Travel Tips to Staying Healthy
I am a traveler who has gotten sick, a lot. From stomach issues to flus, I’ve had it all. I’ve spent many days in bed and on the bathroom floor in several countries, even in a medical clinic more than once. I’m that person that if 4 people eat the same thing, I’m the only one that will get sick. Part of it is definitely genetics, luck, or whatever you want to call it, but I do know how it feels to be sick far too often. Luckily, that was the past for me and I believe the measures I’ve taken have helped me make those things a thing of the past.
Starting from the moment you leave your home, through the airport and at your destination, these are some things you can do to make sure you get to enjoy every minute of your vacation without being sick in bed!
Travel Tips on What to Do to Stay Healthy on Your Way to the Airport
Taxi, Uber, Lyft, Shared Shuttle, Taxi, Bus or Train…however you get to the airport, make sure to protect yourself from getting sick before your trip has barely begun. Use your hand sanitizer often. Do not worry if other people look at you like you have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)…it’s worth it if it keeps you from getting sick! If you have a bottle of water or soda, make sure to wipe it off using the Antibacterial Wipes in your Quick Grab Bag that you have with you. Read more about the Quick Grab Bag here.
Travel Tips on What to Do to Stay Healthy in the Airport
Think of the thousands of people who go through the airport every day. So those elevator buttons, escalator handrails…thousands of people per day are touching those. You’ve got to protect yourself by using your waterless hand sanitizer every time you touch something. It can see over the top at first, but once you start doing it often it becomes habit. Perfect example of how germs spread, you are on the moving walkway, you touch the handrail, then you touch your face…or your phone…or the zipper on your bag. If you think of fresh paint on the handrail, you could watch it spread on everything you touch after that. Now if you just washed your hands after touching the handrail, there would be no spread…but getting to a bathroom sink isn’t always convenient so waterless hand sanitizer to the rescue! It’s not 100% foolproof of course but it helps. People have worn masks before Covid 19 and they a the very least will help with people sneezing, etc. Just do what you can to minimize your exposure so you can enjoy your trip!
Travel Tips on What to Do to Stay Healthy on the Airplane
Here is a step by step instruction manual for how to keep from getting sick on an airplane.
As soon as you sit down, grab your Antibacterial Wipes from your Quick Grab Bag (read more about that here). Wipe down everything you touch: button to recline your seat, movie screen, tv & audio remote, seatbelt, arm rests, especially the metal part on the end, take out your tray and wipe it down, the air control above your head…anything that you may touch during your long journey. As soon as you’re up in the air, get a glass of water and take your Airborne, another item in your Quick Grab Bag that’s already in the seat pocket in front of you.
Depending on the type of mask you have/are wearing, many say they are “good for 4 hours” or whatever their time limit may be. So you may consider having several masks handy for your journey. Before Covid hit, I always made sure to have a scarf. It was great to put over my nose/mouth if somebody nearby was coughing or if I had to cough or sneeze. I also would use a scarf to cover my nose & mouth when I’d go to sleep. The air normally gets quite cold and I noticed I’d wake up with a sore throat so I found this very helpful to do. Even with a mask I will still most likely do this and keep my neck warm.
Stay hydrated. There are few times that I like to have bottled water but on an airline is definitely the time to have one. It’s great to keep a bottle at your seat and there’s no reason not to have your Airborne several times during your flight if you don’t like plain water.
To drink alcohol or to not drink alcohol? I personally have tried both drinking on my trip and not drinking on my trip (32 hours of travel) and didn’t find there to be much of a difference. As long as you drink enough water and stay hydrated I think that’s the most important factor.
Use your hand sanitizer frequently. Getting up to go to the bathroom to wash your hands often is not always easy with people in the aisles, food carts, not to mention the lines to the bathrooms at times.
Tips to Staying Healthy While Enjoying Your Vacation
Every country has its own things to be wary of. A perfect example is Mexico and not drinking the water. In fact many places I’ve visited have water that is either not drinkable, drinkable water is not readily available or very expensive. A tip for water that I’ve used worldwide is to travel with your own beverage container and fill it at your hotel and take it with you for your outing for the day. Normally if there is a gym, which is in most larger hotels, they will most likely have a water cooler. Even in Mauritius we used this tip because water from the resort was very expensive so we just went to the gym to refill our water daily. It saved us tons AND we knew it was good to drink, we didn’t have to take anybody’s word for it.
Whenever you have beverages in a container (water, Cola, etc), wipe it down. Make sure the ice is okay to have and if you’re not sure, have your drink without ice. In Vietnam I got very used to warm beer!
If you are in a place where the water is “iffy”, stick to cooked foods and stay away from anything that would be washed in water like lettuce, strawberries, etc. This is something that I have to deal with when it comes to Gluten. If I were to ask if something was Gluten Free, most people wouldn’t even know what that was so I have to assume that everything has Gluten unless I am 100% sure that it doesn’t.
If you know these tips before booking, you can save yourself a lot of time and money. Look for hotels with a gym with a water cooler. Most resorts will have that. Yes I know, not everybody wants to stay at large hotels or resorts, and I don’t do that all the time. But, when it comes to traveling to a location with undrinkable water, keep these tips in mind and it may influence where you stay.