Almost every time I travel by plane from east coast to west coast (and/or back) I get a sore throat and/or sniffles! No, this isn’t the SARS virus, just your regular airplane cold. Anything I can do to prevent it from happening, besides take a train instad? I think it’s a result of the crappy air or something to do w/ altitude.
We just flew last week…and the boarding counter at the Minneapolis airport (where we made a connection) had samples of these new throat lozenge things in a basket…shaped like Jolly Ranchers.
Dang I wish I could remember the name…they seemed to help with my throat.
I always carry my own bottle of water on planes with me – the air is DRY, DRY, DRY, which is one big reason why you get a sore throat – and also some type of throat lozenges. My all-time favorites are Luden’s honey lemon – no nasty menthol taste but they moisten the mouth really well and don’t clog up your throat like candy. If you’re used to a climate with ANY humidity, though, airplanes are torture these days.
I think it is could be the AC, it always dries out my nose and mouth so that I get sniffely and raw in the throat. I tend to turn my “blower” in the ceiling off and suck on a sweetie to stop my nose and throat drying out.
I always try to spend time in a steam room after getting off the plane. 30 minutes in the bathroom with hot water steaming out and the fan off seems to do a decent job of getting the mucus membranes rehydrated.