STAY HEALTHY WHILE TRAVELING

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It’s no fun getting sick no matter when it happens, but when it happens while you are on vacation it is especially bad. When I am sick I just want to be home.

My 2 younger granddaughters are soccer players and my grandson was a basketball player. They all three were on club teams that traveled a lot. Well my grandson has now graduated high school and is no longer traveling with a club team. My 2 youngest granddaughters however are still playing soccer and traveling.

Last May after my grandson’s graduation in the morning, we had to travel to Albuquerque for the youngest granddaughter’s soccer tournament. When I checked in at the hotel and walked into my room it was extremely hot, now mind you it was 95 degrees outside, it was Memorial Day Weekend, and my room was cranked up to 80 degrees. I turned down the temperature and went down to the desk to ask if someone could come check the air-conditioning. Even the hallways seemed warm. Pretty quickly a very nice maintenance man came and checked the A/C and put a new filter in and in about an hour the room temperature was down to 70 degrees. All was well the rest of the weekend, then on Monday driving home, I started getting a scratchy throat and the next day I had lost my voice and felt terrible. I had a fever and was chilling. I was pretty certain I had gotten sick from that hotel room. No other reason I can think of that someone would crank up the temperature to 80 degrees when it’s 95 degrees outside unless they were sick! Germs breed in warm temperatures. I had forgotten to take my Lysol spray and clorox wipes 🙁

So as a retired nurse I have put together 10 tips to help you stay healthy while traveling.

10 STEPS TO STAYING HEALTHY WHILE ON VACATION!

1. Allow time before and after your vacation—take the day off before your vacation so you have enough time to pack everything, go to the bank, stop the mail, and stop the paper. Don’t forget to pack your medications. I like a medi-planner, then you don’t have to pack all the bottles. On that same note take the day off after you get home, so you can have a day to just unpack, do laundry, go to the grocery store and then rest. You will truly go back to work looking and feeling rested.

2. Get enough sleepsleep. Sleep Sleepin a little, pamper yourself, order room service at least one day. Lounge around in your pajamas a little, read the paper and then go off to explore or have your adventures.

3. Pack some Lysol spray and wipes in your bag. Spray the air and wipe down surfaces. Germs live longer on surfaces than you may think. Some cold viruses, rhino virus can live on hard indoor surfaces for up to 7 days, however, their ability to cause infections are only for about 24 hours. RSV germs can live up to 6 hours. Even though you know your room has been cleaned, take a few moments to wipe down those hard surfaces, counters and the bathroom to be extra careful. Good hand-washing is the BEST way to prevent the spread of infections! Spray the air with a germ-killing spray, like Lysol. It comes in the perfect travel size. Spray those air vents😊

 

4. Stay hydrated. When you are in a different climate that you are not used to it is even more important to stay hydrated. If you are coming from sea-level to a high altitude, then you really should give yourself a day to acclimate and hydrate. Denver, Colorado for instance is a “mile-high.” Leadville, Colorado is “2-miles-high.” You can experience “altitude sickness.”

5. Eat a well-balanced diet balanced diet. Go easy on the high fat and high sugar items. really will have more energy if you eat enough fruits and vegetables along with your other items.

6. Drink plenty of water. Tea and cola’s act as a diuretic. You may also want to have some Gatorade available if you are out in the hot sun, heavy humidity, and very active, this will help you replace your electrolytes as well.

 

7. Have Fun! That’s why you came on vacation after all. Go do something you’ve never done before! Be a little adventurous.

8. Stay Safe! Always let others know where you will be. Decide on a meeting place if you get separated.

9. Exercise. Make use of that fitness center at your resort or cruise ship. Go swimming. Swimming is one of the best low impact exercises you can do.

10. Relax and Enjoy! You don’t have to be constantly busy every second. Allow some time to just chill out and relax, whether it’s at the pool, or at the beach or just relaxing in your room or cabin. Allow time to just simply Enjoy!