Air travel/ high altitude and Crohn's flare-ups

[Goddess]

Apparently there are findings that suggest a relationship between altitude (air travel, high-altitude climbing).

https://www.knowyourgut.com/this-ty...-flare-in-ulcerative-colitis-Crohn's-disease/

I was not surprised...on a return trip from Paris, I decided to save $$ and build up my frequent flier miles account, so flew Paris-Amsterdam-Washington DC- Denver-Spokane. In Denver I felt a little off, so I had a smoothie and a rest...but it didn't even rise to the level of nausea. Almost as soon as the plane got to cruising altitude on my final flight, however, I got sick, sick, sick. Thank goodness I was in the first row...barely made it to the bathroom...and spent the entirety of the next 2 hours with simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea. Not fun. Fortunately, the flight attendant had been an EMT, and basically kept me calm and made sure I was OK. The ambulance met the plane, and I was in the hospital for 2 weeks. So I knew there was something going on. Personally, I think it was not just the altitude, but the number of take-offs and landings.

Since then I cough up the money to take the most direct routes, and try to put a day, or even a long layover, between flights. So far so good, although I have noticed that I don't bounce back from jet lag at all...more like crawl into bed and sleep for 2 days.

Has anyone else had problems/ experience with high altitude and flare-ups?

 

[rrhood1]

Nothing like that but every time I go on a plane I get pneumonia. Someone always has a cough and no matter what I try it goes right to my chest and turns into pneumonia.

 

[shamrock15]

Well, change in pressure will have an affect on gas that is already in your bowels and that could cause movement in either direction. The only time that I have ever had an issue, I was already aware that I had an attack building. Had the joy of a flight from UK to Toronto, then a second one to Ottawa, followed by a trip to the hospital for 10 days. As I said though, I knew before I started on the flight back that things weren't well. I do believe it aggravated or accelerated a bad situation, but it did not initiate it.

 

[Johnnysmom]

My daughter and I get altitude sickness whenever we go up into the mountains of Colorado. True altitude sickness will affect breathing and is very dangerous, my daughter and I just get the nausea vomiting and D. The DR. we saw while in Colorado said that becoming dehydrated and getting acclimated to the altitude would help a lot. We start drinking extra water a few days before we go and drink constantly while on the plane etc. We also spend at least a day or two in Denver before we head up to the higher altitudes in the mountains. It has helped tremendously.

My son who has crohn's doesn't get symptoms from this, but he never has. Some people are just more susceptible to the altitude, and he is not. I can imagine it is worsened in your case because of your crohn's.