Avoid Airplane Health Hazards
Condensed from You Docs, Mike Roizen & Mehmet Oz
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Here are a few ways to avoid some of the health hazards encountered aboard commercial aircraft.
- Avoid drinking any liquid on an airplane that doesn't come from a bottle or can. Unfortunately you cannot trust the water supply on board to be free of contaminants. Some airplane water supplies have tested to contain E. coli and other bacteria.
- Onboard toilets can spew germs, and inflight usage can create unsanitary conditions. Avoid WC surfaces, and don't wash your hands in the water; use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Blankets and pillows come in plastic wraps and give the impression they're newly dry-cleaned. Not necessarily. It's smarter to bring your own jacket or blanket for warmth. Travel pillows fit easily in carry-ons.
- Keep food off tray-table surfaces; they're rarely sanitized and serve as work stations for everything including baby-changing stations.
- Don't reach inside seat pockets where bacteria and viruses are feasting on last week's leftovers. If you do reach in to read the safety card or retrieve a magazine, use alcohol based hand sanitizer afterward.