Health - Wellness
The One Place To Avoid On An Airplane If You Want To
Stay Healthy
By GABRIELLE GAYAGOY GONZALEZ
If you plan to fly soon, be sure to stick with the shortest flight possible so that you can avoid the airplane's biggest germ hot spot: the bathroom. With no fewer than seven touchpoints that include the door, toilet, sink, and soap dispenser, getting in and out of such a tight space without picking up unwanted microbes requires vigilant hand washing and sanitizing.
If you can avoid the airplane's bathroom, that's a step in the right direction, but navigating the airports themselves can also be risky, too. "My concern has really been in the airports funneling people through hallways and jet ways and metal detectors," says Michael Mina, M.D., Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Respiratory viruses are most frequently found on the plastic trays at the security check, so be sure to wash or sanitize your hands immediately after handling. Other airport hot spots include payment terminals, staircase railings, passport checking counters, play areas, and the air.