How To Keep Yourself Healthy While Traveling

Sometimes, life is a little surreal and you find yourself thinking about becoming ill while traveling more than you would under regular circumstances. What most people don’t realize is that actively working to keep yourself healthy while traveling is something you should be doing every time you travel, not only to protect yourself but the people around you. Check out these tips to keep yourself healthy, happy, and keep smiling while you’re on the road or in the air.

If you can, follow the advice of the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization. Both organizations continually update their information regarding which countries are safe for travel, which are high-risk, and so on. If you do need to travel to an area deemed high-risk, follow the CDC’s recommendations, if any, for self-quarantine upon your return home. Most of the time, travel is expected to go smoothly and have few restrictions.

Personal hygiene is essential for keeping yourself healthy anytime, let alone when traveling. The CDC recommends washing your hands after you’ve been in public, before and after eating, after blowing your nose, sneezing, or coughing, and, of course, after you use the restroom. If you find yourself in contact with lots of surfaces or near other people often, wash more often, scrubbing thoroughly for at least 20 seconds. Additionally, keep an alcohol-based (at least 60%) hand sanitizer on your person for times when you don’t have access to soap and water. Allow the sanitizer to dry completely without wiping any off when you do use it.

Sometimes, the scariest part of traveling is not knowing what other people are doing. While you can’t ensure other individual travelers are participating in their own health, you do have the option to ask business how they keep things safe and clean for their travelers. From airports to hotels, services like Hobby Airport Transportation and restaurants, most businesses are happy to provide you with detailed information about their cleaning process and when it last occurred. They are also happy to let you use sanitizing wipes on your personal area if it makes you feel more comfortable.

Keeping yourself healthy while traveling is something you should have been doing, should do now, and must continue to do in the future. For most people, domestic and international travel poses no more risk than going to the grocery store. However, people who have diabetes, chronic kidney disease, are pregnant, or are otherwise immunocompromised should speak to their doctor before making travel plans.