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We’ve all heard it before. Heck, most of us have convinced ourselves that it’s true. Airplane air makes you sick, right? It’s recirculated, it’s “stale,” and there’s that Airborne stuff to specifically protect you from it. It must make you sick. Well, that’s just another travel myth that isn’t quite true… |
In fact, you’re better off germ-wise with the air in most airplanes than you are in most office buildings:
‘The air is in fact quite healthy, because of the excellent cabin air filters,’ said Joe Lundquist, an air filtration expert with Pall Corp. He says state-of-the-art HEPA air filters can capture up to 99.9% of small bacteria and viruses — even SARS and bird flu virus. ‘We’ve gone through great studies to prove that they effectively remove the bacteria and viruses that people are so concerned about,’ he said. (From ABC News)
So, we can’t blame the airplane air. However, with cold and flu season approaching, you can come into close contact with other travelers who are under the weather, and when you’re traveling it’s easy to get tired, run-down, and dehydrated, so take care of yourself. Wash your hands, drink fluids, and do all of those things your doctor tells you to do when the temperatures drop and the sneezing and sniffling begin.
Update (Oct. 10): This topic seems to be a bit hotter than I anticipated, so I wanted to point out that there have been other studies conducted independently of the manufacturers that back up the information. Dr. Judith Reichman explored the topic further for MSNBC at the end of last year:
“The air is usually exchanged at a rate of 15 to 20 air changes per hour, (compared to 12 air changes per hour in a typical office building). As a matter of fact, in a recent report to the House Subcommittee on Aviation, experts stated that data from epidemiologic studies and microbiologic assays indicate that the risk of airborne infections currently appears to be very low. And an independent published research showed that the concentration of biological microorganisms in planes is lower than in an office building, an ordinary city street and on public buses or trains.”
Dr. Reichman goes on to point out that there are other factors that can lead to illness on a plane, and infectious disease specialist Dr. John Ross of Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center issues a similar statement:
“‘A lot of travelers blame recycled air,’ Dr. Ross explained that’s not really the problem. ‘Air quality on the plane while it’s flying is actually pretty good,’ he said. Most planes filter out germs and let some outside air in. Dr. Ross says the real problem is ‘your fellow passengers.’” (From WBZTV)
OK. I suppose I’ve added more fuel to the fire.
But, he implys that they _change_ the filters. I’ll bet with all of the deffered maintenance those filters are actually adding more nasties to the air than they remove.
Sure, you can buy and maintain a high quality air filtration system, but I would not count on the airlines to do so.
Comment by cheesecloth — October 9, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
Well, you’re regurgitating what a manufacturer of the equipment says without a shred of proof (what does 99.9% mean? Does the 0.1% of flu viruses getting through enough to infect me if all it takes is one?).
Another point of view, the one at http://www.afanet.org/legislative/aircraft_air_quality_61303.pdf , from another self-interested source (the flight attendants who have to breathe this stuff) takes a totally opposite view of the matter.
You might want to do a bit more research before doing a cutting and pasting!
Comment by hillrider — October 10, 2007 @ 1:31 am
I’ve read several recent articles that talk about the fact that the extreme dryness of the air (low humidity) are a challenge to the normal mucus production and expectoration that helps to keep germs out of your respiratory system. While aircraft air isn’t the only place where one can run into extreme low humidity, usually one runs into such low humidity outdoors relatively isolated from other people.
Comment by Ping Huang — October 11, 2007 @ 11:50 am
I learned many years ago the ’secret’ to staying healthy on a plane - ONLY breathe the plane’s air! I bring a jacket, crank up the air vent above me, aim it at my face, and create a “wall” of filtered air. Sure, my fellow seat mate might shiver a bit, but I have never gotten sick since using this method. (I used to get sick all the time from flying.)
Comment by JohnR — October 11, 2007 @ 11:56 am
Low humidity + VERY close quarters = increased risk of getting sick. Lower humidity in the plane means your mucosal surfaces will dry out and be less effective at trapping bacteria and viruses. This effect is even worse for those of us in tropical climates who are used to copious amounts of humidity year-round. Going from near 100% humidity down to 20% humidity is just harsh.
Close quarters should be an obvious one. Name one other place where so many people are crammed into such a small volume of air? Even a tight lecture hall has 2-3x the volume of air of an airplane, if not more.
Comment by Alex — October 14, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
These folks are worried about air quality too!
Comment by Silver Fox — October 21, 2007 @ 2:47 am
Oops! try this instead
Comment by Silver Fox — October 21, 2007 @ 2:49 am