WILL you be using air travel to reach your Christmas destination in the coming weeks? Then don’t become the one-in-five who fall sick after aircraft travel.
Being confined to a closed space with a high number of people makes you more likely to catch something.
Here are these top tips for protecting yourself on the flight.
1. Wash your hands before eating:
On a flight where you’ll have to get out of your seat periodically to queue up for the toilet. It’s easy to forget this, but washing your hands and avoiding contact with seats it’s the single most effective way to avoid getting ill.
2. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth or nose:
This might be easier said than done, but that’s how bugs are most likely to get from your armrest into your system.
3. Carry a hand-sanitiser gel:
This means that you don’t have to worry too much about washing your hands. Even if the seatbelt light is on and you’re stuck in your seat you can still make sure any bugs are eradicated before you start to eat.
However, try not to become obsessive as alcohol-based sanitisers can irritate the skin if over-used.
4. Use the overhead fans:
Some people switch them off because they don’t like the thought of the recycled air. But Professor Sally Bloomfield of the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene recommends them. You’ll be breathing in air directly from above rather than that of the people coughing or sneezing around you
5. Try and sit in a window seat:
Aisle seats have been shown to have a higher concentration of bugs because so many people touch them, either walking past, or getting in and out of the row.
6. Wipe down the tray table before eating:
You wouldn’t eat your dinner off a dirty table and it’s not a good idea to do it in a plane either.
7. Use a nasal spray:
Try sprays such as Boots Cold & Flu, Coldzyme, Prevalin or Vicks First Defence that block airborne viruses before they get a chance to infect you.
While the jury is still out on their effectiveness, Professor Bloomfield suggests that they can act as a prophylactic if used during the flight.
8. Remember to take CurraNZ religiously
Our blackcurrant extract is outstanding for improving immunity and protecting against viruses. Using CurraNZ to boost your body’s first line defences is a good strategy when exposed to bugs for long periods in aircrafts.
9. Use a handkerchief or tissue:
If you have a cold, make sure to cough or sneeze into a handkerchief or tissue. It might be too late for you, but the biggest responsibility for not spreading illnesses rests with those who’ve already caught them.
10. Don’t worry:
Although a few hours of stress in itself isn’t likely to lead you to catch a cold, it might stop you falling asleep. Eating and sleeping well is, on the plane as at home, another good way to keep yourself healthy.