COMFORT FOOD FOR HUNGRY TRAVELLERS

 

Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may apply to a specific culture. Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called 'comfort food'—food associated with the security of childhood, like mother's poached egg or famous chicken soup. However, for travelers comfort food is different, it is what you easily get, at a reasonable price, just outside your hotel or a tourist spot.

While we rely on food to sustain us physically, we also depend on it for its comforting properties — sometimes a dish just knows how to convey so much more than words ever could. From greasy fish and chips in Great Britain to the lasagna-like moussaka in Greece, certain dishes undeniably make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Whether you're looking for something to fill you up on a chilly fall day or looking for a delicious dish for your travel memoir, these comfort foods are sure to hit the spot.

For a certain type of traveller, food is everything. You don’t plan your holidays around weather patterns. You don’t consider festivals or other events. You think purely about food. What do I want to eat in 2024? You can safely count me in this elite group. So, these are my favourites, as I have trotted the world:

Fish and Chips

Fish & Chips, Australia, U.K, New Zealand, Ireland

In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, fish and chips are usually sold by independent restaurants and take-aways known as fish and chip shops. Outlets range from small affairs to chain restaurants. Frozen fish such as Basa fillets are particularly popular for fish and chips in Australia because of their neutral taste, low cost and moist flesh. However, the pairing of fish and chips has long been considered a British staple. The irresistible combination of a hunk of battered cod resting atop a mound of steaming hot chips (French fries in America) is the quintessential British comfort food.

Khinkali

Khinkali – Georgia

These are Georgian dumplings common in this Eastern European country. This is one of the oldest wine-producing nations in the world. It’s also a place where flavours and ingredients from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are deftly deployed in a range of unique dishes that form part of a food-obsessed whole. I could rattle off dish after dish that I’m in love with in Georgia, but for now I will stick with khinkali, the Georgian soup dumplings that are like Chinese xiao long bao meets Turkish manti. Meaty, peppery, umami-packed goodness.

Moussaka

Moussaka, Greece

Moussaka is a traditional Greek eggplant casserole made with baked or pan fried eggplants (brinjals) and potatoes, a rich, tomato mixed beef or lamb mince sauce and topped off with a deliciously creamy bechamel sauce. In other words, the ultimate comfort food. Moussaka (mousaka) is without a doubt, Greece’s most popular, traditional dish! You’ll be hard pressed to find a tavern that doesn’t serve it or a household that doesn’t make it on special occasions!

Chicken Shawarma

Falafel / Shawarma, Middle East

Falafels are deep-fried balls traditionally found in Middle Eastern cuisine. They are mostly made from chickpeas, fava beans or a combination of the two. Most recipes contain a range of herbs, spices and other ingredients, such as onion, parsley, coriander, garlic purée, cumin, black pepper, flour and vegetable oil. Many falafel restaurants also serve a meat counterpart of the falafel known as Shawarma, which is usually lamb (but can be chicken or turkey) roasted on a spit and shaved off for sandwiches.

Spaghetti and meatballs, Italy, U.S.A

Spaghetti and meatballs is an Italian-American dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs. Originally inspired by similar dishes from southern Italy, the modern version of spaghetti and meatballs was developed by Italian immigrants in the USA. Meatballs usually comprise a mixture of ingredients and are covered with a sauce, so they could be savory, sweet, slightly salty, tart, garlicky, spicy (and how many types of spices are there?). Meatball flavor also depends on how they're cooked. They might have a smokey, charred, or raw meat flavor.

Pizza, Italy, U.S.A

Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn't gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States. Later on it spread to all the countries by American food chains.

Ramen noodles

Ramen, Japan

This Japanese noodle soup is also hugely popular in Australia, with dedicated restaurants opening across the country. But still, the ramen outside Japan is but a mere sliver of the breadth and brilliance of ramen culture in Japan, and the more I know about this dish, the longer I want to spend in its homeland diving deep into bowl after bowl.

The variations on ramen are endless: soup bases made with pork, chicken, fish, shellfish, vegetables or combinations of two or three; thin noodles, wavy noodles, fat noodles, all bouncy with alkaline water; toppings of chashu pork, poached chicken, pickled bamboo shoots, marinated eggs and more; oils that add a perfumed flavour punch. This dish is an art and a science and I want more.

The Indian Thali

Thali, India

Here’s another cherished national staple with an infinite number of variations. A thali is an Indian set meal of various dishes, with rice and bread, served on a platter (the word thali means plate). The dishes you will be served on your thali vary widely depending on your location, from the vegetable-heavy classics of southern India to the meatier, creamier curries of the north.

Wherever you find yourself in the subcontinent, this is the ideal way to eat cheaply and to eat well, enjoying a perfect sample of local cuisine. Having recently gained more of an appreciation for regional differences in India, I would love to indulge in a thali tour of the country to sample its finest. I wish to dedicate a future blog to the various thalis of India!

Asado

Asado, Argentina

There’s a lot that can be said for simplicity. Meat and fire. Two ingredients but an entire culture. That’s an asado in Argentina, a multi-course, full-day extravaganza of meat cooked on a wood-fired parrilla, with little time for the frippery of vegetables. You’ll find chorizo and morcilla sausages on the grill here, plus sweetbreads, short-ribs, flank steak and maybe even a rib-eye.

This is a classic and cherished style of cooking that is only now becoming popular in other parts of the world. It’s also a tradition and an important social occasion, which is what travelling for food should be all about.

Banh Mi

Bánh Mì, Vietnam

Baguettes may have been adopted from the French, but bánh mì is as Vietnamese as it comes. Paté and margarine are spread swiftly across the soft, chewy interior of a baguette and later, the sandwich is loaded with pickled vegetables, fresh cilantro, pork belly, pork floss and cucumber. Sink your teeth into the crunchy crust and watch the warm roll give way to a whole scheme of textures.

Som tam

Som tam (papaya salad), Thailand

This deliciously addictive spicy papaya salad is one of Thailand’s most famous street food dishes and something of national institution. Although som tam is associated with the north-east region of Isaan, the dish can be found at hawker stalls and markets across the country. If you pass a food stall with a mortar and pestle, there’s a good chance the vendor will be selling som tam. Unripe green papaya is mixed with a number of other ingredients including chilies, dried shrimps, green beans, peanuts and tomatoes. It’s the chilies that give this dish its kick and for some Thai people som tam isn’t som tam unless there are enough chilies in there to make your eyes water!

Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng, Indonesia

Nasi goreng is a type of fried rice dish that hails from Indonesia - you might have tried it when on holiday in Bali. It's usually made with leftover rice, vegetables and sometimes meat or prawns that caramelise as they cook. It gets most of its flavour from garlic, shallots and sweet soy sauce. Although similar to fried rice from other countries in Asia, what makes nasi goreng different is sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). Nasi goreng is highly influenced by the Chinese immigrants in Indonesia.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak, Malaysia

Nasi lemak is a Malay dish with fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and betel nut. It is commonly found all over Malaysia, where it is considered a national dish. It is also a native cuisine in neighbouring areas with significant Malay populations such as Singapore, Brunei and southern Thailand. In Indonesia it can be found in many parts of Sumatra; Notably Riau Islands and the Malay region of Medan. Sambal, anchovy, peanuts and boiled eggs are found in this traditional favourite. This is the most traditional version. The Nasi Lemak Stall can be served with fried eggs, cockle - a local favourite, Sambal Squids, Sambal Fish, Chicken or Chicken / Beef Rising, Squid Fritter or even Fried Chicken or Fish.

 

While travelling the world we have noticed that people connect to their cultural or ethnic group through food patterns. Food is often used as a means of retaining their cultural identity. People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods. The areas in which families live and where their ancestors originated influence food like and dislikes.

 

So, are any specific sensory cues can be identified that are especially strongly associated with those foods that are typically considered as comfort foods? Surely, there are. Are there particular tastes, textures, smells, etc., for instance, that tend to be overrepresented in the most commonly-mentioned comfort foods? Yes again, for different people with different tastes, likes and dislikes, their comfort food changes. What is however common in all is that they are easy to get, easy on our purse and easy to digest and all these three qualities are priceless for a traveller.

 

If you have tasted some unique food during your travel please write about it in the Comment section.

DO MORE CHOICES IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE?

 

Having a lot of options can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Conversely, having fewer options can lead to greater clarity and can help you to make better decisions. So now we are in a dilemma, what is good, more choices or fewer choices?  This itself is a difficult choice, even when I have just two choices!

 

It is a generational thing

I am of the opinion that this multiplicity of choices is a generational thing. When we were in school even our examination papers did not have multiple choice questions. We had to write long answers to the all the questions that were asked, and it was our lucky day if we could choose any 5 out of 6 questions! But, you know what, while the depth of knowledge of those few chapters was thoroughly tested, the awareness of the wide expanse of the subject remained untested. So, there was a bit of luck involved and one could pass even without knowing the subject inside out. To address this anomaly came the multiple choice questions and digitization of examinations followed. Now a large number of questions from all the chapters could be packed in one question paper, and there was no way to miss any chapter. Is this good all the way? Unfortunately, not everyone is pleased and critics say that the knowledge of today is thinly spread all over the subject and an in-depth knowledge is not required, and hence missing.

Another generational difference that we observe in India is choosing a career. In the good old days you could either be a doctor, or an engineer or an I.A.S officer or choose a career in the Armed Forces. If you were not in any of them then you were surely not good enough. Today, career choices and options are galore! From a businessman to an architect, a journalist, an author, a real estate agent, a lawyer, an event manager, a travel agent, a departmental store owner, a podiatrist, a beautician, a chef, a perfumer, an entertainer, a hotelier……you can be anything! You just have to be good at what you do, and the world will be at your feet. Spoiled for career choices, the academic crème-de-la crème today does not even think about becoming doctors and engineers.

 

Low stake decisions vs. high stake decisions

There are decisions in life that are high stake – whom to choose as a life partner, where to send the children for schooling, how to counsel them to choose a career, which doctor to choose for your diabetes. I have no doubt that we should spend time on these issues and explore as many options as possible. These are important decisions, and will result in lifelong tangible consequences. Digitization has helped us by expanding our choices in almost every sphere, whether it is by Shadi.com, Career360, Yatra.com or Naukri.com

But it is the low stake decisions in life that the multiplicity of choice unnecessarily confuses us. Thus, which programme to watch on OTT, from where to order tonight’s dinner, from where to buy clothes for Durga Puja are decisions that take too much of our time. And if there are two people trying to make these decisions, you can imagine how sparks can fly as discussion heat up! We take hours to go through what all is on offer, discuss the pros and cons of each option, add to this our previous experiences with each of these choices, then make our choice list. But, we are not done yet; we replace item 1 and 3 from the list, then replace 4 and bring back 1, and now we have a whole new order and a final decision. Are we all happy now, far from it; we instantly criticize our choice – too adventurous, too mundane, could have been better, yet another missed opportunity!

Honestly, are these decisions worth our time? These are very low stake decisions – one dinner, tomorrow we can have a better one, one dress, we can always purchase a better one, one television programme, we can always change the channel!

 

Why do we fuss so much over low stake decisions?

We do so because we subconsciously believe that one choice is better than the other. We assign a hierarchy to the available choices, and in which order we put these choices depend on who we are, how we are feeling. Now, because we believe that wherever there is a choice it is between good, better and best, it becomes our responsibility to choose the best. Yes, there are ratings and stars to guide us which choice is better, but if we are feeling adventurous we will opt for something yet undiscovered by us, no matter what the rating is. Conversely, after an exhaustive search we can go back to our familiar and trusted choice if we don’t want unexpected disappointments. So, low stake decisions are most authentic reflection of who we are and who we wish to be. If the dinner I ordered is not appreciated then the only thing that is hurt is my image of being a sensible guy. And, in an increasingly self centered and self absorbed world nothing is more unbearable than the idea of failing in my own expectations.

 

From physical to digital

Once upon a time you had to go from shop to shop to search for the trendiest, the cheapest and the best. In the digital world every option is just a finger tap away. The touch screen of our phone is hungrily awaiting the slightest signal from our side to leap into action and unfold a world of choices. Not only buying food, clothes and home appliances, it is helping us to choose a flat to live, a vehicle to drive, a mutual fund to invest, a book to read, a holiday to enjoy all by just a few taps on the phone screen. And more the choices, the more is our awareness for the alternatives and more is our responsibility to be correct every time.

 

Is more choice better for business?

This question has been answered by a study performed by Columbia Business professor Sheena Iyengar, widely known as the expert on choice, and her collaborators when she was still a graduate student at Stanford University. 

There was a grocery store nearby that sold 348 different kinds of jellies and jams. The experimenters set up a tasting booth to let people try different jams. Supermarkets often use this free sample method to encourage people to buy their products. Half of the time, the experimenters set out 24 different jams. Half of the time, the booth only had six jams available to try. 

Many more people stopped to try the jam when there were 24 choices, and they obviously stayed at the booth longer, but when there were only six jams offered, the customers were far more likely to actually buy jam. With the 24-jam display, about three percent of visitors purchased jam. With the six-jam display, 30 percent of customers made a purchase.

This study demonstrates that when given fewer options, people are more likely to follow through with a decision. This is why fine-dining restaurants and high-end clothing stores tend to present customers with fewer choices. Therefore, when making a difficult decision, you’ll make the process easier on yourself if you start with fewer options. A large number of options results in a ‘choice fatigue’, as you must have experienced while choosing a television programme from the innumerable number of channels! After all, who has ever read the page 10 of a Google search?

 

Dealing with bad choices

Engaging in mental time travel into the future, that is, imagining how your decision will impact your future self, carries positive impacts, making you less likely to engage in self-destructive behavior. On the other hand, mental time traveling backward to previous decisions can have negative consequences. If you want to be happier with the decisions you make, then you should make them firmly and stick with them. When two choices seem to involve the same amount of risks and benefits, or positives and negatives, then greater satisfaction can be obtained by committing to one selection and never looking back. Surely another way to improve your reasoning about different choices is to start with fewer choices.

We have a strong desire to maximize our options in life but our choices should not exhaust us. At a first glance trim down your choices to a manageable list, much like choosing ‘favourite’ list in your television. You’ll likely feel uneasy as you do this. Just think of the hundreds or thousands of options that you’re dismissing without careful consideration. 

The results that you are receiving in the different areas of your life will be the accumulation of the day to day choices that you are making in those areas. If you are not achieving the results that you want in particular areas reflect on your past and current choices and ask yourself “Am I making the right choices and do I need to commit to making some different choices?”

Time is precious and you need make sure that you are spending it wisely. Spend time doing things that you enjoy, that make you happy, that contribute to helping you achieve what you want in life and that assist you in maintaining your wellbeing. Choices regarding these issues deserve your time. Trivial issues however, are perhaps best short-listed so that we do not suffer a choice exhaustion.

A CRISIS OF CREATIVITY - CAN WE GROW UP TO BE A CHILD?

 

In a beautiful poem called ‘My Heart Leaps Up’ or also ‘The Rainbow’, William Wordsworth expressed the thought ‘The child is the father of the man’. 

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky;

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old’

Or let me die!

The Child is the father of the Man;

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety.

The poet says that the rainbow always fascinates him, it did when he was a child, it still does when he is a man and he hopes that these child like emotions and curiosities continue to reside in him till his last days. He would rather die than lose that leap of the heart on seeing this marvel of nature.

But unfortunately, on most occasions as we grow up we lose our childhood qualities of inquisitiveness, curiosity, fearlessness and the sense of adventure.

As parents know only too well, children can be both endearing and frustrating, often within minutes of each other. Children can be spontaneous, unselfconscious, and joyful, but they can also be self-centered, impulsive and irritable. We could refer to their endearing qualities by the term "childlike” and to their frustrating qualities by the term "childish".

Children seem to know something that adults have forgotten. They appear more confident, more courageous and enjoy life more intensely than we adults do. As we grow into adulthood, it seems that most of us lose our childishness-we become more mature, and more in control of our emotions-, but unfortunately, we also lose much of our childlike qualities as well-we are less capable of being spontaneous, unselfconscious and joyful. In other words, we lose the good with the bad.

 

What makes children so special?

1. Children see each day as a new beginning - When you are young, a day can feel like an eternity. Yet each new day brings with it new prospects and new opportunities to make new friends, explore new adventures and learn new things. Every day is an occasion to start afresh. And, unlike adults, children do not carry baggage from one day to the next.  Their fights usually set with the sun and friendship again appears with the next sunrise.

2. Children are fearless - Children are more willing to explore and try new things. They are unaware of the consequences and are more willing to try the impossible. If they injure themselves they use it as an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. As adults, we often hold ourselves back, predominantly because of fear, and give this fear the cloak of ‘wisdom’. We stop ourselves from taking chances and seeing what happens, knowing fully well that success comes to those who leave the safe harbours to sail the unknown seas.

3. Children lose themselves in creative projects - A child can often be seen getting lost in a creative project for hours at a time, be it drawing, playing with clay or building a sand castle!  Yet, as we get older, we stop seeing creative activities as worthwhile. To us, this is waste of time.

 4. Children find joy in most things and laugh without a reason - Children have a beautiful ability to find joy all around them. They see silliness everywhere. We are however very concerned about what others will say if we are seen indulging in childish pleasures.

 5. Children cry if they feel like it – Crying is not often an emotion that adults feel comfortable expressing, yet children do so all the time. Crying helps release our emotions in a normal, healthy way. Yet, instead, we always make it a point to keep it in check. Consequently, we end up keeping our emotions to ourselves. We adults often hold back our tears when there is no reason to. Crying can be a great stress buster. 

6. Children are active – Do you remember how fun it was to play outside, running around until you were out of breath and fly kites and play with marbles? We never thought of being active as exercise or daily fitness, for playing was fun and it surely kept us healthy. 

7. Children are more willing to try new things - Children will attempt to play a sport that they have never tried before. They are more willing to jump on a trampoline or dive into a pool, or throw a javelin or short put, even if they have never done so before. Adults tend to have a fear of the unknown and prefer to stay in their comfort zone, rarely venturing out. Adventure though can make us feel exhilarated and awakened. 

8. Children are enthusiastic - Children are always excited, hopeful and optimistic. We adults, often tend to dwell on the negatives. The thrill of the new that children so enthusiastically embrace, we tend to miss out because of our fear of the unknown.

9. Children nurture friendships - Observe children playing with their friends, they often find pure joy in doing so and are always keen to make new ones. Children tend to enjoy their many activities too - they join soccer teams, go to birthday parties and enjoy quite a number of extra-curricular activities too. Adults, on the other hand contemplate whether it is worth their time to indulge in non-essentials.

10. Children notice the little things - The simple things that we often take for granted tend to bring incredible joy and profound inspiration to children. Running after a butterfly, watching the fishes in an aquarium for hours, following the line of ants marching towards their hole in the ground come naturally to children.  They notice the tiny miracles that surround them each day. How much more beautiful life could be if we noticed the same things they do?

So, can we grow up to be a child?

What would it take to retain just the good qualities associated with being a child and lose the bad ones?

What it takes is a deeper understanding of the underlying reason why children are both childlike and childish, because we will then discover that the very factors that help us overcome childishness are the ones that make us lose our childlikeness. To see how this is so, it is useful to understand what makes human beings so different from other animals.

As many psychologists have noted, humans are unique in their ability to imagine things that are not in our immediate environment. It is this ability that enables us to build models (e.g., Lego, Mechano, maps or prototypes), symbols (shapes, mathematics), and theories. It is the same ability that helps us to imagine the peace, happiness and beauty of Sri Ramchandra’s Ayodhya and the opulence and grandeur of Ravan’s Lanka. 

The ability to imagine also helps us plan for the future. Imagine, without the ability to plan, we would be prisoners of the present, and hence, wouldn't be nearly as powerful a species. Imagination also helps us empathize with others; it helps us feel what others in a vastly different situation feel. For example, even if we have never lost a limb, or been imprisoned, or been a refugee, we can imagine how it would feel to be in those circumstances.

As children grow up, they tend to lose their sense of wonder and imagination. As adults, we often become more focused on practical matters and may have less time or energy for imaginative play and exploration. Additionally, societal expectations and pressures can discourage adults from embracing our creativity and curiosity in the same way that we did as children.

Creativity and Imagination are the things that disappear as society fails to appreciate the uniqueness in a child. A patient of mine, who is an art teacher, told me that she saw it ever day. A child draws a picture of a tree or a person and the teacher (who is trying to be helpful) tells them "trees are green Ajay, not pink". The child may have dreamt it laden with blossoms! Or "how many fingers has Mummy got? You've given her nine!” How do you know that Ajay’s mummy does SO MUCH that surely she needs nine fingers; that is the child’s expression, why smother it?

 

A crisis of creativity

We train children not to express themselves or deviate from what is acceptable. We bring them up in an environment where they are penalized for being wrong. So, they take less risks and as a result become less creative. Ask someone to create anything, or speak on any subject, and I can assure you 99% will ask 'like what?' - Well ANYTHING – Most will say ‘I can't think of anything’. Most will not attempt, but rather Google or resort to ChatGPT! Children, who later grow up to become adults are scared to be wrong and scared to be creative. There is a huge problem, a crisis of creativity, the seeds of which are sown in their childhood. Picasso said it best, “All children are born artists, the trick is to stay an artist as we grow up.”

GETTING SICK WHILE FLYING CAN BE FRIGHTENING

 

If there’s a doctor on board would he or she make themselves known to the cabin crew?”

That’s one inflight announcement that gets everyone’s attention. Cases of inflight medical emergencies are rare, between 25 and 100 cases per million passengers, according to German airline Lufthansa. Babies are born, bronchial asthma, heart attacks, deep vein thrombosis are managed, and fights break out and noses are broken – but these are rare exceptions.

According to a study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre, out of almost 12,000 inflight medical emergencies, 40% of cases had problem of temporary loss of consciousness due to low blood pressure. Respiratory symptoms accounted for 12%, nausea or vomiting  10% and cardiac symptoms 8%. In roughly three quarters of cases when flight crews requested assistance from passengers with medical training, the response was positive. The passengers reached their destination or the next airport where further medical assistance was available.

 

What to do if you are feeling unwell?

Airsickness is a type of incompatibility disorder causing cold sweats, nausea and vomiting during the flight. It is felt intensely, especially when the plane is shaking, often the tremors of the plane trigger the airsickness. While this common medical problem presenting with nausea or dizziness is often handled by experienced flyers themselves with prior prescribed drugs which they usually carry, if it’s something more serious, tell the cabin crew. If you’re travelling with family or friend, ask them to do it. Cabin crews have access to a medical kit and they’re trained to deal with minor medical emergencies, but only up to a point. They might be first responders but they’re not paramedics and if it’s a situation they’re not trained to deal with they may make an announcement asking if there’s a doctor on board.

 

Do doctors always help?

Some do, but many medical professionals are sometimes reluctant to step forward in answer to the call, and there’s no obligation for them to do so. Some will wait in hope that another qualified medico will respond, some lack the relevant qualifications, others might be put off by the cramped surroundings and lack of resources. There is also a fear of possible legal consequences, yet according to a report on Medical Guidelines for Airline Travel by the Aerospace Medical Association there are no known cases of legal proceedings against a medical professional who has volunteered in an inflight medical emergency. Moreover, many major carriers also indemnify medical professionals against legal liability, but this status is usually not clear to the helping professional beforehand and it is his/her helping nature that ultimately takes the call.

 

Is it wise to fly when we are sick?

Many patients are flying from smaller towns to bigger cities for treatment. But there are many who thimk it’s only a bit of cold, a mild fever, I haven’t sneezed today so I’m probably not infectious. Or maybe there was just one pre-flight drink too many in the terminal.

Flying impacts your circulation system, since you’re likely to be inactive for long periods, and respiration, due to less oxygen in a pressurized cabin than at ground level. That can tip you over the edge if you’re suffering from some health conditions that make it imperative to have a medical check-up before flying. The list includes angina or chest pain, any infectious disease including COVID-19, an ear or sinus infection, a recent heart attack or stroke, if you experience breathlessness at rest or difficulty breathing or a recent operation. Even something as simple as a toothache can turn a flight into head-pounding torment and nightmare.

Flying too soon after scuba diving can cause decompression sickness, and the only cure for that is a fast return to low altitude and a hyperbaric chamber. According to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors and the Divers Alert Network, divers need a minimum surface time of 12 hours following a single dive and 18 hours after repetitive dives or multiple dive days.

 

Airlines can refuse to board you if you’re sick

Your airline doesn’t want you onboard if you’re not healthy because medical conditions can be exacerbated by the on-board environment. Reduced oxygen, dry air, stress, fatigue, separation from medicines and a lot of minor complications can raise their ugly heads if you are already sick. In an attempt to thwart such problems, the only thing to do, in obvious cases, is not to take the problem on board in the first place. So airlines can refuse to let you board the plane. People are never happy with this, but sometimes it has to be done. In an extreme case, an aircraft might have to make an unscheduled stop to offload a passenger suffering a medical emergency. If that can be anticipated, that passenger won’t be flying today. Staff at the check in desk or boarding gate can stop a sick passenger, but if you are a patient, going to your doctor or going back home, you may have to show your treatment records to board the aircraft.

If you have a transit stop coming up and you’re unwell, you might consider ditching your connecting flight in favour of medical attention. If so, you need to let your cabin crew know. They’ll probably refer you to the transfer desk in the terminal, where you can make whatever arrangements might be necessary. If you’re too unwell for that, again your cabin crew can advise. If you don’t show up for your connecting flight without telling the airline, not only do you risk delaying the flight but your booking will be cancelled.

 

Medical assistance at airports

Major airports will usually have a health clinic. They vary in the services they offer but at the very least they can provide a diagnosis and medical treatment similar to what you could expect from a GP. The health clinic should be your first port of call if you arrive feeling unwell. Our hospital regularly provides medical assistance to Lucknow Airport.

 

Can you pick up illness in a plane?

You surely can. Like any public transport an airplane is a closed space, centrally airconditioned and with many people in it. Even if one person is having a respiratory infection and your own immunity is compromised because of any reason, you can easily get infected.

A study published by the National Academy of Sciences in the US concluded that those who sit by the window come into contact with fewer airborne germs than those who sit in the middle seat, and far fewer than those on the aisle. There are several reasons for this happy result. An aircraft’s HEPA or high-efficiency particulate air filters push air up the sides of the cabin and back down towards the aisle. Window-seat passengers are getting the refreshed air before anyone else. Furthermore, window seats are the most socially isolated. You only have one passenger adjacent to you, and you’re further away from crew and other passengers walking up and down the aisle. Window passengers also tend to get up less frequently, and so themselves don’t circulate much around the cabin interior. For the same reason however, they suffer more\deep-vein thrombosis, caused by prolonged immobility.

 

How can you protect yourself?

Irrespective of where you sit, you can reduce your chances of infection by wearing a mask and turning on your air vent. Drinking alcohol reduces your immune system, and so does dehydration and a dry nose. So, stay hydrated and use a nasal spray.

Wash or disinfect your hands as often as possible. Your risk of infection from illnesses such as gastroenteritis is higher from touching surfaces than that from breathing air. Wipe down your armrests, tray table and the in-flight touch screen or remote control. Surfaces such as toilet door handles are often far worse for contamination than surfaces such as toilet seats. Use a tissue when touching such surfaces. Avoid touching other surfaces such as seat backs or locker handles altogether if you can. Don’t touch your food – use the cutlery provided.

 

Corona has taught us to keep safe distance, wash our hands repeatedly and wear a mask. There is absolutely no need to discontinue these habits.