Do you have any tips for flying?

Liquids need to be in mini bottles less than 3oz each, including toothpaste, and then all of those need to fit in a ziplock large sandwich bag. You can put as much as you want of that stuff in your checked bag.

Bring at least a change of underwear, an extra shirt to sleep in, a hair brush, and toothbrush, in case your checked bag gets lost.

Correction: they upped liquids to 3.4 ounces, which makes sense since many cosmetic products come in that size.

Make sure your wings are tightly attached to your arms.

Seriously…. being a book or something to read. Buy water at the airport and keep yourself hydrated, Planes can be very dry. Depending on the length of your flight, get up and walk around on the plane. Keep the blood flowing.

I recommend searching your specific airline’s standards. I recently travelled on Air Canada, and while most US airlines have an “X total inches” rule, Air Canada has specific restrictions on carryon proportions. I had such a hard time finding a bag I ended up just sewing a tote to their exacting requirements.

My friend, however, just trusted hers would be “good enough” and ended up paying to check a bag that would have flown no problem on Delta. Live and learn.

Apart from necessary luggage, bring some gums with you to chew when your ears gets messed up in the sky. You can also bring some warm clothes in case the temperature drops up there.

A doc I used to travel with advised me to drink more fluids than usual before long flights, take one baby aspirin just before takeoff and apply triple antibiotic ointment (NOT Neosporin!) up my nose, especially in winter.

Rationalization:
We traveled a lot, quite often in unfavorable weather conditions. We were on tight schedules and could not afford to get sick.

On long flights you can be immobile for many hours in a highly oxygenated environment. This is a recipe for blood clots which can quickly an silently travel (embolism) to the heart (myocardial infarction), lungs (pulmonary shutdown), or brain (stroke), even in healthy young people. An embolism in any of these organs can quickly become fatal. This happens in the air more than you think. There is not much they can do for you at 35,000 feet. Hydration and one 81mg baby aspirin lower the risk of clotting.

Often we would board a packed plane full of coughing sniveling people. An airplane’s fuselage is a closed environment. The air in most planes, although filtered and supplemented with oxygen, is recycled throughout the flight. It is a perfect environment to catch whatever is spat into the air by your fellow passengers. A thin coating of triple antibiotic ointment inside the nasal passage will help prevent many germs and viruses from entering the mucous membranes on the surface of the nasal passage.

It worked for me. Before I started doing this, I was constantly catching colds when traveling.

If it’s a long, crowded or overnight flight, ask your doctor for a few alprazolam (unless you already have a prescription). A flight, transatlantic may be quite continental; But xanax is a girl’s best friend.

I’m not being cute about this, honestly. The sickest I’ve ever felt was after a 9 hr redeye to a 7-hr different time zone with no good sleep. Xanax makes all the difference.

I take an aspirin for flights and for long drives.

I don’t worry about getting dehydrated, because they bring you drinks. If I’m thirsty while waiting in the airport I go ahead and buy a drink though. If you’re actually feeling thirsty don’t wait. Remember you cannot get through security with a drink.

@Espiritus_Corvus I also use mupiricin ointment nasally before flights (leftover from pre-surgical prescription) and load up on zinc and Vitamin C.

Nothing. Don’t have a carry-on. Laugh when all the mindless business feebs struggle for their luggage as the plane lands. Meanwhile, you’re slipping past the mob to the door to be the first one to get your luggage at the carousel.

On Japan Airlines they give you a paper mask to wear. It helps to keep the tissues in the nose moist. I don’t see why you would use antibiotic ointment? If you use ointment you could just use good old fashioned petroleum jelly. Personally, I find Las Vegas more drying than airplanes. I don’t worry about dryness for a flight that is less than 4 hours.

flap real hard.

@JLeslie I’m not sure that a paper mask does anything more than make you feel separated. A true protective mask is specially fitted to you and tested for air leaks. Airborne contagions aren’t deterred by a generic filter which only has a grip on the the top of the nose.

However, you very well might be correct in saying any petroleum jelly, applied to the nostrils with a cotton swab, could be helpful.

Thanks guys! My friend just is flying out to Virginia tomorrow night, and is nervous about it, since he’s never left Alaska/been on an airplane. I will pass your advice on to him :)

@Blueroses The paper mask is to help with the dryness, I didn’t say anything about catching germs. The moistness from your own breath helps protect against the dry air. Maybe it helps with germs? I don’t know. I only used it while sleeping, so the rest of the flight I was exposed to all the germs. I wasn’t counting on it protecting me from germs.

“No capes”

But seriously, i’m terrified of flying, well, crashing would be more accurate & as such, can’t give any worthwhile advice.

There’s the whole debate of “to recline or not to recline” which is an ongoing issue with cramped legroom, etc. They were discussing it on the radio today. Is reclining a right or a privilege?

I almost never recline when flying coach, which is what I usually fly.

I find a window seat is usually less boring.

@JLeslie You are right to a point. Petroleum jelly will seal off the mucous membranes from germs and viruses, but in the process will also store them live and in concentration. Blowing or rinsing out the nasal passage later will release them—into your mucous membranes. You need an ointment that will kill the germs upon contact.

As to hydration: you begin hydration hours before the flight, not during. It takes your body time to disperse the liquid where it does the most good; in the muscles (including the heart muscle) and between the layers of fat under the skin (storage for continuous use). Water is the absolute best hydration liquid. Many sodas, especially those with caffiene, tea and coffee work as diuretics, so your net hydration with these is often zero or less. Sugars thicken the blood. Alchohol dehydrates.

During sterile procedures we were required to wear paper surgical masks. We were also required to change them every fifteen minutes because that is about the time they become ineffective for filtering out germs. Once the mask reaches a certain level of saturation from the atomized moisture of your breath, they no longer work. This was common surgical protocol put into place by the recommendation of the manufacturers and the FDA.

Im with @Apparently_Im_The_Grumpy_One on this. I stopped travelling with carry-on bags years ago. Before 911, I sometimes carried a comb, small folding toothbrush, and a small tube of toothpaste in my pocket on long flights. After 911, I travel with nothing. Anything I need, I buy at the other end, including one change of clothes if they lose my checked baggage. When traveling, cash is king, easy to carry and easy to keep track of.

Again, I’m not talking about germs.

My guess is that you will be after using petroleum jelly.

I don’t get it. I use petroleum jelly when my nose is sore and dry from blowing my nose a hundred times during a cold. One night with a little Vaseline and almost completely healed. For dryness it’s great. I don’t get that dry on a plane though. One day in Vegas and I get a nose bleed from the dryness, it doesn’t happen to me anywhere else. I fly probably 5 round trips a year on average. More than the average person I think.

I care about germs so I usually don’t touch the magazines in the back of the seat, although I sometimes break that rule, and I try not to touch my face.

I can only think of one time I got sick a day after flying that maybe I can blame the flight.

I actually have some bad genes for DVT so I care about being hydrated regarding serious health risks. Like I said, I drink before the flight, I take an aspirin, I try to stand up every 2 hours or less. I pick the aisle seat to make it easier and try to get extra leg room if the flight is long.

@JLeslie I think the confusion about moisture vs germs came from this part of your comment ” I don’t see why you would use antibiotic ointment?”

But, speaking of leg room and comfort on budget flights, volunteer for the emergency exit row. It’s much more spacious and the TV screen folds down under your seat if you don’t need it.

A lot of airlines charge extra for emergency exits now. Back in the day they were free and I say there 80% of the time.

About the antibiotic ointment, my comment was there, because is that recommendation supposed to prevent getting sick? Maybe, maybe it helps with a bacterial infection, but I can’t see it doing anything more than Vaseline for preventing colds. I think viruses tend to be more contagious. Things like colds, flu, stomach 24 hour flu, measles, those circulate like crazy if they are in the plane.