Can You Get Flu From Breathing The Same Air As Someone Who Is Sick? Find out Here

As the flu season peaks due to bad air quality and a drop in temperature, people who share offices, public transport, classrooms, or houses often worry about catching the flu just by sharing the same air as someone who is sick. Medical experts confirm that it can, and stress that understanding how it happens can help protect ourselves and others.

So, the editorial team of Onlymyhealth reached out to Dr Brunda M S, Senior Consultant - Internal Medicine, Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore, and here is everything she shared with us.

How the Flu Virus Travels Through the Air

According to Dr Brunda, the influenza virus spreads mainly through the air. She shared, "Yes, you can catch the flu by breathing the same air as someone who is sick. The flu virus spreads mainly through droplets released into the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or even breathes.”

These droplets are often invisible and can remain suspended in the air for a short time, especially in closed or poorly ventilated spaces. Inhaling them carries the virus into the nose, mouth, or lungs and initiates an infection. This form of transmission is one of the reasons flu outbreaks spread so quickly in crowded settings such as offices, schools, buses, trains, and homes.

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Why Shared Indoor Spaces Increase Flu Risk

Flu viruses are more likely to spread when people spend a lot of time near someone with the flu virus. Flu viruses can also survive for a longer time on droplets if the air is cool and dry, which happens in small rooms with minimal airflow. Dr Brunda explained, “The risk of getting flu from shared air increases if you are close to the sick person for a long time. Poor ventilation, small rooms, and the winter season also increase the risk.”

“This is why one sick member can infect another one at home, and also why flu spreads rapidly in hostels or workplaces,” she added.

Can Flu Just Spread Through Air?

While breathing shared air is a major route, it’s not the only one. Droplets can land directly on the face or eyes if you are close to someone who is coughing or sneezing. Additionally, the virus can survive on commonly touched surfaces such as door handles, phones, desks, and tables. Touching these surfaces and then touching your face can also lead to infection.

Another challenge is timing. Flu is transmissible by a person even before symptoms begin and for several days after a person falls sick. This silent transmission makes it hard to avoid exposure, especially in daily social and professional interactions.

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Who Is Most at Risk of Flu?

While anybody can catch the flu, those who have a higher chance of developing serious forms of the disease are usually those in specific groups. "People with weak immunity, elderly individuals, pregnant women, and those with chronic illness are at higher risk of severe flu," Dr Brunda highlighted. In these groups, complications needing medical intervention can be a result of even mild exposure.

How to Lower Flu Risk

Dr Brunda emphasised that simple precautions can greatly reduce your risk of infection. Wearing a mask among crowds or in enclosed spaces, keeping your distance from anyone who is sick, and improving ventilation by opening windows or using fans will all reduce the rate of airborne transmission. Regular handwashing and not touching your face further reduces risk from contaminated surfaces.

According to Dr Brunda, getting the flu vaccine every year is one of the best ways to protect yourself. “Vaccination not only reduces your risk of catching the flu but also lowers the severity if you do get infected. Just as important, when you are feeling unwell, stay at home to protect others and slow community spread,” she concluded.

Bottomline

Yes, flu can spread through the air, and especially in crowded and poorly ventilated spaces, but masks, ventilation, hygiene, and vaccination can significantly lower the risk.