The most frequent health issue a passenger may experience when flying is their inability to breathe regularly, either because of the restrictive aviation environment or because of underlying medical disorders that cannot withstand a drop in barometric pressure.
The partial pressure of oxygen is known to decrease shortly after take-off, which may affect breathing, especially for people with respiratory conditions like emphysema, pulmonary hypertension, lung fibrosis, and asthma.
While helping a sick or injured person on board can be disastrous, using the right-hand technique can work miracles.
We educate cabin crew this technique to assist unwell passengers who have no or lowered breathing rate because it is typically effective for experienced providers.
We call it C-E technique, Where by thumb and index finger create a “C” Clamp which acts as a seal to secure a mask on the patient’s face and the “E” made by remaining fingers holds the chin in position while head tilted.
“Be safe and fly with confidence”
Prepared by
Dr. Nasra Nassor Omar
International Civilian Aviation Medical Examiner
