2009-11-04
Stayin' Healthy Sky High
Written by: Hadley Henriette
Holiday Season is kicking it into high gear with cocktails, parties, family gatherings and yes, plane rides. We've been hearing for years about how the recirculated air can get us sick and how that germy, sneezing kid eight rows away can still infect you. So here are a few tips for surviving that ride and arriving at your destination free of unwelcome microbes.
1. Get as much rest as possible the night before
2. Don’t eat crappy airport food, throw an apple and a bag of raw almonds in your carry-on before you leave home.
3. Just say no to soda on the plane - sugar suppresses your immune system for more than two hours after ingestion.
4. Everything you touch will be germy - so go wash your hands before you chow down.
5. Don’t throw away the paper towel after you wash, use it to pull knobs and levers and protect your hands from recontamination before you get back to your seat. And yes, your seat belt has germs on it to.
6. Wear a mask. Seriously. It’s something I do all the time on long flights. The mask will protect you from germs and keep your air passages from drying out, which makes them more susceptible to microbes. If you want to keep it on the dl, do like I do and take it off if you have to get up so all eyes aren’t on you. The upshot of H1N1, is that it’s become a lot more acceptable to wear a mask. Of course you can always say it’s an homage to the late great King of Pop.
7. Don’t have a mask? Another quick fix that people are doing now is placing a small amount of triple anti-biotic ointment around the very bottom of the nostrils in hope of killing entering bacteria. I haven’t read research regarding this method, but I know people that swear by this method.
8. Drink lots of water and little to no alcohol the day you fly. Flying dehydrates you something fierce.
9. Pop an Airborne in your water to add another layer to your immunity armor.
10. Most importantly, don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth. For any reason.
That's is!
1. Get as much rest as possible the night before
2. Don’t eat crappy airport food, throw an apple and a bag of raw almonds in your carry-on before you leave home.
3. Just say no to soda on the plane - sugar suppresses your immune system for more than two hours after ingestion.
4. Everything you touch will be germy - so go wash your hands before you chow down.
5. Don’t throw away the paper towel after you wash, use it to pull knobs and levers and protect your hands from recontamination before you get back to your seat. And yes, your seat belt has germs on it to.
6. Wear a mask. Seriously. It’s something I do all the time on long flights. The mask will protect you from germs and keep your air passages from drying out, which makes them more susceptible to microbes. If you want to keep it on the dl, do like I do and take it off if you have to get up so all eyes aren’t on you. The upshot of H1N1, is that it’s become a lot more acceptable to wear a mask. Of course you can always say it’s an homage to the late great King of Pop.
7. Don’t have a mask? Another quick fix that people are doing now is placing a small amount of triple anti-biotic ointment around the very bottom of the nostrils in hope of killing entering bacteria. I haven’t read research regarding this method, but I know people that swear by this method.
8. Drink lots of water and little to no alcohol the day you fly. Flying dehydrates you something fierce.
9. Pop an Airborne in your water to add another layer to your immunity armor.
10. Most importantly, don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth. For any reason.
That's is!
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