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When it comes to criss-crossing the globe by plane, it seems jet lag is the least of our worries.

Whether you're suffering from dehydration due to low cabin humidity or suffering from pain in your ear canal during takeoff and landing, everything from oxygen deprivation to inactivity can contribute to passengers feeling unwell in the air.

Here are some of the scariest health effects of flying... and some suggestions to prevent and combat them.

Everything from dehydration to inactivity can contribute to passengers feeling unwell while in the air

Dehydration

While bodies are most comfortable at around 50 percent humidity, an aeroplane's cabin humidity can be as low as 10 per cent. That is drier than being in a desert.

Naturally, this extreme dryness will only lead to only one inevitable conclusion: a very dehydrated traveller.

According to NHS, the symptoms of dehydration include 'dizziness or light-headedness, headache, tiredness, dry mouth, lips and eyes, and the passing of small amounts of urine infrequently.'

Dehydration can also lead to a loss of strength and stamina and dry sinuses, nostrils and throat that make you far more prone to infection.

Combat all of this by drinking plenty of water and keeping away from beverages with diuretic properties, like alcohol or coffee.

Low humidity in cabin air means that passengers should keep diuretic beverages, like alcohol, to a minimum

Want to stay healthy on your next flight? Try these top tips

Ear pain

Ever wondered exactly why you feel pain in your ears during takeoff and landing?

It turns out that the uncomfortable feeling a product of the air on your ears expanding and causing increased pressure to build up within the ear canal.

But it's only when this pressure cannot be released, such as due to blockage from a cold, for example, that the passenger will really be made aware of the change. 

Luckily, alleviating the pressure in most cases is relatively easy - simply by swallowing, chewing or yawning.

Additionally, the motion sickness that you may feel in the pit of your stomach actually also starts in your inner ears, when your balance is thrown off by something like turbulence.

Ear pain during take off and landing is due to the air on your ears expanding and causing increased pressure

In this instance, the best bet for preventing nausea is to book a seat over the wings, which is the steadiest part of the plane.

And the final ear-related concern to contend with on board has to do with hearing.

Whether watching a movie or listening to your iPod, the sounds you're blasting to block out engine noise and passenger chatter are probably wreaking a bit of havoc, since it's a different listening environment than you're used to with different levels of ambient noise to tune out.

Although your hearing won't suffer any permanent damage after a plane ride or two, frequent fliers should take note of the decibel difference to avoid any sort of long-term effects.

Lower levels of oxygen in the plane's pressurised air can cause light-headedness and shallow breathing

Oxygen deprivation

It may be a small difference, but the lower oxygen levels in the plane's pressurised air can lead to minor oxygen deprivation in travellers.

This could cause light-headedness, shallow breathing or difficulty concentrating. 

If this happens to you, be sure to alert a flight attendant, as he or she may be able to provide you with additional oxygen or even increase the overall airflow to the plane. 

The lower pressure in the cabin can also affect your blood circulation, which could lead to swelling in your lower extremities - especially on long haul flights when you're cramped in your seat. 

Ideally, walk around the aircraft every 30 minutes, or, at the very least, flex and stretch your feat regularly. 

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs when blood clots develop in the legs due to long periods of inactivity

DVT 

Deep vein thrombosis (or DVT) occurs when blood clots develop within the deep veins of the legs, causing pain and swelling.

Occasionally, it may lead to complications such as pulmonary embolism, which is when a piece of blood clot breaks off into the bloodstream and blocks one of the blood vessels in the lungs.

Anyone sitting for more than four hours, as most people do during long-haul flights, is at risk of developing DVT, however, certain groups may be at greater risk.

Virgin Atlantic encourages anyone aged 40 or over, anyone with a family history of blood clothes or anyone being treated for cancer, heart failure or circulation problems to be especially cautious.

To help prevent clots, moving around during the flight and wearing support stockings will both help to keep blood circulating.

However, if you begin to feel short of breath, experience chest pain, or if your legs are still swollen after the flight, you should seek medical attention immediately. 

On long-haul flights, your exposure to radiation from cosmic rays, energetic particles from space, is higher

Radiation exposure 

While on international flights, you're exposed to more than a tiny amount of radiation from cosmic rays, which are energetic particles from space, mostly made up of protons.

The longer the flight and the higher and closer the plane flies to the North Pole, the greater the dose of radiation that crew and passengers alike will experience. 

While it's of most concern for those who fly for a living, frequent flier passengers will experience more of this exposure than people who spend more time on the ground.  

Several studies have found also that cancer rates among flight personnel are marginally higher than the rest of the general population, although a recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) report did not find further support of such a claim.

However, the CDC does admit that experts are still not sure of the health risks associated with cosmic radiation and because you cannot see or feel it, often people do not just precisely when they are being exposed. 

Flying roundtrip from New York to Los Angeles, for example, three times per year, would expose passengers to the equivalent of 3 chest X-rays, or about 100 microSieverts.

On a roundtrip flight from New York to Beijing, however, you can easily exceed that amount.

Sun damage from UV rays

It is not something passengers would necessarily think to do before a flight, but applying suncream could well protect against UV damage in the skies. 

'At high altitude, over 54 per cent of UVA rays penetrate glass, making pilots spending long periods in the cockpit up to twice as likely to develop melanoma,' Abi Cleeve, MD at UltraSun UK tells MailOnline Travel. 

'In fact, 55.6 minutes in the air is equivalent to 20 minutes on a tanning bed.' 

When flying, a passenger is 100 times more at risk to catch a common cold than when not on a plane

Common cold

Finally, and what may seem insignificant in comparison to the other risks that befall frequent travellers, those who travel often may be at a greater risk for catching a common cold.

A 2004 study in the Journal of Environmental Health Research found that when you're flying, your risk for catching a cold is over 100 times higher than when you're not on a plane.

Take proper precautions and be sure to wash your hands frequently, and carry anti-bacterial hand sanitiser, when globe trotting.

After all, the last thing you want is for a simple cold to slow you down on your next glamorous getaway.