Safety recommendations when flying with small kids during holiday season
With the start of the holiday season, many families will be planning to travel with young children. MedAire and its parent company International SOS issues recommendations for safer airline travel with an infant. The recommendations are based on the findings of a study using five years of data from tracking in-flight medical emergencies.
MedAire’s aviation medical expert, Dr Paulo Alves, and group medical director of International SOS Dr Neil Nerwich, in collaboration with Dr Alexandre Rotta and the University Hospital Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, examined MedAire’s
Of the cases involving children requiring medical help, majority were the result of a pre-existing medical condition or health problem.”
Dr Paulo Alves,
aviation medical expert, MedAire in-flight medical events (IFME).
The research evaluated over 114,000 IFMEs from January 2009 through January 2014. More than 10 per cent of these events involved children (newborn to age 18).
Dr Alves comments: “Of the cases involving children requiring medical help, majority were the result of a pre-existing medical condition or health problem, more than three per cent of cases involved an injury occurring during the actual flight.
“Of those cases, 35 per cent involved children under the age of two. The most common injuries were burns, contusions and lacerations, which were most commonly caused by spilled hot beverages or soups, followed by falls from the seat involving lap infants. The good news is that there are some > Ensure children are healthy for travel > Come prepared: Always keep the medications in your carry-on luggage. > Location: Choosing the right seat is important. > Take turns keeping children occupied > If you do have an emergency, stay calm: Ask the flight attendant for assistance. simple precautions that parents can take to prevent or reduce inflight illness and injury,” he said.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com