I have a cold. And while I can’t blame airline travel this time around, it reminds me that I meant to blog about the subject after my last trip.

We all worry about airplane air and sharing germs etc., but if we’ve learned anything from all the cruise-ship illnesses that have made the headlines, what you touch can be more important than what you breathe in. As an example, I made a comment lately to the receptionist in my doctor’s office that I worried that by sharing the waiting room, I might leave sicker than I came in, and she said that her biggest recommendation would be not to pick up one of the magazines from the tables or racks. That had never occurred to me before.

We could probably all be healthier when we traveled if we’d all wear gloves and face masks, but that’s a bit Michael Jackson-esque. Ditto using a tissue when we handle anything. We’d all rather get a little sick than be thought a lot weird, when it comes right down to it.

A study reported in the Journal of Environmental Health Research said that you are 100 times as likely to catch a cold on an airplane as you are in your normal everyday life (of course, they probably weren’t counting those of us for whom being on airplanes IS a part of everyday life).

The dry air in airplane cabins is actually as much of a culprit as any of your germy fellow travelers. It dries out our breathing passages, removing our natural defenses against inhaled germs. Staying hydrated, using nasal sprays (the plain saline kind), and ordering hot drinks (inhale the steam, if you can actually get anything hot enough on an airplane to be steamy) can all help a lot. You might even try putting a little menthol rub under your nose–it triggers the sniffles, which keeps your nose moist, and has the added advantage of blocking out other smells.

Airplanes themselves–at least the large commercial jets–aren’t really the culprits. Their air recycling systems really do filter bacteria and viruses. You’re most likely to catch something from a sneezer within a row or two of your seat. If someone sitting further away from you on the airplane is sick, you’re probably safe as long as you wash your hands and are careful about what you touch. Also, some experts say that turning up the air nozzle above your seat full blast will keep neighboring germs away.

If you wind up with a seatmate, however, who is coughing and sneezing nonstop, you’re probably out of luck unless you’re wearing a mask. Although there’s no documented “day-after” pill for colds exposure, drinking fluids and taking a lot of Vitamin C may help ward off a cold, or at least minimize the severity.

You won’t be able to blame me, though; I may be sneezing and coughing, but at least I’m not going to fly this week.

-Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer