Mountain trekking may trigger asthma attacks

Asthma and adventure travel may not be a good mix, according to Israeli and U.S. researchers.

The team evaluated 203 patients with asthma before and after adventure trips, including 147 who went on a high-altitude trek. Eighty-eight of the travelers reported asthma attacks; more than three-quarters of those who had attacks were high-altitude trekkers. About half the travelers who suffered an attack said their asthma worsened during the trip, and 32 said they had the worst attack of their life on the trip. Eleven classified the attack as life-threatening.

Those who trekked and exerted themselves intensely were more likely to have had an attack. Those who used their inhalers three times a week or more before the trip were also more likely to have had attacks during travel. A frequent need to use the bronchodilator shows that the asthma is not well controlled, says Yoav Golan, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and one of the authors of the study, published Nov. 25 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Those travelers who used the bronchodilators frequently and exerted themselves while trekking were even more likely to have had an asthma attack.

“People with asthma should make sure their asthma is optimally controlled, especially if they are going to trek,” Golan says. “Many who trek don’t exercise regularly at home.” High altitude can complicate the situation. If necessary, treatment should be intensified before a trip. Trekking should be discouraged until the asthma is under control.

Last-minute gifts

If you need a gift to help a loved one travel healthier:

Bose QuietComfort headphones promise to drown out wind noise and other aircraft sounds, soothing the nerves and making it easier to hear the in-flight music or movies. (The headphones can be substituted for those supplied by the airline.) They cost $299 and are available, among other places, at Magellan’s, 1006 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 394-9417, www.magellans.com.

Support socks, $9.85 a pair, can keep the circulation going at 40,000 feet. From Magellan’s.

The Air Stepper travel exercise cushion can be placed under the seat in front of you to give your feet and legs a workout. It’s $10 from Distant Lands, 56 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena; (800) 310-3220, www.distantlands.com.

Eagle Creek comfort seat cushion is inflatable and helps support shoulders and the back on long plane and train rides or can plump up a skimpy hotel pillow. From Distant Lands, $30.

East-west sleep problems

Sleep disturbances differ depending on whether you are traveling east or west, according to a study of 10 academic faculty. The study was published in August in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Subjects took trips of less than seven days to Japan or to Europe from the U.S. and Canada. Sleep disruptions persisted for eastbound travelers until the second day after return. Westbound travelers had no substantial disruptions in sleep, but they took a longer nap after their return, and they woke up later until the fifth day after returning.

Bottom line: Like other researchers, these found that westbound travel overall may be easier to tolerate than eastbound. Short-term travel causes sleep problems during travel and at home after visiting destinations east of home. It causes a delay in the timing of sleep at home after going west.

Researchers suggest that being aware of the pattern of problems can help travelers ease recovery by rearranging post-trip work schedules to accommodate disturbed sleep patterns.

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Healthy Traveler appears twice a month. Kathleen Doheny can be reached at kathleendoheny@earthlink.net.