When we think of sickness that one can get by traveling on a plane, we think of air sickness from a bumpy plane ride which causes nausea and vomiting.
We even think of the dry scratchy throat we get and the number of people breathing into a confined space, all sharing the same germs.
As CNN reported recently, these two scenarios may be the least of your worries.
As you sit in your seat, the hissing you hear is the air being drawn into the cabin of the plane.
Those in the trade call it bleed air and it is brought into the plane through the engines.
This method of cabin ventilation brings with it very real danger of contamination from toxins in and around the engine.
These can be anything from engine oil and hydraulic fluid or other contaminants that leak in minute quantities over time.
When even minute leaks occur, passengers and crew can experience tremors, headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms after inhaling contaminated aircraft cabin air.
Flight crew members have reported suffering long term effects from inhaling even small quantities of toxins in-flight, especially after long term exposure.
These symptoms have been shown to be from engine oil contaminants from the engines.
The worse culprit seems to be Tricresyl Phosphate (TCP) which is classified as a neurotoxin - a chemical that affects the brain, which has a chemical structure similar to a pesticide.
TCP is an engine additive that prevents wearing of engine parts and extends engine life.
An investigation reported by CNN showed that this neurotoxin was found on aircraft seats and tables on 40 different flights of the aircraft tested.
The report doesn't say how many planes were scrutinized.
According to Boeing and Airbus, air and surface contamination events are not common but they do happen.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Aviation Administration recorded over 900 fume related events between 1999 and 2008 while reports from a committee in Britain state that pilots report a fume event on approximately 1 percent of flight.
The Wall Street Journal also states that fume events are reported on up to 29 flights taking off in the US every day.
The statistics are confusing as the numbers are all over the place.
What is alarming, however is the number of flight crews and passengers who become sick from breathing contaminated air.
Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done about the cabin air quality.
Researchers and design engineers are working on the problem but they say a solution is still years away.
You may be able to give yourself a little protection by taking a high quality antioxidant before and after the flight.
If the flight duration is fairly long, you may want to take it in-flight as well.
Drink lots of water and get out of your flying clothes as soon as possible after a flight.
Have a shower and wash your clothes before wearing them again to remove any residues.
Being as comfortable as you can is important while flying.
The amount of space you have to move around in is limited and you are inactive for longer than is natural.
By being as careful as you can with the resources at hand, will help protect your health as much as possible.
Your health care professional may have other ideas as to how to protect yourself while flying.