Frequent flying is harmful to health. What is the scientific reason for causing cancer by plane?

Compared with other means of transportation, airplanes are the safest. However, the health hazards mentioned below can not be ignored, especially in the case of frequent or frequent sitting.

Humans are terrestrial creatures, and their biological design is most suitable for living near sea level. Therefore, every time we go beyond the normal living environment, we will worry about whether it is risky or harmful to our health. So how does flying affect health?

When it comes to flying, many factors will be involved, such as atmospheric pressure, gas concentration, temperature, altitude and so on. Flying forces the body to cope with many factors different from the horizon. For long-distance travelers and frequent fliers, the most obvious side effect is jet lag. This problem occurs when the biological clock of the human body goes through multiple time zones in a short time. Jet lag can lead to:

Sleep disorder;

Dyspepsia;

Loss of appetite;

Feel unwell all over;

Abnormal fatigue during the day;

Muscle pain;

Difficult to concentrate;

Memory problems;

Anxiety;

Irritability;

Headache;

Irregular menstruation.

The health risk that divers should pay attention to before flying is decompression sickness. Flying immediately after diving, this disease can cause discomfort and sometimes serious symptoms. Common symptoms of this disease include:

Deep and severe pain in some parts of the body;

Skin itching and swelling;

Acupuncture sensation, numbness or seizure;

Vague consciousness;

Vision problems;

Weak;

Leg paralysis;

Headache and abnormal fatigue;

Lose balance;

Hearing loss;

Dyspnea;

Dry cough.

Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness, is another kind of health damage that people who often fly. The disease occurs when it rises rapidly from low altitude to high altitude above 8000 meters, so it is difficult to get enough oxygen. Symptoms of this disease include:

Pulsating headache;

Weakness and abnormal drowsiness;

No appetite;

Dizziness;

I feel sick all over.

Although most modern passenger planes are designed at an altitude of about 8000 meters, most long-distance passengers still feel some symptoms. Some people think that the effect of altitude sickness is similar to hangover, and they all have symptoms such as disorientation, unsteady gait, dizziness, purple lips or nails (a sign of severe altitude sickness).

A common physiological effect during flight (especially long-distance flight) is dehydration. The relative humidity of most passenger planes is below 20%. This is to prevent the structure and electronic equipment from being damaged by condensation. However, this humidity is lower than what the body needs to avoid dehydration. This is why passengers have the following symptoms:

Dry and itchy eyes;

Dry skin;

Patients with asthma and other diseases have difficulty breathing;

Sticking mouth;

Constipation;

Headache;

Sunken eyes;

Lose consciousness (when severely dehydrated).

Low humidity also makes people more susceptible to respiratory infections. People who often fly will have these symptoms unless they are constantly moisturized.

The take-off and landing of aircraft will cause the trapped gas to expand and contract. This will lead to a pressure difference between the middle ear and the environment. This disease is called airplane ear or ear barotrauma. Common symptoms include:

Mild to severe earache;

The feeling that something is blocking the ear canal;

Tinnitus;

Dizziness;

vomit

In severe cases, passengers will also have bleeding in the ear canal, resulting in hearing loss, toothache or gastrointestinal pain.

Most experts believe that deep vein thrombosis may be a potential health risk of frequent flights, especially long-distance travelers. This disease occurs when blood clots form in one or more deep veins of the body (most commonly in the legs). The main reason for this problem is that the plane or car is stationary for a long time. For healthy people, the body can normally decompose blood clots without long-term effects. However, if the thrombus is large and cannot dissolve by itself, it will break free and wander around with the blood, staying in the lungs and blocking the blood supply. This disease is called pulmonary embolism, which is fatal if not treated in time. Although the probability of deep vein thrombosis is small, the risk will increase obviously if it is accompanied by pregnancy, history of lung cancer and thrombosis, or hormone replacement therapy.

Although most passengers are familiar with jet lag, few people have heard of cosmic radiation. Cosmic radiation is high-energy particles that bombard the earth from outer space. However, due to the blocking of the earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, less than 8% of cosmic radiation comes into contact with us every year. It is said that the farther you leave the atmosphere, the more vulnerable you are to this radiation. In other words, people who often fly are obviously exposed to more cosmic radiation than those who don't fly.

Although long-term exposure to high radiation is prone to skin cancer, leukemia or prostate cancer, modern research results show that the risk of cancer due to cosmic radiation is far lower than other ground factors. Of course, some studies have found that radiation has no obvious effect on the health of flight attendants or passengers.