From sitting in the window seat to wiping down the armrest – how to avoid catching a cold from a plane
IT can be difficult to stay healthy when travelling by plane due to dirty cabins and sick passengers.
From where to sit to what you do during the journey, we reveal how you can stay healthy next time you fly.
Choose a window seat away from the toilet
Window seats mean you are not as close to other passengers than in the aisle seats, which sees more people walk past.
Vicki Stover Hertzberg of Emory University in Atlanta advises: "Get in that window seat and don't move."
The toilet is also going to have high footfall from passengers, meaning more people to get sick from.
Staying away from the bathroom can reduce your risk of infectious travellers walking past.
Wipe down the tray, armrests and seatbelt
Tests conducted on the tray table, armrests and seatbelt have previously revealed some horrifying dirt left behind.
A company called Marketplace swabbed five spots on 19 short-haul flights - the seatbelt, tray table, headrest, seat pocket and washroom handle.
Half the surfaces that were tested had high levels of bacteria, yeast or mould that would put a person at risk of serious infection.
Using antibacterial spray or wipes is advised - something which Naomi Campbell has explained she does when she boards flights.
Turn on the air vent to "move" airborne bugs away
Experts have explained how the force of the air vent can help keep bacteria in the air away.
Directing the nozzle on the face and hands can keep away small germs which linger in the air.
Dr. Mark Gendreau — the medical director and vice chair of emergency medicine at Lahey Medical Center-Peabody, and an expert on the spread of infectious diseases previously told Travel + Leisure that air is filtered every up to "30 times every hour" but this can leave some airborne infections.
He added: "As a rule of thumb, the air that you’re typically breathing and exposed to is usually anywhere from two to five rows surrounding your seat."
The air can push the bacteria to the floor of the plane, stopping passengers from breathing it in.
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One passenger was left horrified by the amount of grime left on the plane seat after using a wipe to clean it.
Flight attendants have warned passengers to wash their hands after using the seat pockets, as items like dirty tissues and gum are put inside them.
A man was shamed online after putting his dirty, bare feet on the plane in-flight entertainment screen.