Dehydration a Worry for Some Travelers

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERROR_PLOT_MEDICAL_TRAVELERS?SITE=PAGRE&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Air travelers with medical conditions may suffer dehydration or other risks because of new air travel restrictions that prohibit people from bringing drinks onto the plane, some doctors say.

Bottled water and cans of nutritional supplement drinks are among the liquids that can't be carried on board.

Such restrictions may pose some risks, starting with dehydration, said Dr. Marc Siegel, an internal medicine physician with the New York University School of Medicine.

Dehydration can place an unhealthy strain on people with diseased hearts or kidneys. The dry air in the passenger cabin also dries out the mucous membranes that help protect the body from invading bacteria and viruses.

"Though I'm not calling this life-threatening, dehydration is not a good state for anyone ill to be in," Siegel said.

<snip>

"Some people can't eat ordinary airline food," including patients with inflammatory bowel disease or people who have recently had intestinal surgery, said Freedman, director of UAB's Travelers Health Clinic.

It's just that many fewer people to worry about for Medicare/health care.

This isn't about what's good for us; it's all about what's good for this regime's political & financial gain.

You can still get a drink on board a plane and all airlines provide special diets.

If things get busy onboard, you could be waiting for quite some time. I know, I've been in those situations.

They should now hand water bottles to people as they board, if they're going to confiscate what people were planning to bring with them.

Just a thought.

This is my biggest concern. I always travel with water. When the drinks cart comes around you get a small plastic cup of water. Not the bottle, usually. I dehydrate easily and I suppose I'll make it on a short flight but this still bothers me. I'm flying in a week, too.

It would be great customer service for the airlines to hand out bottled water once people board. Can't imagine them spending that money though.

If they won't do it for every one, then perhaps you can get then to accommodate you as an individual.

At least it puts them on notice...

May you have a safe and uneventful flight :hi:

I've been flying for more than thirty years and have always asked for as much as i want with no problem.
Ask and ye shall receive.
:patriot:

...they've been pouring water from litre bottles.

I'm an old hand at flying, too. In the past I was always given the entire soda can or water bottle. In the past year or so it's been one glass at a time. Even if I asked. The age of customer service and deregulation. :shrug:

it works for me. :-)

I have them eating out of my hand by the end of the flight. A few well placed $20 helps too! I NEVER suffer on a flight. EVER!

....and then there is the "age" factor that we all must realistically 'deal with', isn't there???? Schmoozing doesn't work quite so well when you're 60 vs. 50 vs. 40 vs. 30 vs. a studdily, cuddily 20-something.....just sayin.

I was late to the airport to fly to my brother's funeral and never got a chance to eat - I was so terribly hungry and they handed out tiny bags of pretzels. I pleaded for mercy and the flight attendant gave me several bags of pretzels and chips. :)

it has happened to me several times

PLEASE do not count on if you ask nicely, if you cry, if you are ill, that you are guaranteed to get all the water you want

i can tell you from personal experience it don't have to happen

If they're going to restrict what we can carry on, then a 24-oz bottle should be handed out at the beginning of the flight, with more on board by request.

Those stupid prefilled sealed cups they carry weren't nearly enough to satisfy the previous demand, much less what's going on now.

to bring me my own crutches from the front storage locker so I could get up to use the restroom. I have no faith that they'll be diligent enough with water for people with medical needs.

here is a poster who has been on an actual commercial airplane

What most people do not realize is that since 911, there are FEWER, not more, crew in the cabin. They're always staffing at absolute minimum to save money because all the airlines are in the hurt locker, first when customers stayed away in droves, and later when gas prices went through the roof.

No more extra trainees, evaluators and managers lending a hand in addition to the "spare" they used to toss on those long legs. Just the poor crew with not enough hands and too many assignments. If they make them do more beverage services to accomodate THIS latest bullshit, then that's one more task to enjoy on top of the pay cuts virtually every one of them, across the board, has taken in in the past several years.

and you will get a bottle of water the very first thing, and more is available on request. Granted these are 11-15 hours flights to Japan, but still.

solid food but use a nutrional drink like Ensure. I can't see why a factory sealed bottle can't be allowed on board.

Now I did wonder about one lady saying all she could drink was "spring water" which she couldn't get on board.

Can anyone explain that for me or was she just being whiny?

I only drink unfiltered well water or Mountain Valley. If water is in plastic or has chlorine or has been filtered, it makes me all congested and I can barely swallow it. I know lots of people with environmental illness with big food and water problems. Also, I'm a photographer and I sure am not going to put my pro digital Canon in baggage. No flying for me. I love road trips anyway.

and they want me to put my Canon 20D in checked baggage?

Methinks not.

They'll provide me with a special diet?

And they'll give me a 4-oz glass of water when they have the time. Oh, goodie. That'll make my 20-hour flight to Singapore a very healthy experience. And the pills I have to take several times a day at scheduled times...I guess I can just use the reclaimed water in the airplane bathroom if the flight attendants are too busy when I need them.

And to think I was worried about Singapore's draconian laws about chewing gum.

Many people, such as myself, book many of their flights within 24 hours. And even if you do manage to get the request in before that, I've had my special meals 'forgotten' numerous times.

You can get a drink, yeah. Every once in a while they'll get you a four or six ounce water. If you're a bit more assertive, you can even raid the galley yourself for a soda, or a water While They Last (as they're all preportioned in those riptop stupid cups) but Soda isn't hydrating, it's DEhydrating, liquor doubly so.

Most healthy travelers with any sense already bring a sports bottle or 24-oz water on most flights and still pester the flight attendants for more. Diabetics and others who need to maintain hydration bring even more. Now, they can't.

If I can't bring a big bottle of water on board, I ain't flyin'. Fortunately, I don't have any immediate plans, and with luck, this will all blow over by Election Day.

I don't have a medical condition, but when I fly I have to bring food and drink with me because I'm vegan and can't have caffine (it makes me very jittery) and I can't count on there being anything for me to eat or anything healthy to drink, let alone adequate quantities of either.

I can understand requiring sealed containers and would have no problem bringing a little sack of sealed snack bars and bottled water, but asking me to not to bring anything to eat on a cross-country trip where at best I may get three cans of 7 up and a bar of pretzels in-flight (and where I can't count on there being any airport food I can eat even if there's time to get it) is fucking rediculous. Asking people who aren't young and healthy to do it is simply inhumane and dangerous.

at any gate side restaruant on board. Course you can't bring any drinks. And then they were being wacky telling people they had to throw sealed condiment packs. Told one woman she couldn't bring a sealed salad dressing pack on but she could pour it on her salad and bring it on then.

Wacky!

(I could probably get a beverage if that's permitted.) Neither can a lot of people with special diets

restaurants serve in the terminal. Anyone who is diabetic or vegan or has food alergies is screwed.

Not drinking enough on a long flight can also literally kill a person -- even someone healthy.

i gather you have not flown v. often

FAs are not allowed to provide service during storms, turbulence, etc.

you gots to bring your own

If you can get dehydrated in the 1 hour before they start serving drink you don't belong on an aircraft.

time without access to food or water.. I'm pretty healthy and still got woozy standing in line.. These days you're lucky if you get a snack on the plane.. I fly all the time, and it's been at least a year since I was served a meal on a domestic flight.. I was in line for security for over 2 hours without access to anything, and I sat at the gate without access to anything for another 2 hours, and than once I did get on the plane we had to set for another hour and a half so they could recheck ever carry on bag again.. Either you haven't flown for a for a long time, or you just don't know what your talking about, but either way, you're wrong..

imposed.. Flights were hours late, and I was screened twice after I went through the security check point.. On two different occasions I had to wait in areas where there was no food or drink for several hours at a time.. I haven't been served a meal by an airline in years.. You get a snack if your lucky and the Capitan turns off the seat belt sign long enough for them to get the drink carts out.. I think this is a legit fear.. I'm pretty healthy and I got woozy standing in all the lines..

My pain med is a liquid, and it tastes so horrible that I have to wash it down with something to eat or drink.

So what are they going to do to accomodate people like me, hmmm?

:grr:
And I have to fly next month.

When I book a flight I always let them know that I am a vegetarian.
Also, when I was practicing as a Vegan, they always accommodated me.
You have to let them know about your dietary restrictions.
:patriot:

And I always end up with stuff that has honey and/or dairy in it. Or a tray of stuff where even the bread is clearly an egg bread and all I can eat is lettuce.

I have not had good experiences, so I don't eat until I get where I'm going, but with the meds I can't do that.

If I'm lucky I get 7 up and a bag of pretzels. I can't count on that, even.

hopefully this will just be a temporary dog & pony show,
Peace ;-)

i was on a flight from fucking africa where they forgot to load the vegetarian/hindu plates and wasn't that a party, i thought we'd have a riot, i'm prob. lucky to be alive :-)

it don't matter what you tell somebody on the phone in the office

if you have to eat a certain way, you MUST bring your own, because catering very often don't give a shit and doesn't load your meal or ANY kosher meal or ANY vegan/hindu/vegetarian meal -- and the vegetarian meal that they do load on my airline (klm/northwest/kenya airlines) jeebus it's some nasty

and for vegans forget it, the only source of calories for some of these "vegetarian/hindu" meals is the CHEESE!

any plan that relies on the other guy being 100 percent perfect is a bad, bad plan

matches...not like Rushbo and the Viagra...

Especially if there is any kind of a dairy product in it.

The government needs to rescind many of these restrictions.

* Water. People *have* to be able to bring water on board.
* Food. Many people have dietary requirements which are not satisfied by recent no food served on flight airlines.
* Medications. In my opinion, there is absolutely no excuse for banning any of them.
* Cosmetics and personal hygeine stuff. Give me a break. Nobody goes on a flight of any significance without these things. To ban them is just plain outrageous.

We've got to take a strong stand on this.

The government is acting extremely irresponsibly on this matter. The next thing that will happen is that some terrorist organization is going to put together a plot (real or otherwise--it won't matter) using explosive underwear. What will TSA do then? This shit has to stop somewhere.

of contact lens solution as well and eyedrops. Heck some people with contacts don't even go to the expense of getting glasses these days or prefer to wear their contacts.

it is all for show. At a time when they still don't x-ray most (or in some cases, any) of the checked baggage, this is just damned ridiculous.

If someone wanted to bring a quantity of explosive liquid material on board in the small quantities they are implying are necessary, then there are a number of body cavities that would allow that to be hidden.

Does anyone REALLY think the public will tolerate body cavity searches?

Air travel is going to plummet.

Diabetics won't fly.
Anybody with a chronic illness won't fly.
Contact lens wearers won't fly.
Etc.

Amtrak business is going to be picking up.
Maybe trans-oceanic sea travel will come back into fashion.

And the daily business travellers are going to have an absolute fit about this.

nt

I know they cost a bundle. But once you try it, you'll likely never travel any other way. When you factor in Hotel/Motel and food costs, it's not that bad.

* Lots of great food (Yes, it *is* great, and included in price)
* Comfort
* Tons of room for two
* Peace and quiet
* Personal attention

Getting together with other people onboard is greatest fun. I love travelling by train.

I picked up a friend from Amtrak recently. Denver to Martinez--5 hours late.

I even cheated and picked her up in Davis instead. Probably saved another hour.

You can't bring liquids through security, but I think you can buy a bottle of water once past security and bring it on the flight.

All that stuff was confiscated before boarding.

More knee-jerk reaction without any thought of the implications....

They won't trust the origin of any bottle, on the off-chance you've managed to get something past security. All bottles look alike, etc.

I still am Not Flying if I can't have my water. NFW.

was actually purchased at the airport. Receipts don't count. You also have to prove that you just bought this bottle and didn't purchase it previously and take it home to fill it with something that I don't want on the plane.

A bottle is a bottle.

OTOH, I'm hoping this nonsense will be over before the holiday traveling season is upon us. That's not for selfish reasons, either. I have no plans to fly this year at all.

Loved it. And next time we will splurge on the sleeper.

I fly very rarely, and probably will less after all that's happened since the last time (2000). Flying, stop-overs, delays, can all really screw up my blood glucose control. I need not only my insulin and syringes available, but a fruit juice or sugared pop in case of a bad hypoglycemic episode (low blood sugar). The chalky glucose tablets and gelpacks don't cut it for me.

that I can't believe it will stand as is for too long. That's assuming that Americans will have the spine to protest the absurdity of it.

Like George Carlin said "What the hell is it with people? Do we have a mass dehydration problem all of the sudden and we all need to be spending $1.50 on WATER?"

You chug a water before you get on a plane, and after they take off you ask for some more. I fly every week. They'll give it to you.

And it was mostly younger health businessmen who did all the flying. Now it's the primary way a lot of families travel. It has replaced the bus and the way families travel.

attention when you need it. It's not an issue of bottled spring water for people who won't drink tap, it's an issue of access to water and other liquids in a timely manner for those with a medical necessity.

If you fly that frequently than you know that sometimes there's a short crew, or a lengthy ground hold either before takeoff or after landing when no one is going to jump up to distribute water unless they are required. These days I fly mostly coast to coast nonstops and by about the fourth hour the flight attendants are as scarce as hen's teeth unless you lean on the call button. Even then there's a lot of attitude when the same passenger keeps calling for something.

when is the last time you flew? pre 911, pre all these bankruptcies, yeah, they did but times they changed

i have been refused water on flights, not once but multiple times

plus if there is turbulence they are not allowed to get up and serve the water even if catering loaded enough for them to give everyone their own can or bottle

explain and get from FA on boarding if possible.

Here's another wacky thing from linked article:

Most planes have medical supplies that address three of the most worrisome emergencies that can occur in the air, said Joan Sullivan Garrett, founder and chairman of MedAire Inc., an Arizona-based company that provides emergency medical kits and advisory services to airlines.

They carry inhalers for asthma attacks, nitroglycerin for chest pains and many carry glucagon injections for diabetics who pass out with low blood sugar, she said.

However, federal regulations do not authorize flight attendants to administer drugs from the kits, which is why the flight crew will ask if a doctor or nurse is on board when an emergency occurs, she added.

Gee give them some rudimentary paramedic training and allow them to dispense these items or a radio link to a doc on ground!

Glucagon is for those who are far too gone to eat or drink anything, but if one tests several times daily it needn't (normally!) get that far.

The question I am almost always asked is "so we need to get some insulin in you if you start losing consciousness?". Wrong! A former neighbor of ours who is a nurse and in-home caregiver even injected a patient with insulin even though he was already in insulin shock.

crew you want a can of sugared pop as soon as you get ont he plane just in case

a voice of kindness, caring, and dare i say it sanity

discard any liquid beverages. But there are usually places to buy water and such after you pass security gates. It makes more money for the terminal, but its normaly there.

at some airports hudson news has refused to sell water to avoid any conflict or blame when people's water gets taken at the gate

what's happening is you are getting screened TWICE, first at security, then again, before you board to make sure you have not purchased any of the evil drug water

On the front page of the Wash Post, they showed a couple of TSA's taking BABY FOOD away from a young couple with a four or five month old kid. What are they supposed to do if their flight is more than two hours long? Let the kid scream -- oh, that's going to do a lot for everybody's stress levels, already spiking because of this unnecessary panic. I can't see why they have a problem with a) stuff purchased in the airport post security screen, or b) stuff that is properly sealed. If it's still got the wrapping, seals unbroken or top unpopped, let it on. I'm betting this new paranoia won't last 'til Xmas. Let enough people stop flying because of it and the airlines and Big Oil will be leaning on ol' Georgie to relax the regs. It happened with pen-knives and such not so long ago.

Being drunk is the only way I can handle these insane times.

for a long time to come!

I mean, WTF, it sounds like a prison in the air! No water, no food, no medicine, no bags, no personal items...jeez...what TOTAL insanity!!! :crazy:

Somebody call Amnesty International! :crazy:

I saw some footage yesterday from a US airport. People were going through the security checkpoint and one of the security personnel seemed to have made it her duty to just stand there and yell, "Get over it." Excuse me? "Get over it?" That's when I make a U-turn and go back home and either drive or forget about the trip entirely.

During 9/11 I got stranded for over a week on the west coast. I couldn't rent a car (all rented.) That's when I thought about the marvelous train system in Europe. I have train envy. I'd do almost anything to avoid flying, but because of business I have no choice.

I agree with you that having a European-like rail system would be wonderful. I do travel a lot on Amtrak to NY and DC. I'm finding air travel to be too much of a hassle. I have to fly next week out of Portland. I'm hoping it's not too bad there (no 3-hour lines.)

can ruin your whole day. It is not fun.

seriously.