Hypoxia and Medicine

what effects will benadryl or nyquil have on me during a 3 hour flight from austin to los angeles?

ok, i am a really nervous flyer and my sister and i are going to california for spring break on friday. I've never had this issue until my summer break trip last year. I hate the fact that medicine will be my only way out of extreme nervousness, and alertness for any strange increase in altitude or wierd noises! I want to try poppin' a benadryl or have a swig of nyquil but i have no idea how this will affect me 5 miles up. I know some people are going to say try reading a book, listen to music, etc..it does not work like that for me. What im really concerned about is 1. i've heard of hypoxia and i dont want to go under cardiac arrest and 2. i have to switch flights in los angeles to san jose. Any help or pointers to something else that might calm my nerves would be greatly appreciated. -ant

Public Comments

1. I took sleeping pills or cold medicine (forgot) on a 6 hour flight and it knocked me out the whole entire ride. All I remember about the flight is the lady waking me up real quick asking if I wanted something to drink/eat. It will knock you out for a while and make you feel like your sleeping in your bed. But that might be bad for a 3 hour flight. If your scared of planes or being so high in the air, reading and listening to music WILL NOT HELP. You need to take pills to sleep. Just take the pills, it worked for me. Also take it about 20 minuets before you get on the plane so you can crash right when you get to your sleep. (Sleeping medicine takes a little time to kick in)
2. If you have a real fear of flying talk to your doctor, almost all will give you a few xanax or Valium to get you through the flights
3. The only thing that I know is that two benedryl tablets equal the ingredients in one sleeping pill. Go to ask.com and see if you can get something on the affects of atltitude with sleeping pills or better yet, check with your family doctor. Good luck. I used to be just like you. Then, I took a job with the airlines, which made me realize just how safe they are. How often do you hear about a car accident? How often do you hear about an airline accident? You do the math.