Tips for Healthy Traveling

By Kristi Nielsen

Increasing numbers of active adults are enjoying travel. Remaining healthy during your trip is paramount to your enjoyment. Here are some helpful tips. Many people encounter health challenges when they fly or travel by automobile. Longer flights and long car trips increase risk factors. Stop for a stretch break every hour or two when traveling by car.

Drink Water

Before and during your flight drink plenty of water. Water hydrates the body hence alleviating symptoms of dehydration. Moisture to the nose, eyes, throat and mouth are all maintained through adequate hydration. The process of maintaining pressurized airplane cabins is focused on maintaining enough oxygen – not on enough humidity. Airplane air is very dry and keeping yourself hydrated prevents added stress on your body. Avoid carbonated drinks, tea and coffee as they are all diuretic in nature

Wear Loose Clothing

Wearing clothing with an adjustable or expandable waistline, and comfortable footwear.

Sitting long periods of time can cause swelling. The same applies to road travel. Restrictive clothing interferes with circulation, digestion and elimination and is unkind to oneself.

Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine

In addition to the diuretic effect of these beverages, these drinks result in disruption of sleeping patterns.

Choose Flight Times Wisely

Choose your flight time wisely and you can suffer much less from jet lag. It may seem like you ‘wasted’ a whole day traveling – but better that than wasting a day recuperating from lost sleep. The best thing to do is to stay up and to be at the normal bed time at your destination.

Minimize jet lag by getting plenty of sleep before you go. Reduce alcohol consumption and eat well-balanced meals and do not overeat. Do not eat rich or spicy foods prior to flying. Avoid over-the-counter and prescription sleeping medications as much as possible and consult a doctor, before using them.

Get as much exercise as you can on your trip. If you have a stop over – don’t sit –take advantage of the airports long corridors for some exercise.

Your vacation can take a year to save for, only a second to ruin.

Get enough Sleep

Many people do not sleep well in different surroundings. Combined with restless sleep and an active schedule and time zone changes it is easy to become overtired. Do not spoil you vacation by neglecting the importance of adequate rest.

Avoid Ear Pain

An existing nasal congestion or a cold can increase the intensity of ear pain during flights. Taking a decongestant medication prior to flight can help. Consult your doctor Chewing gum or sucking candy, during take-off and landing can normalize pressure on the ear drum. Swallowing hard can help somewhat.

Carry your medications

Carrying your medications in carry-on luggage reduces the danger of losing access to them, should your luggage get lost or delayed.

Ask you doctor if you need to change the dosage during your trip, and how you should readjust the times you take your medication to deal with time changes. If you have diabetes or epilepsy wear a medical alert bracelet – incase of an emergency. In addition to stating your medical problem, the bracelet needs to be inscribed with your medications and dosages and your doctors contact information.

Bring the details of your medications—stored separately from the medications.

Avoid Getting Blood Clots

Contrary to what we may think it is not only people with circulatory problems that can get blood clots in their legs after long flights. The problem is sitting for lengthy periods of time can restrict proper blood flow to your feet and legs. Try to get up and walk from end-to-end of the plane once per hour. Wearing support stockings and stretching calf muscles can help. Drinking enough water is the most important preventative strategy.

Special Medical Needs

Some individuals who need oxygen therapy for circulatory, heart, or respiratory problems may need to take oxygen before and after or during a flight. Consult your doctor. Airlines may provide you with oxygen for a fee. Due to federal regulations you cannot carry oxygen onto a plane. This means that if you require oxygen, you need to make arrangements to have access to oxygen at your travel destination.

Prearrange special meal requirements prior to leaving and if you need assistance such as wheel chairs, ensure your ticket is clearly marked.

Scuba Diving to Taking Wing

It's dangerous to fly immediately after scuba diving. You'll need to wait 12 to 24 hours after diving. Ask your doctor or diving authorities for guidelines on flying after scuba diving.

Get Your Exercise

Exercise prevents blood clots, help prevent swelling which may lead to muscle and joint pain. Doing leg extensions, or standing and raising up onto your tip toes and coming down slowly, exercises the calf muscles. Even gentle exercise helps keep your body working more normally, than remaining in sitting position for countless hours.

Listen to Your Body

It is unhealthy to delay emptying your bladder. Older men should empty their bladder every two hours, to prevent escalation of prostrate gland problems.

Eating and Drinking Abroad

Use extreme caution about what you eat abroad. Do not eat rare meats – especially ground meats, steak tartar, raw fish (such as sushi), unpasteurized milk or milk products, egg products such as mayonnaise and custards, salads, shellfish and unpeeled fruits.

In many places tap water is not safe for drinking and is best avoided. This presents a challenge as soft drinks, caffeinated drinks and alcohol are diuretic and drinking water is essential for preventing dehydration, aiding elimination of toxins and general health. Bottled water is available most places and purchasing it is the best way to prevent exposure to water that could cause “tourist diarrhea” – or worse yet hepatitis, typhoid, intestinal parasites, or dysentery. Use bottled water for brushing teeth and for swallowing pills.

In many tropical countries a piece of fruit, or even an ice cube in an alcoholic beverage can be enough to result in getting hepatitis. Countries that pose a high risk include Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern or Southern Europe where risks of Travelers' Diarrhea, Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever.

Avoid food sold by street vendors. Always wash your hands with soap and water before you eat and every time you use a washroom. Practice washroom hygienic practices.

Vaccines

Four to six weeks before your trip visit your doctor and a travel health clinic to determine necessary vaccinations and regional health risks for the destinations on your itinerary. Most vaccinations require time to take effect and must be administered several weeks in advance, at least. Dukoral is the only oral vaccine available to prevent Traveler’s Diarrhea and Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever. Vivaxim an injected vaccine provides protection with a single shot.

Avoid getting bit in tropical locations, insect repellant does far more than protect you from the discomfort of the sting from a mosquito bite. Mosquitoes can spread yellow fever, malaria, encephalitis. Ticks, mites, fleas and biting flies can carry diseases. Insect repellant should be applied over clothing as well as on your skin.

Be Sun-Wise

Avoid exposure to the sun. Use SP15 sunscreen is recommended. Stay out of the sun during the peak sun-burning hours to reduce exposure to excessive sun.

Be careful about exposure to extreme heat and sun can also prevent heat or sun-stroke.

When traveling from cooler climates to extremely hot climates, requires time for the body to acclimatize to the difference in temperature.

Swim only in areas designated as safe. In addition to unsafe diving conditions and/or undercurrents, the risk of exposure to parasites that cause swimmers itch or river blindness (schistosomiasis) becomes a risk when swimming in unknown waters.

Check your Travel Insurance Coverage Canadians need to check with their provincial health care coverage to clarify what is and isn’t covered while traveling. Travelers are advised to check out travel insurance and read the fine print before buying. Carefully consider what is included or not included and chose the insurance product wisely. Emergency medical care can be extremely costly.

New guide available for food-allergic travelers Let’s Eat Out! Allergy Free Passport and a number of cuisine specific allergy avoidance books addresses seven popular cuisines: American, Chinese, French, Indian, Italian, Mexican and Thai, and gives people the tools to enjoy each cuisine anywhere in the world while avoiding 10 of the most prevalent allergens – gluten, peanuts, soy, eggs, dairy, wheat, nuts, corn, fish and shellfish. These books by Kim Koeller and Robert La France are available online through Amazon.

Avoid Back Pain

Airplane seats are not known for their healthy ergonomic attributes. Travelling light, using a suitcase with wheels and a pull-up handle that allows you to stand upright while pulling the suitcase is the first step in back care. Avoid carrying heavy shoulder bags, including large overloaded purses, or lap top computers. Most rolling suitcases have a clip that allows you to attach any carry-on bags, computers or similar items by attaching them to the suitcase. When you must lift, use proper lifting posture. Rely on flight attendants to put items in overhead bins and to remove them. Avoid twisted, stretching postures when removing items of moving carousels. Squat and use your legs, not your back muscles when lifting.

Car Travel Tips

Stop every hour or so for a stretch break. In addition to giving your back a break this helps for driver alertness. Take a short brisk 5 minute walk, and do some stretches. When driving the seat should be close enough to the pedals to prevent undue stretching and straining of the lower back. Be aware that the old hand positions of 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock have been updated to 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock for cars having air bags. Wrong hand positions risk extreme shoulder injuries in the event of airbag deployment.

The biggest creature comfort you can bring from home is your own pillow. It maybe bulky, but is a light item to add to your luggage. Sleeping on your own pillow allows for the best sleep you can have away from home and can reduce neck strain caused by attempting to use pillows you are unaccustomed to. If you feel bringing your own pillow from home is unfeasible, consider purchasing an inflatable travel pillow. These can be filled with air or water and as a result you have some control over thickness, and density.

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