Introduction
In the winter months colds are common. If a cold occurs close to the time of a planned flight, the question arises as to whether one is still fit to fly. As long as no fever develops or other serious secondary diseases are present, one can generally fly when having a cold. If there is uncertainty about whether you are fit to fly, you should consult your family doctor in advance. One should be aware that the changed pressure conditions in the aircraft cabin can lead to complaints during the flight.
Are you allowed to fly with a cold?
In principle, you can fly with a cold. Even if it’s accompanied by a cough and a cold. Since there are pressure conditions when flying, as there are at an altitude of about 2400 meters, problems with pressure equalization can occur, which can normally be controlled with certain techniques for pressure equalization.
If you are unsure whether you are fit to fly, you should consult your family doctor before the flight and discuss the individual risks with him. It is important that you are strongly advised against flying with a fever. A fever results from the upregulation of the body temperature controlled by the pituitary gland.
The increased temperature helps the body to fight the pathogen. However, it also acts as a stress factor on the organism and a flight increases this stress. In addition, pressure equalisation can be very difficult, causing damage to the eardrums and increasing the risk of thrombosis.
In the event of a thrombosis, a blood clot forms at any point in the body, which is carried with the bloodstream through the vessels. If the vessels become too small for the blood clot, as can happen in the heart or lungs, for example, the clot gets stuck and blocks the vessel. The result is an interruption in the blood flow to the organ, which can lead to a heart attack or pulmonary embolism, for example.
Possible complaints during the flight
During the flight the pressure in the aircraft cabin is adjusted. However, it is not the same as the pressure one is used to on the surface of the earth. The adjusted pressure causes the air to expand and there is about 1.5 times the volume of air in the body.
This expansion can, for example, put pressure on the sinuses and cause pain in the nose and forehead area. This is especially the case when the sinuses are already swollen due to an inflammation of the sinuses. This can then also lead to slight headaches.
In addition to the paranasal sinuses, the connecting passage between the middle ear and the nasopharynx, the so-called auditory tube (Tuba auditiva), can also be swollen. This connecting passage enables pressure equalisation. If too much air collects in the middle ear, it can escape into the pharyngeal cavity through this connecting passage by jaw movements when swallowing or yawning.
If this connecting passage is also swollen in the course of the cold, pressure equalisation becomes even more difficult and the pain described above occurs. Due to the connection of this passage to the middle ear, swelling and the changed pressure conditions in the aircraft can also lead to feelings of dizziness, tinnitus or, in the worst case, hearing loss. Tinnitus describes the hearing of sounds without being able to attribute them to an external sound source.
The first symptoms that one notices in the ears are caused by the difficulty in balancing the pressure. One feels an intense pain in the inner area of the ear, which only improves with successful pressure equalisation. A continuation of this pain can lead to headaches. If the excessive swelling of the mucous membrane of the paranasal sinuses does not allow pressure equalisation, in the worst case this can lead to a rupture of the eardrum. If there is severe pain in the area of the ears, which continues even after the flight, an ear, nose and throat doctor should be consulted, as a ruptured eardrum does not necessarily lead directly to a hearing loss, but should nevertheless be treated early on.
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