CNN Health interviewed Dr. Mark Gendreau, a senior staff physician at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, who offers five simple things we can all do to avoid getting sick while traveling: 

1. Sit toward the front of the airplane

“Pick a seat near the front, since ventilation systems on most commercial aircraft provide better air flow in the front of the aircraft,” Gendreau advised. If you can afford it, sit in first class, where people aren’t so squished together.

2. Don’t drink coffee or tea on an airplane

Monitoring by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that water in airplanes’ water tanks isn’t always clean — and coffee and tea are usually made from that water, not from bottled water, according to Victoria Day, a spokeswoman for the Air Transport Association.

The EPA advises anyone with a suppressed immune system or anyone who’s “concerned” about bacteria to refrain from drinking coffee or tea on an airplane.

“While boiling water for one minute will remove pathogens from drinking water, the water used to prepare coffee and tea aboard a plane is not generally brought to a sufficiently high temperature to guarantee that pathogens are killed,” according to the EPA’s Web site.

According to the EPA, out of 7,812 water samples taken from 2,316 aircraft, 2.8 percent were positive for coliform bacteria. Although that sounds like a small number, this means 222 samples contained coliform bacteria.

3. Sanitize your hands after leaving an airplane bathroom

A toilet on an airplane “is among the germiest that you will encounter almost anywhere,” said Charles Gerba, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona who’s also known as “Dr. Germ.”

“You have 50 people per toilet, unless you are flying a discount airline; then it is 75,” Gerba said. “We always find E. coli on surfaces in airplane restrooms.”

You should wash your hands after using the restroom, but because the water itself might have harmful bacteria (see No. 2 above) and because the door handle on your way out has been touched by all those who went before you, Gendreau also advises sanitizing your hands when you return to your seat.

4. Wash or sanitize your hands after getting off an escalator

Gendreau says tests show that escalators in airports are full of germs. To confirm these tests, here’s a fun activity while you wait for your flight this Thanksgiving: Look at your watch, and count how many people get an escalator in a five-minute time period. Multiply that by 12, and you have how many people are on that escalator every hour. High-volume handrails are why Gendreau sanitizes his hands as soon as he can after he exits an escalator.

5. Wash or sanitize your hands after using an ATM

Gendreau says ATMs, especially in busy places like airports, are full of germs. As with escalators, he sanitizes ASAP after using one. 

Gendreau says that keeping healthy while traveling can be summed up in six words: “hand hygiene, hand hygiene, hand hygiene.”

Keeping your hands clean is crucial, he says, when you’re spending the day touching surfaces that have been touched by hundreds or thousands of people before you. 

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Scientific American recently ran a ” 60 Second Psych” podcast about cyberchondria, the obsessive fear that can arise from using “Dr. Google” to diagnose your illness from a few simple symptoms. Click here to check it out.

An alternate tool available to the Wesleyan community is the Self Care Guide. This guide was developed by the American Institute for Preventative Medicine and allows you to use logic trees to determine what is the best course of action based on your symptoms.  It can be found on both the Health Services and WesWELL websites; look for the Self Care Guide link.

Despite your best efforts to remain in good health, you are bound to get sick at some point. You are human, after all. When that dark day does come, some people stay in bed. Others, however, attempt to train anyway, which begs the question – is it okay to train while you are sick?

The first consideration should be courtesy and public safety. If you belong to a public gym, it would probably be a good idea not to work out, as you are putting your unknowing fellow patrons at risk of getting sick. Courtesy and safety aside, you must assess yourself – where are your symptoms located? If they are above the neck – runny nose, sinus problems, sore throat, etc. Then, exercising may prove beneficial, as it can clear the sinuses and increase blood circulation.

If your symptoms are below the neck – body aching, diarrhea or nausea for example, stay in bed. Symptoms below the neck can indicate a nastier virus – like the flu – which is hard on the immune system. You should never exercise if you have an infection. The addition of exercise makes it worse, as your body needs to use the energy to fight the infection.

Also be mindful of your temperature. If you have a fever, the above the neck rules are null and void – do not train. Your temperature is already elevated due to having the fever, and exercising will only raise it more. Not good.

Remember to exercise caution and courtesy when you are sick. You don’t want to make your situation worse, nor do you want to take anyone else of the action.

Millions of Americans took the advice to get a flu shot this season, but many are still becoming infected with the flu. This flu season is lasting longer than initially expected and has introduced unforeseen new strains of the virus, making other flu prevention steps even more important. Today, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and The Clorox Company launched the inFLUenza Resource Center, an online resource with tips and tools needed to help protect families and help prevent the spread of the flu virus.

“While it is important to get vaccinated to protect yourself from contracting influenza, there are many common sense actions you can take to help protect your family and help prevent the spread of the flu virus,” stated Shelley Ludwick, Clinical Director of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America. “Our new inFLUenza Resource Center includes easy tips to help you protect your family.”

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Visit WesWELL’s Cold & Flu Prevention website.
Check out the online Self Care Guide for treatment suggestions.

Scientists may have found a chink in the armor of the flu virus. Their discovery may lead to new flu treatments.

Researchers today reported that in winter, even the flu virus wears a coat, and it’s a coat that helps the virus spread through the air. Tinkering with that coat might disarm the flu virus.

“Now that we understand how the flu virus protects itself so that it can spread form person to person, we can work on ways to interfere with that protective mechanism,” Duane Alexander, MD, director of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, says in a news release.

Here’s a quick look at the new findings on the influenza virus.

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