* WHY DID I BUY..? *

Last year I was lucky enough to have several trips abroad, mainly over to mainland Spain. As a result, I found myself becoming something of a 'frequent flyer' due to the amount of flights I took in the space of 6 months.

Unfortunately, there were quite a few times that I was left with what seemed to be a horrible head cold at the end of my holiday. At first I assumed this was just pure bad luck, but after the third or so occasion of catching some sort of bug whilst being away - or indeed, not long after my return home - I eventually came to the conclusion that perhaps I was catching a bug of sorts from the plane itself.

It is true to say that I have a compromised immune system as a result of prescription medications and a rather severe health condition, and I am certainly no stranger to head colds or bugs of any kind. If there is a bug 'doing the rounds' then there is a very high chance that it will pass to me much quicker than other people and I feel I do have to take care when it comes to hygiene and germs being passed on.

After the realisation that some airlines' cleanliness may not be the most pristine that I had ever come across (especially for those 'budget' airline seats perhaps..?) I made the conscious decision that the next aeroplane trip I took would be approached with slightly more caution than usual.

With this in mind, I set about shopping for some bacteria-busting supplies when I was doing my usual holiday 'shopping' and bought several hand gel sanitizers as well as a hand spray product. I then noticed a little oblong package containing what appeared to be moist hand wipes, but with a difference in their make up that set them apart from other similar products that I had used before........ They contained antibacterial properties.


* THE PRODUCT.. *

Costing only £1.30 at the time from a local branch of Superdrug, I was impressed to notice that the small package of "Cuticura Hand Hygiene Wipes" contained 15 individual wipes, making the product a fairly good value purchase. I was further impressed to note the reassuring statement on the front of the package informing me that the wipes would "Kill 99.99% of bacteria fast."

I got the chance to put this claim to the test a couple of weeks later, during September when I travelled the short flight to the beautiful island of Ibiza. I used the wipes again a week later on the flight home.

Removing the wipes from the package was easy to do, and opening the package only required me to pull on the protective sticker on the front, which revealed the 'opening' in the plastic package underneath. I found the wipes came out only one at a time, so none were wasted or surplus to requirements at the time.
The wipes feel quite wet to the touch, more so than most brands of moist facial wipe that I use regularly, and certainly more than some toilet cleaner wipes that I have used before too. Of course, the bacteria-combating liquid contained within the wipes was not dripping from the soft cloths or anything like that, but I did feel that they were much wetter than I had expected.

There was a fairly strong smell evident when using the wipes too, although I did not find it was at all unpleasant or too 'clinical' for my liking. Reminding me of an antibacterial hand gel product, the aroma was evident during the whole time that I was using the wipes and for a short time afterwards. The smell did linger on my hands for a short time after I had used the wipes to clean my hands and fingers, although I liked the fact that I there was no wet or sticky residue left behind.

I personally chose to use one of the wipes to clean down my 'fold up' table at my seat on the plane, and used another wipe to clean down my husband's table too. This was mainly because we were eating food and having a drink onboard during our flight, which is something that we always do, and I felt that the passing of food backwards and forwards and consuming it from a possibly unclean table may well be one of the contributing factors in bugs and bacteria being spread on the plane.

Whilst using the wipes, I felt that they were quite sturdy and robust, and I have never experienced any problems with ripping or tearing of any sort. Also, I felt the wipes were a generous size and was pleased that the manufacturers didn't 'scrimp' on this point, which would have undoubtedly resulted in several wipes needing to be used at one time.

The packaging for the Cuticura Hand Wipes is fairly well made in my opinion, and it lasted well throughout my travels, suffering from no damage in the way of tears or rips. I also thought that the sticker 'seal' on the front of the package was one of a very high quality as it kept the packet secure and closed, adding to the feeling that the wipes were hygienic and free from bacteria.

To further prove this point, the package of wipes was originally purchased for my holiday to Ibiza in September. I used them on my outbound and return flights and when I returned home the package was left in my suitcase, along with my other holiday toiletries. I was lucky enough to have a further holiday towards the end of October and when sorting and packing my suitcases, I came across the wipes again. I first assumed I would need to buy a new packet as the wipes had been opened for such a long time but on closer inspection I could see that they were still completely moist and thus, completely usable. As the package was half-full and I had enough wipes left to suffice for our up and coming travels, I managed to get two holidays-worth (so, four plane trips) out of one package of wipes. This makes the purchase extremely economical in my opinion, and I felt as though I really had my money's worth from the pack. I had already bought other hand-hygiene items to go on my next holiday, but the opened package of Cuticura wipes was packed - and used onboard our flights - nevertheless.


* SO, THE BIG QUESTION..... DID THEY HELP? *

Well, since I first purchased and tried out the wipes during September 2011, I have taken a total of eight individual flights travelling backwards and forwards. During these flights, I have always had a packet of Cuticura Hand Hygiene Wipes on my person, and have used them to wipe down my on-board table, as well as using them to clean my hands and fingernails thoroughly.

Within these eight separate occasions, there has only been one instance of me catching a bug which I am nearly certain was caught on-board during my flight, thanks to the male passenger sitting directly behind me who seemed to have an extremely heavy cold. His constant coughing (without even attempting to cover his mouth) and sneezing, spluttering and generally breathing all his germs in my general direction was sure to put anybody's immunity and defences to the test. Unfortunately, my own were too weak to stave off these un-seen intruders and I caught a horrible bug/head cold which lasted for about a week after returning from my travels.

This has, however, been the only instance of bug-catching that has been evident to myself, and whilst I can never be sure that this is down to the use of the Cuticura Wipes, I certainly feel that they have made a difference to my overall bug and bacteria-combating regime, and I am so glad that I found them!

In comparison to last year, where I ended up with cold-like symptoms or sinus infections after each and every of the six flights that I took until September, I feel that there has been a huge difference since I started the practice of trying to combat bacteria whilst flying. I do feel that the Cuticura Wipes have had a huge part to play in this achievement, so will continue to buy them for each and every flight that I take as I find them so easy to use and feel that they are a convenient, helpful product.

The wipes can be purchased from good drugstores such as Superdrug, where they cost £1.35 as @ April 2012.