How to stay healthy when traveling | Photo by Daniel Delgado | The Wright State Guardian
It is no secret that traveling weakens your immune system, leaving you susceptible to getting sick quickly.
Since traveling season has begun, it is best to prepare yourself for closed-in plane or train rides, changing weather conditions, lack of sleep and so on.
Here are five tips on how to stay healthy while traveling:
First-aid travel kit
When traveling, you never know what things you will be exposed to, so it is important to have a first-aid travel kit. Whether you buy the kit ready to go or you make your own, it should include items such as cold and flu medication, antibiotics, band-aids, motion sickness patches/pills and ointments.
Sleep
This might be an obvious, but often people lose sleep by staying up all night packing and going to bed very late or waking up early for a flight. Losing sleep breaks down our immune system even more. Make sure to prepare yourself ahead of time and get the sleep you need before leaving.
Boost your immune system
Armor up your immune system before putting it through the ringer, especially when flying or taking a train. Before and during your trip, make sure to get as much vitamin C as possible. Whether it be through oranges or a supplement such as Emergen-C, this will help your immune system fight off the incoming germs.
Stay hydrated
When traveling, it’s easy to forget to drink a good amount of water, especially if it isn’t readily available to you. Along with the sugary and bubbly drinks you will treat yourself to, make sure to drink just as much fresh water as you can. Keep a pack of waters with you, both in your car or hotel, to have with you as well as a reusable bottle to fill if possible.
Don’t touch your face
This is probably one of the most difficult things to remember not to do. Most people touch their face out of habit without realizing. Although you shouldn’t do this when you are out in public anyway, it is especially important when traveling. To remedy this, wash your hands as much as possible and always have hand sanitizer on your person. That way, if you do touch your face, the impact won’t be as bad.
