Fact or Myth? Flying on an airplane will increase your risk of catching a cold or the flu.
Answer: Fact
Riding on an airplane may increase your flu risk, but it's not clear if it makes it any higher than do other crowded areas.
"I think anytime that you are in a crowd of people, the risk that you might catch a cold or catch the flu is increased. We tend to catch these illnesses from other people. And so when you're in a crowd, the likelihood that you'll come in contact with somebody who's infected naturally goes up," said Dr. Ronald Turner, a pediatrician at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
Flu risk may be particularly elevated in these situations, because it is spread by germs in the air.
"Influenza ... is spread by aerosols, which is when the virus gets into the air. And so, when you're in a crowd with somebody who has influenza, your risk of catching influenza does go up," Turner said.
Your greatest cold risk may not be from strangers in a crowd but from little ones close to you.
"The types of interactions that are associated with colds are more typically the types of interactions that we have with children, where the interaction is more direct and maybe less guarded. And those situations are the situations in which you're most likely to catch a cold," said Turner.
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