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Attack of the Travel Germs

Remember the first time you saw a magnified picture of a bed bug? And right under it was some blurb about how they're all around you and you're powerless against them? Time for a reprise of sorts. Janice Lieberman from the Today Show went in search of travel germs and, yup, she found plenty of them.

First stop: the electronic check-in kiosk--plenty of mold and bacteria there. If you're prone to rashes and allergies wipe it down, she says. Next up: the security line. Apparently, if you take your shoes off for screening and walk around barefoot, that'll be a problem--so basically, don't be Britney Spears. On the plane, Lieberman and her team found filtration systems to be inadequate.

And at hotels (both budget and higher-end)...well, you know how that goes. Cooties galore. "If the room doesn't smell fresh," they say, find another one. But what if they just Febreezed it like we do to our laundry?

How about "what you don't know can't hurt you?" There's always bleach for backup.

[Photo: Paulkaiju]

Related Stories:
· Avoid making germs your travel partner [MSNBC]