, has written and published several books on healthy flying. Fairechild has these tips:
While on board, wash your hands with soap and hot water before you touch your eyes, nose and mouth.
Because cabin air is typically very dry with the humidity ranging from 1 percent to 10 percent, dehydration can result, creating a very dry state for the nose and throat, which promotes the development of coughs, sore throats, colds and other viruses.
Coat the inside of your nostrils with oil (almond, jojoba or olive oil) to keep them moist and prevent dryness and cracking, which can open the door to germs entering the immune system.
If you're sitting beside someone who is sick, ask to have you seat changed.
If you're already sick and can't get out of your flight, pack a self-treatment kit with a decongestant, a saline nasal spray, aspirin or acetaminophen to relieve headache or fever. (Aspirin should not be used for children recovering from the flu or chickenpox.) Changes in atmospheric pressure can push an infecti
Found this too.............
Jetliner Cabin Air Systems
The cabin air system in today's jetliners is designed to provide a safe, comfortable cabin environment at cruising altitudes that can reach upwards of 40,000 feet.
At those altitudes, the cabin must be pressurized to enable passengers and crew to breathe normally. By government regulation, the cabin pressure cannot be less, at maximum cruise altitude, than the equivalent of outside air pressure at 8,000 feet.
In addition to pressurization, the cabin air system controls air flow, air filtration and temperature. Here's how the system works:
Cabin Air System Operation
Pressurized air for the cabin comes from the compressor stages in the aircraft's jet engines. Moving through the compressor, the outside air gets very hot as it becomes pressurized. The portion drawn off for the passenger cabin is first cooled by heat exchangers in the engine struts and then, after flowing through ducting in the wing, is further cooled by the main air conditioning units under the floor of the cabin.
The cooled air then flows to a chamber where it is mixed with an approximately equal amount of highly filtered air from the passenger cabin. The combined outside and filtered air is ducted to the cabin and distributed through overhead outlets.
Inside the cabin, the air flows in a circular pattern and exits through floor grilles on either side of the cabin or, on some airplanes, through overhead intakes. The exiting air goes below the cabin floor into the lower lobe of the fuselage. The airflow is continuous and quickly dilutes odors while also maintaining a comfortable cabin temperature.
About half of the air exiting the cabin is immediately exhausted from the airplane through an outflow valve in the lower lobe, which also controls the cabin pressure. The other half is drawn by fans through special filters under the cabin floor, and then is mixed with the outside air coming in from the engine compressors.
These high efficiency filters are similar to those used to keep the air clean in hospitals. Such filters are very effective at trapping microscopic particles as small as bacteria and viruses. It is estimated that between 94 and 99.9 percent of the airborne microbes reaching these filters are captured.
Key Characteristics and Overall Effectiveness
There are several characteristics of the cabin air system that deserve special emphasis:
Air circulation is continuous. Air is always flowing into and out of the cabin.
The cabin has a high air-change rate. All of the air in the cabin is replaced by the incoming mixture of outside air and filtered air during intervals of only two to three minutes, depending on airplane size. That's 20 to 30 air changes per hour.
Outside-air mixing replenishes the cabin air constantly. The outside-air content keeps carbon dioxide and other contaminants well within standard limits and replaces oxygen far faster than the rate at which it is consumed. Replenishment also assures that the recirculated portion of the air does not endlessly recirculate but is rapidly diluted and replaced with outside air.
Compared to other modes of transport, office buildings and other enclosed spaces occupied by large numbers of people, today's jetliners provide an environment that is superior in many respects. For example, in the heating and cooling seasons, most office buildings provide a far lower percentage of outside air -- often as low as 20 percent or even less. In addition, buildings typically have a much lower air-change rate, and they're seldom equipped with high-efficiency filters like those found in Boeing airplanes.
A further advantage for airplane passengers: the outside air that enters jetliner cabins at cruising altitudes is generally much cleaner than what is available for ventilating buildings and surface modes of transportation.
Studies have confirmed the overall safety and effectiveness of cabin air systems. One of the studies, conducted for the U.S. Government, was the most comprehensive of a
Thanks for that Lucy, very interesting...... a bit scary but interesting...
Steve & Dawn
Steve & Dawn
Not sure that addresses the fact that the crew turn down the air conditioning system so that everyone goes to sleep (keeps the passengers quiet) and to save fuel though. I usually end up feeling as if I'm suffocating when that happens and ask for it to be turned back on as I can't breathe.
blott
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by blott
Not sure that addresses the fact that the crew turn down the air conditioning system so that everyone goes to sleep (keeps the passengers quiet) and to save fuel though. I usually end up feeling as if I'm suffocating when that happens and ask for it to be turned back on as I can't breathe.
[/quote]
Never heard that one before?? They can't otherwise all the crew would go to sleep too!!! The whole aircraft is on the same system so if it were enough to send someone to sleep it would affect the crew - rather dangerous don't you think?
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by blott
Not sure that addresses the fact that the crew turn down the air conditioning system so that everyone goes to sleep (keeps the passengers quiet) and to save fuel though. I usually end up feeling as if I'm suffocating when that happens and ask for it to be turned back on as I can't breathe.
[/quote]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by lal
Never heard that one before?? They can't otherwise all the crew would go to sleep too!!! The whole aircraft is on the same system so if it were enough to send someone to sleep it would affect the crew - rather dangerous don't you think?[/quote]It is for me as I have trouble breathing when this is done! However, it's exactly what you said earlier...
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by lal
Steve and Dawn,
It is true that the flight crew can turn on/off the airconditioning packs (there are several) to save fuel but for a more technical view I found the following for you..................[/quote]So presumably the crew would keep theirs on whilst the rest of us get cut down in oxygen, which has the effect of making everyone else sleepy (as well as saving fuel). [msnmad]
blott
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by blott
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by blott
Not sure that addresses the fact that the crew turn down the air conditioning system so that everyone goes to sleep (keeps the passengers quiet) and to save fuel though. I usually end up feeling as if I'm suffocating when that happens and ask for it to be turned back on as I can't breathe.
[/quote]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by lal
Never heard that one before?? They can't otherwise all the crew would go to sleep too!!! The whole aircraft is on the same system so if it were enough to send someone to sleep it would affect the crew - rather dangerous don't you think?[/quote]It is for me as I have trouble breathing when this is done! However, it's exactly what you said earlier...
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by lal
Steve and Dawn,
It is true that the flight crew can turn on/off the airconditioning packs (there are several) to save fuel but for a more technical view I found the following for you..................[/quote]So presumably the crew would keep theirs on whilst the rest of us get cut down in oxygen, which has the effect of making everyone else sleepy (as well as saving fuel). [msnmad]
[/quote]
As I said in my earlier post AIR CON packs - oxygen starvation was not mentioned?? As you will know if you have the air con on in your car it uses more fuel than if it is off however that does not mean you have less oxygen?
There are no SEPARATE oxygen systems for the crew (except for emergencies) as far as Im aware, but there is the capability of how many air con packs are on at any time (WHICH IS WHAT I SAID EARLIER) but there will be a legal limit, for heating and cooling of the cabins which of course you can heat and cool sperate areas.
The crew breath the same air as the passengers!!!!!
Can you imagaine the legalities if an airline could starve passengers of oxygen??
I can honestly say Blott that I have never heard of such a practice[msnscared]
If you suffer from trouble breathing then you should seek medical care and make an official complaint to the airline concerned - if you have a pre exsisting condition then you can order an oxygen bottle for your sole use to be put on board for you.
Sorry if thats not the way you feel but I can only offer you the benefit of MY experience of 20 years with BA.
We will just have to agree to disagree[msnwink][msnsmile]
I guess we willbut perhaps you'd be interested to read this? http://www.flyana.com/full.html
blott
Very interesting[msnsmile2]
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