It’s the intelligent traveler who always keeps their health in mind when they’re in transit. On the road and in the sky, bacteria and infection are around every corner (and on every surface). Health is such a concern, in fact, that the world’s largest and most prestigious science competition just awarded a $75,000 grand prize to Raymond Wang, a 17-year-old who just invented “fin-shaped devices that fit into [an] airplane’s existing air inlets” redirecting the flow of air throughout the plane and considerably diminishing the spread of germs. It’s a revolutionary device that may not only help you stay healthy when you’re in flight, but may help stem the spread of infectious disease from country to country. Of course, application of that technology is still a few years away. In the meantime, here are a few tips to help keep you healthy while flying.
1. Don’t Booze Before You Fly
When you’re traveling, dehydration is your enemy, and one of the biggest mistakes people make before getting on a plane is throwing back a little booze or burning one down. Drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana increase your body’s dehydration. When combined with the low humidity in most airplane cabins, your resistance to germs is lowered drastically. If you feel like a drink to calm your nerves, try some melatonin instead.
