Air Travel? before Takeoff, Please Change your Internal Clock!

Wanderlust and travel fever can be cured quickly on vacation. However, those who regularly take medication must be careful on vacation. A variety of medications such as thyroid hormones, certain antidepressants, drugs for psychosis, antihistamines or even preparations that relieve constrictions in the bronchial tubes can limit the body’s adaptation to high temperatures.

Effects and side effects

The package insert should therefore be read in any case already with the beginning of the travel planning, because with many medications there are different details to consider. Cortisone, for example, weakens the immune system in certain dosages, making travelers more susceptible to infections. Patients who take a blood thinner such as Marcumar after heart surgery or because of thrombosis must pay particular attention to their diet. This medication is affected by vitamin K, which is contained in many fruits and vegetables and may be eaten more frequently than usual on vacation.

Antimalarials, which can interact with other medications, are also risky. In addition, many medications leave a so-called photosensitivity, i.e. a higher sensitivity to light. In these cases, sun protection must be taken particularly seriously to avoid severe burns.

All medications must be protected from heat and moisture. Some antihypertensive medications do not tolerate sun and must be consistently stored in a cool place. Sprays and drops can evaporate and then have much higher concentrations of active ingredient in the residual stock.

Diarrhea and vomiting, which place a considerable strain on the body’s water balance, can lead to overdoses of cardiac and blood pressure medications. Other drugs, on the other hand, are almost completely excreted with the watery stool and must be taken again. Therefore, refrigeration units and a sufficient number of medications should be planned for.

Jet lag and medications

Especially travels over several time zones make our inner clock hard to cope with. The usual rhythm of sleeping and waking gets mixed up. Trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, fatigue during the day and reduced performance are the result. This phenomenon is referred to as “jet lag“. However, it only occurs when – as with air travel – several time zones are crossed quickly. When traveling by train or ship, the body has more time to adjust to the current local time.

Jet lag lasts about three days, but can last up to two weeks in some people. Travel medicine experts believe that jet lag is caused by a divergence between the body’s own internal bio-rhythms, such as temperature and hormone secretion, and external zeitgebers, such as day and night. As a rule of thumb, one should allow one day for each hour of time difference to acclimate to new time zones.