Have you ever gotten puffy on a flight? Air travel has plenty of side effects: jet lag, colds, and lack of sleep from crying children and rowdy passengers. If you’re a frequent flyer, it’s highly likely you’ve also experienced puffiness and swelling in your hands, ankles, and face at some point. That’s because air travel, particularly over extended durations, creates “cutaneous puffiness,” which is characterized by swelling or bloating of the skin, notably around the eyes and extremities.
But why does it happen? Is it because you drank 12 mini wines? Or because you couldn’t sleep until you had finished the entire Godfather trilogy? Below, we uncover why you get puffy on a flight and what to do about it.
What causes puffiness during air travel?
Dehydration is a common consequence of air travel due to the dry air in aircraft cabins and insufficient fluid intake (the aforementioned wine doesn’t count, just FYI). The skin, as the body’s largest organ, is particularly susceptible to dehydration-induced changes, and a lack of fluids can mean that the barrier is compromised, leading to more water loss. That result is skin that looks dull, feels dry and is prone to puffiness, especially around the delicate under-eye area, which is vulnerable to dehydration-related edema, i.e. swelling caused by too much fluid trapped in the body’s tissues.
Another factor that adds to puffiness and bloating during air travel is the fluctuations in cabin pressure. Commercial flights operate at altitudes where atmospheric pressure is significantly lower than at sea level. This means that the cabin needs to be pressurized to maintain a breathable environment. But even with this, the cabin pressure is below what we’d experience at ground level, and the reduction in pressure can induce fluid shifts within the body, leading to edema, often in the legs and facial tissue.
A movie marathon may be tempting, but the sedentary nature of air travel also exacerbates cutaneous puffiness by impairing our circulation. When we’re too sedentary on a flight, our blood flow can stagnate and cause fluid retention, so our lymphatic system—which keeps body fluid levels in balance to defend against infections—is also compromised. The result? You guessed it: tissue swelling, water retention, and puffiness. If we’re snacking hard during those movie sessions, that can also cause fluid retention.
Another factor is airline meals. Airlines often add extra salt and sugar to our foods to make them taste the same as on the ground because the engine noise we endure during a flight is said to negatively impact how we taste food. The downside is that excess salt disrupts the body’s fluid balance promoting water retention known as osmotic edema, which can cause puffiness in the face and hands.
How can we combat puffiness during flights?
It’s unfeasible to spend the entire flight doing laps of the plane and eating entirely salt-free food, so what can actually help?
Naturally, dialing up your hydration levels is key. It’s crucial to drink plenty of water before, during, and after flights to counteract the dehydrating effects of flying and allow your body to return to normal (don’t forget to fill up your water bottles before you board the aircraft). When you’re on the flight, minimizing diuretic drinks like alcohol and caffeine can help, but here’s a clever hack from Rhian Stephenson, a nutritional therapist, ex-athlete, and founder of ARTAH: “Dehydration has been shown to worsen leg edema on flights, so using an electrolyte powder can help,” she says. “When choosing your electrolytes, avoid ones high in salt that are designed for sport; you don’t need this much sodium unless you’re an endurance athlete.”
