Doctors have taken a first stab at outlining medical advice for a type of travel that will likely become much more common in the years ahead: ordinary people taking trips to space.
The advice, published last week in the British Medical Journal
, focuses on those individuals with pre-existing conditions who might want to travel to space. Conditions addressed range from the minor---motion sickness, insomnia---to chronic conditions like heart disease and osteoporosis. For motion sickness, for instance, pack a lot of Dramamine. Cardiovascular problems can be staved off with an exercise regimen in advance, and deep vein thrombosis may require a round of preventative drugs. Infections, cancer and pregnancy, the authors suggest, may be cause for a no-fly n0te from your doctor. The suggestions highlight the unique risks of spaceflight. As in normal air travel, individuals will be cut off from medical support, so existing illnesses must be well-controlled before ...
