Among the half billion Americans who fly each year, neurological problems such as seizures, dizziness and vertigo rank number one when it comes to complaints requiring assistance from on-ground care providers -- taking second place only to cardiovascular problems as a medical cause for emergency landings, according to researchers.
Researchers surprisingly found that neurological symptoms were the most common in-flight medical complaint requiring air-to-ground medical support, which resulted in costly and inconvenient unscheduled landings for the traveler.
The researchers examined the records of medical air-to-ground support offered by the Mayo Clinic to a major American airline between 1995 to 2000 and found, there were 2,042 medical complaints, leading to 312 emergency landings -- referred to as "diversions." Neurological symptoms accounted for roughly 19% of all complaints -- the largest such health category -- and resulted in more than 25% of all diversions.
They discovered that dizziness and vertigo were the most frequently observed neurological symptoms, followed by epileptic seizures and headaches. Confusion, they noted, was the complaint most likely to lead to a diversion -- although seizures, dizziness, and vertigo were the most common reasons for emergency landings.
The study authors concluded that given the findings and the high cost of emergency landings, major airlines should update their standard emergency medical kits to include anti-epileptic drugs that could be administered during a flight. They pointed out that the cost of diversions related to neurological complaints totals almost $6 million each year nationwide-at least $50,000 per diversion -- even without accounting for the expense of ground ambulances and hospital care.
Individuals with neurological conditions such as seizures, migraine headaches, Parkinson's disease, tremor and other brain-related conditions should carry their medications and identification -- such as a Med-Alert bracelet. And they should avoid alcohol and postpone medication changes or adjustments until travel is completed.
American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado April 17, 2002
Fortunately medical complaints are relatively uncommon. In all my years of flying I have only encountered one.
My one encounter was a cardiovascular emergency so I was somewhat surprised to learn that neurological problems were the most common reasons for in flight emergencies.
I can assure you that there is nothing in an airline's emergency kit that will effectively treat dizziness or vertigo. Most kits have some type of analgesic like Tylenol or aspirin, which can be used for headaches.
If you are health care professional and fly you can have a dramatically effective tool to use in these situations. EFT works quite dramatically for many of these acute problems.
I conducted three workshops recently that taught EFT are available on videos. There are a number of examples of these types of problems resolving in several minutes.
It may be a challenge to gain cooperation from a skeptical stranger to try these techniques, but if approached appropriately I believe most would be open to trying this technique.
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