Back in the 90s, a second-grade teacher from California named Victoria Knight-McDowell got sick of getting sick. So she developed an herbal supplement full of immune-supportive ingredients like zinc, selenium, and ginger. She called it Airborne, and the supplement’s packaging shows an air traveler anxiously eyeballing his fellow passengers, suggesting he fears flying germs.

Air travel can be a germaphobe’s nightmare - crowds of coughing and sniffling strangers, all of those surfaces to touch, public restrooms, and the shared space of an airplane’s cabin. But during cold and flu season, and especially these days with pandemic flu concerns, we all need to be extra cautious as we take to the skies.

But is an airplane actually a germ trap?

via Medbroadcast: An airplane may feel like a germ-trap. You’re stuck inside of a tube with hundreds of strangers for hours at a time, some coughing and sneezing. You may have little control over your seating situation and worry that you’ll catch something “in the air.” But you can breathe a sigh of relief. The re-circulated air inside of an airplane passes through a high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter before it comes into the cabin, minimizing passengers’ exposure to potential pathogens.

While the air up there is quite clean, you can still take precautions to keep yourself healthy while travelling. Here are some tips:

- Air travel during cold and flu season
- The reasons you might need to visit a travel clinic
- How to be a fit flyer
- How to have a healthy hotel stay
- What to pack in your travel wellness stash