Is it possible to fly with plaster?
When my daughter Irene broke her elbow 24 hours before our flight to Berlin, the question “Is it possible to fly with plaster” had never come close to me. What to do now? Cancel everything or risk?
Travel contingencies
One day before our flight, Irene got injured and we ended up in the emergency room with a broken elbow! I have thousands of doubts and questions and many were: is it possible/sane to fly with plaster? What to do now, cancel everything or not? Is it dangerous to bring a two-year-old girl with one arm in plaster on a trip taking an airplane? What about safety regulations?
The first answer was given to us by the pediatric orthopedist: “Go, and enjoy it! In this moment of fear, she needs to be distracted.”
So, as you can see from the above picture, we were able to fly to Berlin, enjoy this family travel, and come back safely.
We discovered airline companies have policies for the management of patients and/or people who have suffered an injury recently which can prevent you from flying!
The main point is the medical treatment applied according to the injury type.
There are two different types of plaster:
- full (gesso intero)
- partial (doccia gessata)
If you have had a “full” plaster in the past 48 hours, most airlines will prohibit you from taking a flight. The reason is the effect of the cabin’s pressurization at high altitude which can generate swelling of the limbs and, with the risk of circulatory problems and embolisms.
In specific circumstances, if you cannot miss the fly, you could get around the obstacle by cutting the plaster along its entire length.
This procedure will be carried out in a hospital after a careful examination by an orthopedist.
Cracking the plaster will prevent the veins from swelling due to high altitude and will allow you to fly, but the fracture will no longer be immobilized and protected.
For small fractures that do not require complete immobilization, the partial plaster is considered a valid alternative, especially suitable for small children given its “lightweight”.
In our case, Irene had a simple compound fracture and the orthopedist chose a plaster shower (partial) which is much lighter and easier to handle than a traditional one, especially for young patients!
The orthopedic explained to us that the “partial” plaster does not interfere with blood circulation in the injured limb as a classic plaster one, and for this reason, it is also suitable for air flights.
So, these are the takeaways from this experience:
- a very common-sense approach that was hard to have in that circumstance: you can fly with plaster (especially the partial one) when it does not involve any serious health risk.
- talk with the doctor and ask for a medical certificate issued to certify the state of health and the need, or not, to take special anti-coagulant medicines during the flight (without it, you cannot carry them in the cabin).
- Check the airline policy for these situations: most airlines do not limit booking a seat in case of upper limbs; a different story in case of a plaster applied on a leg: in this case, some airline companies are required to book more than 1 standard seat.
