WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of patients with oral cancer and other diseases that damage the body's salivary glands are facing stiff barriers to air travel because of new security restrictions on carrying liquids and gels, say patients, health professionals and advocacy groups.
Instead of taking a one-hour flight from upstate New York to attend a conference in Washington next month, community college professor Cornelia Rea has decided instead to make a seven-hour road trip.
"When the new travel regulations came out, I said, 'OK, that's it -- I'm driving,' " Rea said. "I don't know what I'm going to do for longer trips in the future."
An oral cancer survivor, Rea cannot swallow food because of radiation damage to throat tissues. She gets nourishment from liquid injected with a syringe into a small tube in her abdomen. Because her salivary glands were also damaged by radiation treatment, Rea uses sprays and a gel to keep her mouth moist, which helps to prevent infections and other complications.
Similar travel problems confront patients with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that shuts down the tear ducts and salivary glands and can affect other moisture-producing tissues. One Sjogren's patient, who asked not to be identified, said that to make sure a bottle of eyedrops wouldn't be confiscated, she tucked it into her bra before a recent flight.
"A lot of our patients are nervous about flying," said Steven Taylor, chief executive of the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation, based in Bethesda, Md.
"Some patients have to sip water continuously all day because they have no saliva," he explained. "Other patients have to use eyedrops several times an hour." Some are canceling plans to fly, he said.
About 2 million to 4 million Americans have Sjogren's. The nation also has several hundred thousand oral cancer survivors, and about 31,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year.
The consequences of going without water or eyedrops include discomfort, pain and other complications.
Some Sjogren's patients complain of extreme dryness, a Sahara-like sensation spreading from their mouths to their stomachs. "It goes beyond just being an inconvenience," said Dr. Philip C. Fox, former director of the Sjogren's clinic at the National Institutes of Health. "Even standing in line for an hour without water could increase the chance of an infection."
