How to Fly Without Getting Sick

Airline travel without illness is the goal, and with a few tips from frequent flyers, you can arrive at your final destination in perfect health too!

It is one of the great mysteries of the universe. Whenever you find yourself packed into a sold out long distance flight you inevitably find yourself stuck next to a person who appears to be dying from some sort of horrible lung disease. You try to bury your face in your sleeve and inhale as little as possible to avoid germs, but in the end you get sick anyway.

This used to happen to me all the time until I learned a few tricks from some frequent fliers.

Why Air Travel Can Make You Sick

There are two main reasons why you become more likely to catch a cold when traveling in an airplane. Once the cabin door is closed and all cellphones are turned off, you are trapped in a metal tube with a seething petri dish of humanity. Modern airliners recirculate the air inside the cabin - the air you are breathing. Even though you are ten rows away from the woman who is coughing up a lung, the germs from her uncovered mouth are stirring around the cabin.

Now you may be saying to yourself, "I've been around sick people before and managed not to get sick. Why should flying be different?"

Good question!

Apart from being recirculated, the air on an airplane is also very dry. Over the course of a long flight, the delicate membranes in your nose, which are designed to stop germs from entering your body, dry out and crack. These cracks are the freeway on ramp to your bloodstream. The cold germs have a direct path.

There is hope. You can travel by air without getting sick.

Tips for Avoiding Colds While Flying

Here are some of the tips I have gathered from frequent flyers that will help you stay healthy.

- Don't sit next to sick people! Seems obvious and sometimes it can not be helped, but move if you can.

- Drink lots of water and avoid alcohol. Keeping your body well hydrated is very important. Alcohol and caffeinated beverages will dehydrate you, so avoid them. The more water you drink the better your immune system will function.

- Carry hand sanitizer an use it frequently during the flight.

- Avoid rubbing your eyes and nose. One of the most common pathways for germs to enter your body is by touching something with germs on it and then transferring it to the delicate membranes of the eyes and nose.

- Drop an Airborne tablet into your water bottle before and after the flight. These vitamin and herb concoctions may be a waste of money but many travelers swear by them.

- Carry and use saline nose spray! This is the big secret I discovered. A simple inexpensive bottle of saline nose spray is your best weapon against a cold. (Don't use medicate nose sprays, only saline.) Spray your nose with saline every 20 to 30 minutes. The water will hydrate your nasal membranes and the salt kills germs.

Immediately after deplaning, wash your hands and face to remove germs and give a good shot of saline into each nostril. Then pop another Airborne tablet into a fresh bottle of water and drink up. The chances of you getting sick on your trip will almost disappear.

Take it from the travel pros. These travel tips will keep you happy and healthy when you fly the friendly skies.