10 Tips for Healthy Travel

Summer is here and that marks the unofficial start of vacation season, with sunny, balmy weather beackoning travelers to pack up and go.  But satisfying that wanderlust can also leave you at risk for health problems.  You might end up sharing a long flight with a sniffling seatmate, struggle to find fresh veggies, or come down with a nasty case of food poisoning. 

Here are tips from experts on how to stay healthy while traveling, whether it's a weekend road trip or a dream trip to another continent.

     1. Do your homework. Research your destination. If you plan to travel outside the US, schedule a visit with a travel clinic at least 4 to 6 weeks before you leave so you can get any needed medications or vaccines. (Typically, immunity doesn’t kick in until around two weeks post-vaccination.) Visit the travel page at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  for advisories and recommendations, and come prepared with questions. If you’re pregnant or considering pregnancy, be sure to ask your doctor about the risk of Zika.

     2. Put together a travel health kit. Wherever you go, include the basics like alcohol swabs and bandages, and antihistamine and topical steroid cream for bites and allergies, ibuprofen or other pain pills, eye drops for irritation, and anti-diarrhea medicine and laxatives (you never know!).

     3. Stock up on your medicines. Make sure you have more than enough medication for your chronic conditions or allergies before you leave, or talk to your doctor about writing a backup prescription that you can fill on your trip if necessary. Always pack medicines in your carry-on luggage. Keep them in their original packaging or have a written prescription on hand in case you’re questioned about your drugs, especially when traveling abroad.

     4. Beat the boredom blues. Bring activities to keep your kids entertained (and minimize your own stress) on longer trips.

     5. Get up and walk around. Deep vein thrombosis is a serious problem that can occur if you’re sitting for long periods of time. The risk is greater in people with existing cardiovascular problems, older adults, and pregnant women. In DVT a blood clot forms in deep veins, often in the legs. Those clots can then travel to the lungs, blocking blood flow there. If you’re driving, stop often and stretch your legs. On flights you can prevent DVT by standing up and walking around every hour or so.

     6. Practice a nighttime ritual. Sticking to the same nightly ritual you follow at home can help reset your body’s internal clock and ease homesickness, especially for kids. Dim the lights, take a warm shower, sip some herbal tea, read a book, or turn on a relaxing playlist.

     7. Careful mixing sunscreen and bug spray. If you’re going somewhere sunny or buggy, pack sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15, preferably 30,  that offers UVA and UVB protection and bug spray containing at least 30 percent DEET. Avoid products that combine DEET and sunscreen, since re-applying sunscreen also means applying more DEET, a potent mosquito repellent that can be toxic in high amounts. Apply sunscreen 10 to 15 minutes before bug spray, giving the sunscreen enough time to react with your skin. Otherwise, it will simply “ride on top [of the repellent] like glaze on a donut,” Klapetzky says.

     8. Remember personal safety. Although travel often triggers fears of infectious disease, accidents and injury are much more common, If you’re driving, make sure you get plenty of rest beforehand to avoid falling asleep at the wheel, or make sure you can trade off with another driver.

     9. Fit in fitness. Bring comfortable walking shoes that you’ve already broken in. For long car trips, leave enough wiggle room for unplanned detours to hiking trails or historical sites. Incorporate walking into your itinerary — visit a park, museum, or farmer’s market, for instance.

    10. Stay positive. Accept that not everything will go according to plan.