Gout attacks are fairly common while travelling by air. This is something that you may not have heard or given a thought, but here is some important information that you need to consider while you are onboard especially when you forget to take your Gout medication before boarding.
There are two important factors that can trigger gout flares particularly while flying; this can be due to lack of mobility or due to dehydration. Therefore it is recommended to make sure that you always keep blood in circulation by regular movements and always keep yourself hydrated. The economy seats on a plane hardly give you enough leg space to move. Your legs are always cramped unless you have a smaller frame. Anyways do remember that you have the privilege to ask for water and other fluids during a flight.
Due to sluggish blood circulation especially when plasma is over saturated and with the increased presence of uric acid a gout attack can be likely. In other words there is more chance of the uric acid to crystallize into the MSU crystals which causes the pain, inflammation and fever of acute gout attack. This pain grows worse in feet especially when you are stationary for long period during a flight.
A gout attack is common in the big toe of the feet. So, make sure you take extra care of your feet. Keep them warm as cold is also another reason why the uric acid can crystallize. Moreover it is a natural fact that the feet happen to be the coldest part of the body. To improve the blood circulation on a plane below are some easy point to stick to
i) Walk up and down the aisle in between the flight.
ii) If your flight has a stopover or transit, walk around as much as you can instead of sitting in lounge or on bar seats.
iii) During flights you also get an information booklet with some simple exercises that you can do to improve the blood circulation in your body.
The main reason of dehydration on board is that the air in cabin has less humidity than the normal air that we breathe on ground. Dehydration is not good for gout and the risk grows when the duration of flight is long. Uric acid is not very soluble but drinking a lot of water can actually help with lowering the chances of crystallization. Experts usually recommend that 6/8 x 6 fluid oz glasses of water should be consumed every day. Thus when you are on a flight this becomes even more essential.
For benefit of readers our website has useful related information for Acute Gout Attack, and also good stuff about Symptoms Of Gout.
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