5 Tips on Staying Healthy While Traveling

Drink Water

This seems like a no brainer right? Think about your travel routine. If your’e anything like me it will probably look like this. I get to the airport and while waiting to board I stop at my favorite coffee shop and grab an iced coffee or some other sugary unhealthy caffeinated beverage.  Once I’ve boarded the plane I’ll usually go for a soda or some juice. After I land its typically time for a meal. What do I get to drink? Another soda maybe lemonade or iced tea to change it up. Then comes my next meal, same story. As I’m getting into bed I realize that I haven’t had water all day! Oh well, I’m too lazy to go get some bottled water so I just go to sleep and tell myself I’ll do better tomorrow.

This is one of the biggest mistakes we make as travelers. I always recommend drinking bottled water when traveling. Even if the tap water is safe each country has its own set of microbes that may not interact well with your GI tract.

Do you feel like you’re retaining water or your hands and feet are swollen when you travel? This is because you are actually dehydrated. The majority of the meals we eat while traveling are from restaurants which means they are higher in sodium. Our bodies will retain water when we consume too much sodium.

Do you consume alcohol or drink a lot of coffee? These are both diuretics and make you lose water leading to dehydration.

Wash your hands

When we travel our body is exposed to an entirely different environment which has an entirely different population of bacteria. Our bodies aren’t used to this bacteria and we tend to get sick. Make sure you wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer. We literally are surrounding by germs in airplanes, taxis and public transportation.

Sanitize

I highly recommend carrying around a travel pack of those disinfectant wipes. Clean your seats and tray tables on airplanes, who knows what was there before you.

Always come prepared with Meds

I never travel without the essentials…Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Multi system cold medication and some type of nausea medicine. They have different brands of medication overseas and sometimes its hard to find what you are looking for. Also before you travel make sure you check the CDC website to see if you require any immunizations or other preventative medications such as pills to prevent against malaria.

Sleep

The number one reason we tend to get sick while traveling is that our body is under a lot of stress. This causes our immune systems to weaken and makes us more susceptible to getting sick. The best way to combat this is to make sure you get enough rest while traveling. I am guilty of sacrificing sleep so I could fit in more activities as well. I recently realized, What’s the point of doing all of this extra stuff if I don’t feel well? I won’t enjoy it. Its better to be well rested and enjoy a few activities rather than be exhausted and try to fit everything in one day.

Hope these tips help…healthy travels!