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The belief that airplane air has lots of germs
Will
Airplane Air Make Me Sick?
No,
says our expert. But proximity to the other passengers very well might.
.
The
health risk with airplane travel isn't the recirculated air. It's the people
sitting next to you. That's because when people cough and sneeze, the droplets
can travel 3 to 6 feet in any direction. Double sure to wash your hands, especially
before you eat. Bacteria and viruses can live for hours -- and in some cases,
days -- on inanimate objects.
By
Susan Davis
FROM THE WEBMD ARCHIVES
In every issue of WebMD the Magazine, we ask
experts to answer readers' questions about a wide range of topics, including
some of the oldest and most cherished medical myths out there. For our May 2011
issue, we asked David Freedman, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at
the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a board member of the International
Society of Travel Medicine, about the widespread belief that airplane air has
lots of germs.
Q: Is it a myth
that airplane air can make people sick?
A: Lots of people
believe this, but it's actually FALSE.
Here's why: Airplane
cabins come equipped with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters that
are as good "as those found in isolation units in hospitals,"
Freedman says.
"And viruses and
bacteria are big enough that they are trapped in those filters."
The health risk with
airplane travel, Freedman says, "isn't the recirculated air. It's the
people sitting next to you."
That's because when people cough and sneeze,
the droplets can travel 3 to 6 feet in any direction.
What to do? Try to move your seat if you
discover that someone sitting near you is sick.
Of course, all those germ-laden droplets also
land on trays, window shades, seats, and surfaces in the bathroom.
So be double sure to
wash your hands, "especially before you eat," Freedman
advises.
"Bacteria and viruses can live for hours -- and in some cases, days -- on inanimate objects."
WebMD Magazine - Feature Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
Susan
Davis
Freelance journalist Susan Davis specializes in writing about health, fitness, and family issues. Her work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Men's Fitness, and Parenting. She is the author of 365 Activities You and Your Baby Will Love and the co-author of Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural and Cultural History of a Misunderstood Creature. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two children.
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/will-airplane-air-make-me-sick
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