Menopause. Hysterectomy. Antidepressants and birth control pills. These are some of the common causes of vaginal dryness.
But there’s something else that can cause vaginal dryness that you may not know about. And that’s taking long, frequent flights.
Yes, experts are noticing that long flights can trigger vaginal dryness. And if you already have dryness, it can make it much worse.
Here’s how that happens… and what you can do about it.
How Flying Can Make You Dryer Down There
Every airline uses air conditioners to keep the cabin cool and comfortable. Air conditioners on airplanes work like any normal air conditioner. It pulls air from outside of the plane… and uses it to replace the stale air inside the plane.
And that’s where the problem starts.
At 30,000 feet in the sky, your airplane is not surrounded by the same moist air around your home. The air up there has a humidity of 10% or less… which means that the air is super dry.
Weather experts say that the air up in the sky can be dryer than the air in a desert!
So when an airplane air conditioner is pulling in that dry air and circulating it inside your cabin, you can imagine what will happen. The dry air will start to suck water from everywhere and everyone inside the cabin.
And before you know it, your body has lost so much moisture. (Even worse, since the cabin is cool, you may not even know you’re dehydrated!)
What happens to the vagina when the body is dehydrated?
Yes, vaginal dryness will gradually set it. And if you already have dryness, it will likely get worse!
How to Protect Your Vaginal Moisture When You Travel By Air
If your flight will be more than 3 hours long, you need a plan to keep your body hydrated. You need to replace all the moisture the dry air from the air conditioner will be sucking out of you.
You may need to bring your water bottle.
Most airports say that ‘liquids are controlled’ and people assume they can’t bring their water bottles. And that’s not true.
Once you’re past airport security, you can grab a bottle of water or drink to carry on for your trip.
Do not rely on the water you’re served during flight. Instead, carry your own water… and drink it throughout the flight even if you don’t feel thirsty.
(If you don’t like to drink water, try these 4 tasty drinks that keep your body hydrated.)
Remember, the more hydrated you are, the more your whole body (and vagina!) will be moist. That’s one way to fight vaginal dryness that’s caused by long-haul flights.
Bonus tip for frequent travelers: Long flights force you to sit for hours. And while you sit, gravity pulls blood, moisture and body fluids to your feet… which causes health problems like leg swelling, and muscle cramps.
Solution: You need to exercise somehow to encourage your body’s blood circulation. So move your legs around. Get up and stretch once your body feels stiff. And if you can, get up and walk around the cabin as often as you can, throughout your flight.
That’ll keep your body fluids circulating… taking nutrients and life-giving blood to all parts of your body. (Including the vagina.)
Sources- https://www.hydratis.co/en/blogs/blog/la-deshydratation-en-voyage
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551461/
- https://www.travelhealth.gov.hk/english/environmental_health_risk/air_travel.html
- https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/why-does-traveling-make-you-dehydrated.html
- https://flightfud.com/blogs/travel/does-flying-dehydrate-you