I know Halloween is coming up, but I'm not taking about that kind of mask--I'm talking about the paper ones that were in a dispenser outside the waiting room at my doctor's office when I went for my yearly physical the other day. There was a sign next to it asking anyone who was sick to please wear the mask.

It got me thinking--I haven't been sick at all in years, but the last time I was sick I'm almost sure I caught "the bug" on an airplane. Let's face it--they're a breeding ground for germs. I'm going to be flying next week and I'm seriously considering wearing one of the paper masks I took with this intention.

I know when I was in Japan I saw people wearing these in public places, and even though I don't often see that here, I'd rather look a bit weird (don't worry, I won't mention the word "Fodor's" to anyone I might meet ) than to get sick. I guess the question is--will wearing a paper mask really help in staying healthy? It's a long flight and I'll probably have to at least drink some water, so will that just defeat the purpose?



I posted this in the Lounge already, but thought I'd ask here as well.

I think those masks are more for the purpose of not spreading the germs that you already have. A lot of people don't cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. Sometimes the sneezes come unexpectedly - the mask will catch those, the ones the hand can't catch.

I've seen masks in amenity kits in first class on Japanese airlines. Their purpose is to catch moisture that you exhale so that it can be breathed back in. This is to combat the low humidity on the plane which would tend to dry your sinuses.

If you want to look stupid to the flight crews then wear one. Seriously, last week from Rome I had two wearing them and between wearing the mask and purelling everything-we thought they were over the edge! If anyone is going to come down with something-its the flight crews!

I really do think that you are over reacting. When you think of the number of people flying and the number of instances of illness.

Masks work best when worn by the people who are sick, rather than by people who are healthy. It's easier to limit germ movement as germs are exhaled than it is to prevent them from being inhaled once they've spread around everywhere.

However, airplanes are not a "breeding ground for germs." Most of the air aboard comes from outside and contains no germs. The recirculated air goes through hospital-grade HEPA filters which, if maintained, remove just about all pathogens. And the circulation pattern in most modern airliners is largely vertical, so unless you're within a couple seats of someone who is sick and actively shedding germs, you won't be infected with anything.

One proof of this came a few years ago in a case where a woman with actively contagious TB (a <i>very</i> contagious illness) took a trip aboard an airplane. Only people sitting within a few seats of her were at risk, and I don't know if any of them actually tested positive. If that's the only risk for TB, then the risk for other diseases is even lower.

When you get sick abroad, it's usually either the stress of travel and changes in water and food and sleep patterns, or it's exposure to unfamiliar germs among the locals (there are more than 100 viruses that cause the common cold, and their distribution varies with regions, so the cold germs you meet at home might not be the ones you meet abroad).

Cheap paper masks work for about 30 minutes - then become ineffecgtive as they get wet from moisture in breath

They work to keep your germs to you - not others germs FROM you - so do not wear a mask and get everyone else on the plane to wear one and you will be safer.

If you put a comparable number of people in the same space, plane, auditorium, etc - you would have the same risk of getting sick.

Smae goes for peole who insis they caught a cold from the influenza shot - it was sitting in the room waiting at the flu clinic with all those people that got you a cold, not the shot.

That said, as you as you are clothed, wear whatever you want on a plane.

Some of the microbial baddies also travel through the ventilation system, not just from seatmate to seatmate.

Other source of bad bugs is surfaces touched with hand and then transferred to mucous membrances (mouth/nose) by ones own hand. Talking about handrails, bathroom surfaces - that type of thing. Different bugs have different amounts of time they can stay alive on a hard surface.

So perhaps plastic gloves for travel are also in order.

Picture it - we now have machines that can see us naked as security screening. So forget the clothing and just wear a face mask and latex gloves. And don't forget to remove your shoes for the TSA.

At least on an airplane, germs generally travel from one person to another directly, not through the ventilation system.

Thanks all for the feedback. I'll probably stick to the usual gameplan--tons of airborn before and after flying.

Gail, very good, LOL!

2 things:

1. does airborne work? I am tempted to try it, but don't want to waste $

2. most germs are microscopic, and those paper masks won't stop anything that small

Most flight attendants use airborne when around passengers sneezing alot;coughing or in general looking/acting sick. We swear by it-grapefruit and lemon/lime are my favs!

As unlikely as it seems, Airborne seems to work for me as well, although I think a lot of its effect (if any) comes from the vitamin C it contains. It does seem to reduce or prevent cold symptoms. If I take it at the first sniffle, the sniffle goes away.

I must live under a rock. I fly a lot and I've never heard of Airborn. Details please....

Airborne is a homeopathic substance advertised as invented by a school teacher to prevent colds/halt their onset. Anectdotal evidence supports its effectiveness although objective research supporting this is scarce. It is widely available in chain pharmacies and also in health food type stores.

Since one is likely exposed to cold viruses every day, most being fought off by our own immune systems, actually getting cold symptoms is difficult to research. Much has to do with whether or not an individual has been exposed to that particular virus variant before - so if you were to attempt to infect 100 people with the same virus, each persons individual experience with that virus would effect whether or not they became symptomatic.

I'm a believer too, but as someone pointed out, they might work because they contain 1000mg vitimin C, so taking that quantity may serve the same purpose.

Airborne Ingredients:
Herbal Extract Proprietary Blend 350mg
Maltodextrin, Lonicera (floer), Forsythia (fruit), Schizonepeta (aboveground parts), Ginger (dried rhizome), Chinese Vitex (fruit), Isatis (root), Exhinacea (aboveground parts)
Amino Acid Blend 50 mg
Glutamine (as L-Glutamine), Lysine (as L-Lysine HCI)

Calories 5
Vita A 5000IU
Vitamin C 1000mg
Vitamine E 30 IU
Magnesium 40 mg
Zinc 8 mg
Selenium 15mcg
Manganese 3 mg
Sodium 230 mg
Potassium 75 mg

It comes in several flavors and even has gone from the fizzy tablet form to gummi chews for kids. The price is usually anywhere from $5.99 (at Trader Joes or Walmart) to about $7.49 at Walgreens.
The fizzy table disolved in water is very similar to what they sell in Germany for vitamin C pills to cold relief. Don't leave home without them!

Thanks for the details about Airborne. I only get to the US once or twice a year, so I'd never heard of it. I'm not a member of the Purell club and I very seldom get sick, so guess I'm doing fine without pharmaceutical or anti bacterial intervention.

I'm not a member of the Purell club either, nor do we take antibiotics very often, if at all. I attribute my family's good health to that.

momliz - I'm with you. There is growing evidence that our &quot;overcleaning&quot; of everything is the major contributor to alarming increase in allergies to everything.