Airline emergency medical kits are outdated and often inadequate



I’ve witnessed three medical incidents on flights over the years and have personally experienced two medical incidents myself. The airline emergency medical kits were inadequate. My emergencies were caused by a severe allergy attack. I ate a dinner served on an international flight, while the other was when I was scalded by hot water spilled on me during meal service.To get more news about https://www.rusuntacmed.com/pr....oduct/kaolin-z-folde combat gauze, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.

I’ve learned three important lessons from the five incidents about airline emergency medical kits.

1. The airlines carry medical kits on board their planes, but they may be insufficient for many medical incidents, and their quality may be inadequate.

2. There are medically trained people, including doctors and nurses traveling by air daily, who are saints, and willing to step up in an emergency.

3. Air travelers with known medical conditions must be prepared for problems from those conditions, and all air travelers must be prepared for incidents in which they may suffer injuries.

A study published in JAMA indicates that one of every 604 commercial flights has a medical emergency.
In December 2018, Dr. Christian Martin-Gill and others published “In-Flight Medical Emergencies, A Review” in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. From the review, we learn that in-flight medical emergencies occur approximately one per 604 flights or 24 to 130 in-flight medical emergencies (IMEs) per million passengers. While that seems like a low number, I assure you that it’s not if you’re the one having the emergency.

Air travelers, particularly those with chronic medical conditions, need to understand that air travel can cause pathophysiological issues for travelers. Commercial aircraft fly at cruising altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 feet but are pressurized to an equivalent altitude of 5,000 to 8,000. As the JAMA study points out, this pressurization level can lead to “discomfort in patients, especially those with existing upper respiratory tract inflammation or infection, including sinusitis or otitis media.” The lower pressurization of oxygen at altitude can also lead to mild hypoxia in healthy passengers and be more pronounced for passengers with existing pulmonary conditions.

The JAMA study found evidence that air travelers prone to respiratory or vascular problems must consider them when about to fly.
The JAMA study states, “Prolonged sitting and hypoxia may trigger decreased venous flow, systemic inflammation, and platelet activation.” This explains the association between air travel and venous thromboembolism. Blocking a blood vessel by a dislodged blood clot can cause death.

Air travelers prone to respiratory and vascular problems must consider those conditions when they fly.

The FAA has required airlines to carry emergency medical kits since 1986. The requirements since 2004, 18 years ago, have not been updated.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has required airlines to carry emergency medical kits (EMK) in their planes. The kit’s requirements haven’t been upgraded since 2004. They added the need for airplanes with a capacity of thirty or more passengers to carry an automated external defibrillator (AED) and additional medications. Unfortunately, while the content of an EMK is extensive, it’s incomplete, according to health care professionals. It doesn’t have a quality standard.