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Nov 16, 2007 4:15 pm US/Mountain
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Watch The Stress, Say Medical Travel Specialists
Good Question: How do you keep from getting sick when you travel?
Often it seems like arriving at your destination after flying also means getting sick, but health experts say the chances of getting sick on a plane are not any greater than they are anywhere else. There are things travelers can do to avoid illnesses, however.
DENVER (CBS4) They come in by ones and twos at the clinic in the upper level of the terminal building at Denver International Airport; people looking for a flu shot. Or people who need help staying healthy enough to get where they're going.
"A lot of them just want to get home, get to bed," says RN Marcy Brack, the charge nurse at the clinic. "A lot of them you know are on business trips, they get sick during their business trips where they have to get somewhere."
Few people want to call off their travel. "Airline change fees aren't going down," says Dr. John Hammer of Rose Medical Center's Global Travel Clinic.
"I have a runny nose and a congested head," says one woman sitting at a table waiting for her flight back to California. There's a box of Sudafed in front of her. It's the third day of her cold. And she's one who's not hiding her illness.
"You don't know, who you're traveling with, who's on the plane with you, who's in line next to you," says Brack. The reality is planes are enclosed spaces. "So the risk of going to a diner in Nebraska is probably less than going to a nice, clean airport for instance," says Dr. Hammer.
"Just in line, going down the escalator. There's germs everywhere," says Brack. But neither medical expert finds any reason for worry bordering on paranoia. "Certainly we don't want people in isolation gear traveling," says Hammer. Do things that make sense.
Like a flu shot. Dr. Hammer points out that if you travel internationally, the flu is present year round in the middle latitudes and with the reversal of seasons in the Southern Hemisphere, our summer break is their winter flu season.
Also, it makes sense to have some alcohol-based sanitizer along. You can use it to clean the tray table on your flight if that makes you nervous.
Use it on your hands and practice good hand washing say the experts.
Dr. Hammer doesn't bother with supplements that make cold fighting claims. "I personally don't because there really aren't any good studies that show that those supplements in a good trial are any better than a sugar pill."
But he does suggest good eating. We often increase our junk intake on the road or in airports. He suggests taking along some fruit. Planes are dry and people don't often get the water they need. Drink plenty of water, says the doc.
And then there's the stress. Brack has seen it go up with the security regulations. It leaves everybody, "Very much in a rush. A lot of people are worried about missing their flights, getting to the gate in time if they can make it through security."
So take it easy if you can by being early, planning ahead. All that stuff you hear a lot of. But not usually when you're thinking about keeping from getting sick.
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