With all the scary news stories about passengers carrying diseases from abroad, it can sound like everyone is doomed to get sick after a plane flight. Not true. Sure, commercial jetliners only replace half of the cabin air during a flight with fresh (the rest is recycled) ... but even so, there are ways to stay healthy during air travel. You can do quite a few things when you're flying that will substantially reduce the risk of getting sick on a plane.
How to avoid getting sick on a plane
Dan and I do as much as we can to stay healthy, both at home and abroad. To be honest, most of the things we do to protect ourselves are plain old common sense - and you probably already do them - but there are a few extra tips we've picked up along the way that are specific to air travel. So rather than keep them to ourselves, here are some favorite tips for healthy flying along with some helpful article and product links for your convenience.
I hope you find this article helpful. Let us know if you do!
TIP: To avoid any possible confusion, we have linked to the products we use ourselves. All the product links are to Amazon.com - which means all are affordable and Prime eligible. If you use one our links to make a purchase, Amazon will thank us with a few pennies from their profit. We sure will appreciate that ... running a website can be expensive.
1. Strengthen your immune system ahead of time.
The best way to strengthen an immune system is to increase gut flora. For this reason, for the three days preceding long flights, we both mega-dose on high-quality, vegetarian probiotic capsules.
The week before we fly, we also increase our intake of fermented products like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut. We don't eat any of them on the last day, though, because they can occasionally create excess belly gas. Internal gas can be extremely painful at high altitudes. Besides, we don't want to offend our seatmates by reducing the *ahem* "local air quality" ... if you get my meaning.
2. Stay hydrated.
Drink plenty of water before you get on the plane and limit your caffeine. (Don't forget to use the bathroom before you board!) Once aloft, stick to juice or bottled water (see tip #5) and go easy on the alcohol because it can be dehydrating. Definitely skip the carbonated beverages because those bubbles can cause intense belly pain with the lower cabin pressure at high altitudes.
Wine? Your call. We'll confess that we indulge a bit because we like like to enjoy it with our meals ... though to be honest their vintages rarely warrant a second glass.
Tip: Bring an empty, disposable water bottle to the airport and fill it with water from a drinking fountain after you pass through security. Unless they screen you at the gate, you are permitted to carry it on board.
3. Drink bottled water.
Are you planning to drink the tap water on board a plane? If so, you might want to read this article from the Wall Street Journal before you do. Trust me on this: If you want to stay healthy, don't risk your trip by drinking anything made with the water from on board - including coffee or hot tea - and never brush your teeth with the tap water. Better safe than sorry.
Tip: If your destination's water quality will be questionable, you might want to consider investing in the portable LifeStraw personal water filter bottle.
4. Bring antibacterial wipes.
The air in a plane may be cleaned regularly, but you can't say the same about the seats or seat pockets. We have seen women change their babies on the same drop-down tables that later hold their meal trays, and then not wash their hands. Ewwww!
Get some good antibacterial wipes
Tip: Keep them handy so you can sanitize your hands again after returning to your seat from the lavatory.
5. And speaking of the lavatory, wear shoes when you go.
Floors in airplane bathrooms will often be wet after a few hours in flight. Besides the fact that it's not fun to wear wet socks back to your seat, can you be sure that the wet stuff on the floor is only water?
I'm just saying.
6. Relax.
Stress plays havoc on the body. Relaxation is healing. Do what you enjoy while in flight. Read a book or magazine, nap, listen to some music or enjoy the on-board entertainment.
Me? As a book lover, my Kindle Oasis is a lifesaver. It saves a TON of weight and space, when compared to physical books, so I can carry a library with me everywhere I go. You'll find it in my bag on every single trip, long or short. That way, when I tire of the on-board Bollywood movies, I can be sure I will always have something interesting to read.
Another thing: It was especially handy in Bali, where English-language books are hard to find.
Tip: You can download Amazon's Kindle app to most laptops, tablets and mobile phones. (Get it here, FREE.)
7. Rest.
Good old "R&R" (rest and relaxation) is healing. If you are changing coasts or continents, make an effort to eat and sleep according to your new time zone while in flight. That nebulous neither-here-nor-there time in fight is the perfect opportunity to adjust your body's clock and avoid jet lag, which is incredibly taxing on a body's defenses.
As further help with adjusting to the time difference, we also swear by No-Jet-Lag. It's an effective homeopathic medication that we take every two hours while in flight, and it helps a whole lot. (As an experiment, we skipped it once on a transAtlantic flight ... and felt horrible for days. Ugh. We'll never be caught without it again.)
8. Keep the blanket and pillow away from your face.
A 2007 investigation by The Wall Street Journa l revealed that airlines cleaned their blankets every five to 30 days. But even if you get a freshly laundered one, keep in mind that blankets and pillows often end up on the floor, which is incredibly filthy.
As an alternative, layer your clothing for temperature comfort and use an inflatable neck pillow. ( Buy it here.) They don't take up much space in your carry-on bag and, I was surprised to discover, they are far more comfortable than the little pillows that the airlines provide.
9. Use your own headset.
Even the wrapped headsets that are distributed by the flight attendants are suspect. Seasoned travelers often bring their own. We travel light so we prefer to use earbuds, rather than bulky headsets. Not only are they smaller and far more comfortable, they provide much better sound than what you'll get on board. Plus, they make good earplugs.
Tip: Some older planes have dual-prong jacks that make stereo sound impossible with a single jack. Audio hack: Buy an inexpensive 2-prong adapter that is specially designed for those airplane audio jacks.
10. Move.
Get up and walk around the cabin - it will help to keep your circulation going as often as you can. Being seated for a long time may increase the risk of developing blood clots in the veins in your legs (known as deep vein thrombosis or DVT), which can be life threatening.
Dan developed DVT when we flew to Indonesia and couldn't walk far for weeks. Don't let that happen to you.
Tip: Many people take aspirin before flying,but if you're prone to blood clots, you should check with your physician first.
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Written by Linda
Linda is multilingual and has been to over 50 countries She has an insatiable love of travel, cuisine, and foreign languages. Her goal is to make travel easier for others and to offer a brief escape to another land.
