As you know, space crews undergo a thorough medical examination before the flight. But it is impossible to completely exclude unforeseen situations associated with diseases of astronauts and astronauts in orbit. During the long months of work, the pilot can catch a cold or get injured. It is possible that he will begin to suffer from headache or toothache and insomnia, there is a possibility of skin diseases …
And with any of these ailments you need to cope on your own. How does this treatment go and what drugs are used for it?
There are no pachyderms here
On the eve of the 15th anniversary of the International Space Station (ISS), American scientists led by Virginia Watring conducted a large-scale study of the diseases and treatment of astronauts during flights. They processed medical data of 24 people, including 20 men and four women.
The average duration of their stay at the station was 159 days. However, only two men and one woman did not use drugs at all.
Treatment data were taken from logbooks, as well as the minutes of closed conferences that are held after each space expedition.
The most common ailment for astronauts was muscle and joint pain resulting from bruises and sprains. Their elimination was facilitated mainly by the drug ibuprofen (73% of cases of joint pain and 70% of cases of muscle pain).
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Astronauts took him for a severe headache, which arose from a change in the onboard pressure and a high concentration of carbon dioxide. Also, with headaches, the astronauts were helped by the usual aspirin and paracetamol.
In second place were skin problems such as rashes and fungal infections that affected four astronauts. These procedures are reported 46 times. And the treatment was not always successful - most reports ended with the words "The rash did not go away."
Some of the crew members developed skin rashes as a result of allergic diseases, they had to use antihistamines.
By the way, after the flight, many astronauts consulted doctors about skin problems. The NASA Medical Center conducted a number of its studies, the results of which literally shocked specialists. It turned out that after a six-month stay at the orbital station, the human skin becomes 20% thinner!
Confusing nights and dawns
As you know, there is no change of day and night on the ISS. Constant artificial light causes sleep problems (it is estimated that astronauts and cosmonauts sleep on average only six hours a day).
Because of this, many of the people working at the station had to take sleeping pills - mainly zolpidem and zaleplon, as well as medicines containing melatonin, which helps the body to adhere to the circadian rhythm. In total, 17 out of 24 patients regularly took hypnotics.
In general, the researchers led by Virginia Watring came to not too optimistic conclusions that long work on the ISS has an extremely negative effect on the health of its crew. People experience negative changes in bone tissue, muscle atrophy, failures in the immune system and heart activity.
Mental stress associated with a confined space and constant communication with a limited circle of people also cause discomfort and contribute to depression.
In fact, humanity is not yet ready for future long-term space flights, which can last for several years and for which fundamentally new drugs must be created.
I did without a drill
But how are Russian cosmonauts treated in orbit? Unfortunately, such detailed statistics about them have not yet become public. But many cases of diseases and treatment on the ISS can be found from open sources.
Valery Bogomolov, deputy director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who regularly takes part in examining cosmonauts before and after the flight, says that they occasionally have a runny nose. This is due to the fact that fans are constantly running on board the station - and a person who is hot from work can accidentally fall under a stream of cold air.
Emergency supply of astronauts in the 60s in the museum
Viral diseases also occur - after all, together with people, microbes get into space, which not only live at the station, but also mutate. True, no one has infected anyone with influenza or acute respiratory infections. Those who feel unwell are isolated as soon as possible. The usual medical dressings and cold medicines from the medical kit help.
Astronauts are much more worried about the lack of stress on muscles in zero gravity. During the first flights, the pilots spent most of their time in the seat, and some of them, in particular Andriyan Nikolaev and Vitaly Sevastyanov, could not get up on their own after landing and felt dizzy for several days. Now, to prevent this from happening, the cosmonauts, according to the schedule, train on simulators twice a day.
At a meeting with students, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko once said that his colleague Anatoly Solovyov suffered from a toothache for several nights - and in the end he filled his own tooth. This story was passed on by word of mouth for a long time and was even published in the media.
Later it turned out that Romanenko was joking. Solovyov really suffered from toothache, but he took it off with a special paste. And in the on-board first-aid kits (astronauts call them styling) there is no drill at all.
Fasten seat belts
What is such a first aid kit? What is the required set of drugs included?
On a Soyuz-type spacecraft, there are two such packages. One of them contains medicines for any possible ailments: antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety drugs, remedies to combat coughs and runny nose, sleeping pills, etc. Bandages, plasters and scissors are also placed here.
The second pack is a first aid kit, which is designed to be used in the event of an emergency or off-design landing.
On board the space station, medicines are stored in several medicine boxes. Each drug is accompanied by a detailed description of when and how to take it. The most popular sprays are for nasal congestion, which usually makes itself felt in the first days of zero gravity.
The station also has medical devices, such as a defibrillator for electrotherapy of the heart, a ventilator, equipment for taking electrocardiograms and measuring eye pressure. There are also special first aid kits for suturing wounds and intravenous injections.
One of the crew members is responsible for the condition of all drugs and medical equipment, who, even on Earth, studies medicine more than others and knows it at the level of a paramedic or qualified nurse.
Every day cosmonauts and astronauts report to the ground doctors about their state of health. In addition, cosmonauts are actively involved in medical examination programs. For example, in February 2014, Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazansky conducted the world's first electrogastroenterography (study of the gastrointestinal tract using electrical signals) in space flight.
Cases when members of space expeditions could not fulfill their duties for health reasons are extremely rare. One of them happened in December 2002. Russian Nikolai Budarin had heart problems before going into outer space.
The exit was postponed to January 2003, but in order to avoid any complications, his American colleague Donald Roy Pettit worked on the outer surface of the station instead of Budarin.
Of course, treatment in orbit has its own specifics. But astronauts and astronauts themselves, when asked about maintaining health in space, often laugh it off that their main medicine is the faces and voices of loved ones, with whom you can communicate on the air.
Nikolay MIKHAILOV
