If you’ve ever flown during cold and flu season, you likely already know that it’s all too easy to pick up a virus at the airport or on a plane. When you’re sharing close quarters with a crowd of coughing and sniffling people, it may seem nearly impossible to stay healthy. However, there are steps you can take to increase your likelihood of staying healthy while flying.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep Before You Leave
It can be hard to sleep the night before traveling, especially if you have to get up early to catch your flight. However, you should make an effort to get a full seven to eight hours of sleep for optimal air travel health. Sleep deprivation suppresses your immune system, making you more likely to get sick.
Eat a Healthy Meal
If possible, eat a filling, healthy meal before you leave for the airport. Staying healthy while flying can be hard when most airport dining options are high in calories (not to mention price) and may upset your stomach, especially if they’re significantly different than the meals you usually eat. If you don’t have time to eat at home and want to get a meal at the airport, look for dishes that have lean meat (or a non-meat protein source) and plenty of vegetables.
Wear Socks
You know you’ll have to take your shoes off when you go through the security checkpoint, and the last thing you want is to upset your travel health with a bacterial or fungal foot infection. Wear socks so that your bare feet never come into contact with the airport tiles or carpet.
Be Careful What You Touch
Avoid using the bathroom on the airplane if you can. If you can’t, use a paper towel to touch surfaces such as the door handle, faucet, and flush mechanism. And, of course, wash your hands when you’re done. This will decrease your risk of transferring germs.
It’s also a good idea to bring your own pillow and blanket, rather than using the ones provided by the airline.
Pack an Empty Water Bottle in Your Carry-On
Even mild dehydration can cause unpleasant effects like dizziness, headache, dry skin, constipation, and muscle cramps. And with the dry pressurized air circulating a plane’s cabin, you may start feeling dehydrated before you know it. You may not be able to carry liquids through security, but you can put an empty water bottle in your carry-on and fill it up once you get to your terminal. That way you’ll stay hydrated and maintain your health during air travel, and you won’t have to pay for an overpriced water bottle at the airport.
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| Packing a few basic items, such as saline spray and eye drops, can help safeguard you from poor health after air travel. Source: cdc.gov |
Use a Saline Nasal Spray
That pressurized cabin air can dry out your mucous membranes, reducing your body’s ability to prevent infection. To keep your mucous membranes moist and healthy during air travel, carry a small bottle of saline nasal spray with you and use it before and after your flight.
Avoid Rubbing Your Eyes
It’s always a good idea to avoid rubbing your eyes, as touching your eyes is an easy way to transmit a cold or flu virus. However, it can be tough to remember not to rub your eyes when the plane cabin’s air is drying them out. If you often experience irritated eyes when you fly, consider bringing moisturizing eye drops. If you normally wear contacts, switch to glasses for your flight.
Air travel doesn’t have to make you sick. Follow the air travel health tips above—and remember to wash your hands frequently—so that you arrive at your destination in good condition.
