to bring disinfectant wipes for the next plane journey I go on?

[clicknclack]

Apparently a guy swabbed 6 tray tables and on 4 of them found MRSA and Norovirus. Travellers report seeing people pick their noses and wipe snot on seats/tray tables. People vomit on their seat and surroundings and parents change nappies on tray tables.

Feeling kind of grossed out now.

Note to self, do not read about such things before traveling.

God people are SO obsessed with germs where does the fear come from? I suspect all the wiping makes little difference tbh. I mean, the buggers are everywhere!

Worst plane experience ever was flying back from India. The majority of the plane seemed to be bringing back Dehli belly. Towards the end of the flight there was no loo paper in any of the plane's toilets and the sink in the nearest loo to my seat was full/blocked with vomit. Thank goodness for unlimited supplies of gin to knock me out. Forget free blankets-we needed plastic decontamination suits as standard issue.

I pissed off my PiL when I insisted they shower and change their clothes before coming near the newborn baby.

WTF???

I'm obviously a bit grim 'cause I read about all this wiping and clothes changing and think who could be arsed to do that. Fair play if you can but I've been on zillions of planes, never wiped a single surface and am still alive...

i'm also baffled as to where this fear of germs has come from. I am extremely lax in most aspects of hygiene and food safety and am never ill.

I would be interested in seeing if there is any correlation between hygiene levels and illness - do the people who are constantly cleaning things and never eat out of date food etc have more or less episodes of illness than those who are more relaxed?

Most things that come into contact with the public are filthy - money, door handles and keyboards (cash machines!) being some of the worst because they aren't cleaned as often as some of the things that people seem to worry about a lot more like toilets.

It must be very wearing to be constantly on the lookout and be protecting oneself against germs.

Most dangerous thing is the air conditioning. Spray first defence or sth similar just inside your nostrils (not high as it hurts) and blow nose when u get off plane. And suck throat sweets. The freezong air con on trains is v dangerous to, both cos of viruses and bacteria and cos u go in summer clothes from warm platform into a train the temp of a fridge
I have a friend who is an air con salesman in Spain and he refuses to have air con at home or to go on metro cos he knows how crazily dangerous to health air con is. He's only staying in the job cos there are no other jobs going.

I suspect the huge rise in allergies is due to anti-bacterial wipes and neuroses.

Yep, I've no doubt you are right.
I can't worry about it - germs are everywhere

I once watched a woman in seats opposite me on eurostar get out antibac wipes to clean table, chairs and then the window too before letting her kids sit down. Maybe she had a good point, although window still seems a bit strange.

Ughhhh I'm at the airport.

Every time we fly now, I wipe down the tables, seat backs and arm rests. Then I look at the wipes which are black with filth! Yuk. I'm very paranoid though as my DD is on chemo and has a low immune system, always a risk taking her on a plane. But can't be much worse than school germs

I'm not paranoid of germs and I know that other public places and heck yeah money are really germy. I've flown plenty and never got MRSA or food poisoning on a plane. I'm not a clean freak but I am grossed out by using a table that quite possibly has poop, snot and vomit on it. I clean my kitchen table regularly, not sure how this is much different. I don't buy antibacterial products generally, I don't wipe down shopping trolleys (but wash my hands when I get home)

If I'm at a restaurant I wash my hands before eating, it is harder to do so on a plane with one toilet per gazillion people. I think wipes are a good compromise. Seems like opinion is split on that.

I have always taken some on planes, trains, and coaches. Basic travelling kit.

If you were to swab most surfaces you'd find a lot of bacteria (phones being worse than a loo). Try to remember that most people have a fully functioning immune system which protects them. Think of the number of flights, train and bus journeys that you've been on that you survived.

Luckily we have amazing immune systems which can deal with a lot! I'm feelings bit queasy after reading this thread, I do sometimes wonder how clean buses and trains etc are - probably not very!! A friend of my niece has worked as a chamber maid in a very posh , expensive hotel, 5*. She said that the same cloth is used to clean everything in the rooms, bath,basin, loo, toothmugs, bedroom furniture and the cups and glasses on the hospitality tray. She said do not ever make yourself a drink in the cups provided in a hotel room! So adding the vile planes and unhygienic hotel practices together it's quite amazing that anybody survives a holiday without getting a raging dose of something.

there could have been pop anywhere youve sat though not just on a palne

how do u live like that wiping everything and not touching handles

sometimes i wish it was the 70's again all this ott germ nonsense drives me mad

better not touch that mag in the back of the seat either dont know where its been

Bacteria are very where and you cast go around wiping the whole world with disinfectant wipes. There are literally billions of bacteria living on your own skin. A person with a normal immune defence does not need to be paranoid and take extreme precautions, our immune defence fights of most bacteria. The most effective thing you can do to avoid catching infections is to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, and always before you eat, and otherwise go about your life without worrying about bacteria. Don't be so American ; )

YABU. It's only germs. You won't die.

Don't be so American ; )

Haha I am one, I'm a dual national.

So if you knew your kitchen table had poop on it, you wouldn't wipe it before eating? You pretty much know this tray has something on it, I don't see why wanting to wipe gross stuff off makes you paranoid.

The thing is that a newborn doesn't have much of an immune system so germs can, and sadly sometimes do kill.

As an emetophobe planes are a nightmare (more due to being trapped in a confined space with a vomiting person than germs. I have quite a strong immune system and rarely have sickness bugs) and this thread confirms my fears.... kept on a plane for 2 hours due to ill people and having to wade through vomit

Haha, clicknclack, therein lies the root of your germophibia! ; ) come over to our European (oops, British, God, do we have to change our vocal post-Brexit? ;)) ways, and roll a bit around in the dirt, won't do you any harm : ) there's bacteria everywhere, and in fact we need a certain amount to keep healthy! If you're too protected, you don't build a normal immune defence. Of course, if I knew there was poo on my kitchen table I'd wipe it, but I bet there has been equally gross things on many a surface I and my DD have touched, and we're still fine : )

Mumtogremlins yes I've just read through here thinking do any of you have children who've been to nursery or primary school because they are full of germs! There have been similar tests on supermarket trolley handles. I've had the odd cold after flying and I think the recirculating air was most likely responsible, or maybe just coincidence it's impossible to know. The marketing people are raking it in for anti-bac wipes, gels and the like, now you can buy anti-bac liquid to put in with your washing powder to make up for washing at low temperatures.

You can't avoid touching germs, they are everywhere. I think the advice to wash hands properly with soap and water and don't put your fingers in your mouth is fairly sensible.

Concern for immune compromised travellers understandable

London, again, not a germaphobe more a grossaphobe, if you saw my house you'd know that LOL. I grew up in ol blighty so plenty of dirt. My tray table is my kitchen table as it were while I'm hopping across the pond so that is why I'm considering wiping it down from now on. Not planning on wearing a large plastic bubble or spraying down fellow passengers with dettol but think I may bring a bag with paper towel wetted with soap and water to clean it off.

And yet we are all still alive to tell the tale... If you started obsessing about where and what bacteria and germs were hanging about, you'd live in a bubble wrapped sealed room, never leaving or touching anything. As long as you are practising good hygiene, washing hands etc then you will mostly be fine. Also your body needs germs and bacteria so that when you do come in to contact with them, it knows how to fight them off. I think you should stop thinking about it.