We encounter germs practically every minute of every day.

While these tiny microorganisms are only visible through the lens of a microscope, germs are practically everywhere — especially in high-traffic areas such as airports. As Americans embark on summer travel with a newfound appreciation for avoiding germs, here are some helpful tips for hand hygiene as you travel. 

Germiest Airport Surfaces

High-touch locations such as escalators, hand railings, or elevator buttons are likely to have higher numbers of germs. 

A study of Helsinki Airport published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases aimed to identify which exact surfaces posed the most significant risk of germ transmission. The researchers collected surface and air samples weekly at three different points during peak season travel. 

 Locations that tested highest for airport germs were the buttons of payment terminals, the handrails of stairs, and the passenger side divider glass at security control points. However, the single item with the highest concentration of germs wasn’t the bathroom or other commonly thought locations — it was the plastic screening trays that nearly every person handles as they pass through security.

Germ awareness in the airport:

  • Wash hands with soap and water after touching surfaces such as check-in machines, TSA security bins, or bathrooms. When soap and water are not readily available, hand sanitizer is often your best alternative.
  • Minimize time in bathrooms and avoid crowded bathrooms.
  • Avoid crowded areas, such as boarding gates, until time to do so. Find less crowded areas to wait.

Germ awareness on the airplane:

  • Use a surface cleaner in your immediate area, including tray tables, armrests, and other high-touch areas.
  • Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
  • Wear masks at all times during the flight, except to eat or drink. 
  • Avoid touching your face — in particular eyes, nose, and mouth — when seated and during bathroom use. 

(Source: Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, Aviation Public Health Initiative.)

How to Practice Good Hygiene While Traveling

The single best tip for practicing good hygiene while traveling is to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds often. But when a sink just isn’t available, how do you maintain good hand hygiene?

 Before and after eating food in an airport, try to remember to wash your hands. Keep space between you and other travelers and avoid physical contact with strangers. 

When you feel a sneeze or cough coming on, cover your mouth or nose with a tissue or use your elbow. 

Finally, aim to carry a backup while traveling, such as hand sanitizer. When sinks aren’t available, hand sanitizers with more than 60% ethyl alcohol are tough on germs, supporting your best efforts to keep germs at bay while traveling through airports and on airplanes. 

Your Guide to Effectively Using Hand Sanitizer

 When soap and water are hard to find, hand sanitizer is often your best hand hygiene option. Keeping a tiny bottle with you, such as the 2- or 8-ounce 62% ethyl alcohol flip-cap bottle from Germ-X®, is a great way to sanitize your hands while on the go. (TSA is allowing one liquid hand sanitizer container up to 12 ounces per passenger in carry-on bags until further notice.)

When applying, make sure you use enough hand sanitizer to cover your hands thoroughly and rub the product in until it is completely dry. 

 Hand sanitizers effectively reduce many common harmful germs from the surface of your hands. Be sure to use a large enough volume to cover your hands, and don’t wipe the sanitizer off your hands before they are dry. 

Above all, never ingest hand sanitizer and only use the product as directed on the packaging. Avoid the high-touch surfaces outlined above, use the mentioned hygiene tips, and carry to-go hand sanitizer as you traverse high-travel areas such as airports and planes.

 

More About Germ-X®

Since 1997, Germ-X® has been the trusted choice for healthy living. Germ-X® works so well that it topped the list of the 10 best hand sanitizers meeting CDC guidance. Entire families choose Germ-X® as their go-to hand sanitizer because it is both effective and gentle.

In addition to the formula being made in the USA, Germ-X® products are of high quality, using 100% USP-grade ethyl alcohol in our hand sanitizer formula. 

Made with families in mind: Germ-X® uses denatured alcohol to make its products taste bad, which helps deter ingestion.

When you buy Germ-X® products, you can be sure that you are getting safe and effective hand sanitizers that will fight germs and moisturize your skin. We are the trusted choice for healthy living.