REFLECTOR: Flying High

[nmflyer1 at aol.com]

>From my studies and high altitude training:
 
 Much of the cause of headaches "after" a flight is caused by dehydration. "offgassing" of moisture as you breathe at higher altitudes will dehydrate you faster than on the ground. In addition, many folks don't drink enough (or as much as they usually do) when flying....because of the extra stop that it may cause.  
 
Getting the dull headache in the air can be a warning (even if not the first warning) of O2 deprivation. 
Like I said in my previous post, each person's symptoms from this may be different. The important factor is that your own personal sequence of symptoms will come in the same order every time. That is why high altitude training is so valuable. 
 
These symptoms can include: Headache, heavy case of the Yawns, drowsiness, nausea, etc. Also includedare symptoms that are much harder to realize once it gets to this state: giggles, feeling of invincibility, color blindness, tunnel vision, and more. 
 
Because of the eye's need for a sufficient supply of O2, one of the symptoms may not even be noticed as a symptom. The eyes will slowly start losing the ability to detect certain colors with O2 deprivation. That is why it is recommended to use supplimantal O2 at night at an even lower altitude. The darkness and sometimes colored cockpit lighting, and they losing of color detection can be Very dangerous. 
 
There are some good flight physiology books out there that provide lots of information (and some good stories). Nothing beats high altitude training in a controlled setting. 
 
Kurt  
-----Original Message-----
From: HYTEC45 at aol.com
To: reflector at tvbf.org
Sent: Mon, 16 May 2005 11:56:54 EDT
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Flying High


In a message dated 5/16/2005 7:46:36 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, canarder at frontiernet.net writes:
Might headache be regarded as a reliable 
warning of the onset of other impairment?

I started the Headache reaction last week when this post started.  Some great info has been posted about this.  Far above anything I knew about before.  However, in my original post, I stated that I only got the headaches hours AFTER the termination of my flights.  This is still related to lack of O 2, however, I never got one while flying high.
 
TEC
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