BMJ 1994;309:426 (13 August)

Editorials

Sound advice for tunnel travellers

The Channel Tunnel will soon be open and millions of people are expected to use it. But are there any health risks associated with travelling through the tunnel? Eurotunnel have recently issued guidelines for doctors (available from Eurotunnel*, and these have focused on the effects of such travel on the ears.

Everyone experiences some slight discomfort when entering a tunnel in a train or when flying. Rapid changes in ambient pressure occur when entering a tunnel at speed, or when two trains pass each other in a tunnel. This increase in pressure deflects the intact tympanic membrane medially.

The tympanic membrane is, of course, designed to move, and most people can equalise the relative pressures each side of it by swallowing to allow air to pass through the eustachian tube. Other measures such as the Valsalva manoeuvre, yawning, or rapidly moving the tongue against the soft palate (the Frenzel manoeuvre) . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Tunnel travelling
K Laitinen
BMJ 1994 309: 881. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Laitinen, K (1994). Tunnel travelling. BMJ 309: 881a-881 [Full text]  
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