Post by @ayatalis

Most people assume: the person is just hot. Wants fresh air. Uncomfortable in the recycled cabin atmosphere. ​Sometimes. But not always — and trained crew know the difference. ​The overhead vent, directed at the face, does something specific: it stimulates the trigeminal nerve through cool airflow, which triggers a mild vasovagal response — a slight drop in heart rate and blood pressure. The body uses it to self-regulate when it's beginning to feel unwell. ​People do this unconsciously. The hand goes up, the vent opens, the cool air hits the face — and for a few minutes, nausea recedes, dizziness softens, the pre-faint feeling backs off slightly. ​Flight attendants with experience recognize the sequence. Not the vent alone — the vent combined with what else is happening. Pale skin. Stillness that looks different from sleep. A slight forward lean. Eyes that are open but not tracking. ​These are the early signs of vasovagal syncope — a sudden drop in blood pressure that can cause loss of consciousness. At 35,000 feet, with nowhere to go and limited medical equipment, catching it early is everything. ​Senior cabin crew are trained to approach within 60 seconds of noticing a vent opened mid-flight by a passenger who wasn't using it before. The approach looks casual — "Can I get you anything?" — but it's an assessment. Skin color, speech coherence, whether the person tracks the question normally. ​Most of the time it's nothing. The person is warm. ​But sometimes the vent is the first signal of something that needs immediate attention. ​One flight attendant told me: "The passengers who scare me most aren't the ones who call for help. It's the ones quietly pointing a vent at their own face and hoping it passes." ​It usually does. Until it doesn't.  #information