Revealed: The longer your flight the more likely you are to catch a cold... and you can even get the virus through your EYES

  • Experts warn that being cooped together increases the risk of a cold 
  • Travellers on long-haul flights are in greatest danger during their travels
  • People can prevent spreading their colds using a surgical mask 

By Becky Pemberton For Mailonline

Published: 08:00 EST, 2 July 2015 | Updated: 10:47 EST, 2 July 2015

If you're jetting off on a sunshine holiday you should consider packing some Lemsip. 

A lead expert on the cold virus has warned that the longer people spend cooped up together on an aircraft the greater the chance they will come down with a summer cold.

But Professor Ron Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre, said air conditioning systems are not to blame.

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A leading expert on the virus warned that the longer people spend cooped up together on an aircraft the greater the chance they will come down with a summer cold

A leading expert on the virus warned that the longer people spend cooped up together on an aircraft the greater the chance they will come down with a summer cold

Holidaymakers are much more likely to get a cold on a long haul flight to Florida compared with a short hop to a Mediterranean resort

Holidaymakers are much more likely to get a cold on a long haul flight to Florida compared with a short hop to a Mediterranean resort

He said: 'People think that germs are being circulated around the plane by the air-con but that isn't necessarily the case.

'We get colds when we are flying because we there are three or four hundred people all squeezed in together in a small space.

'You can guarantee that some of those people will have colds and the germs are spread because of crowding.

'We also become dehydrated in planes and that leaves us more prone to the cold virus.

'If you add in the fact that the stress of travelling lowers our immune system then you can see why people get colds while flying.'

Experiments to expose volunteers to people with the common cold have revealed the longer they are in close contact the greater the chance the cold will be passed on.

So holidaymakers are much more likely to get a cold on a long haul flight to Florida compared with a short hop to a Mediterranean resort. 

A representation of the molecular surface of one variant of human rhinovirus

A representation of the molecular surface of one variant of human rhinovirus

Professor Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University, said: 'As soon as you get on a plane you are mixing with people from different parts of the the world.

'They may have a cold caused by a different version of the virus that we have immunity to.

'The virus is most likely to be spread by touching infected surfaces on the aircraft like the seats and the toilets.

'We pick up colds because of proximity to people who have them and the length of the exposure.

'That is why in the winter we catch colds in our homes.

'But one of the worst places to catch a summer cold is inside an airplane when we are crowded together.'

The virus is most likely to be spread by touching infected surfaces on the aircraft like the seats and the toilets

The virus is most likely to be spread by touching infected surfaces on the aircraft like the seats and the toilets

Professor Eccles said there was little point in wearing surgical masks because the cold virus can be caught through our eyes, especially if they are dehydrated

Professor Eccles said there was little point in wearing surgical masks because the cold virus can be caught through our eyes, especially if they are dehydrated

Professor Eccles said there was little point in wearing surgical masks because the cold virus can be caught through our eyes, especially if they are dehydrated.

But he said people with colds could prevent them spreading on planes by wearing a mask.

There are more than 200 different cold viruses and the average Britain will catch one of them four times a year.

 

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