When it comes to periods in your life when you are required to travel, whether for business or pleasure, one of the main concerns for most people is trying to stay healthy while they are away from home. There is nothing worse than getting sick when you don’t have all of your familiar comforts around, and it can also turn what’s supposed to be a fun and memorable trip into a long ordeal of feeling bad when you can least afford to.
Healthy travel is on the top of everyone’s wish list, and there are definitely some things that you can do to ensure that this happens. With that in mind, let’s split the process into two separate areas; how to prepare for a healthy trip and how to maintain your health when you are actually away.
How To Prepare For Your Trip
- Get The Relevant Vaccinations
Depending on where you are planning on traveling, you might need to get one or more vaccinations to ensure you are protected from various diseases that pose a risk in your destination country. This is a non-negotiable element of your preparation, as you will not be granted permission to enter a country if you have not had the required injections. You can find out more information at the CDC’s travelers website.
- Hydrate
Staying hydrated is one of the most important tips to keep on top of when traveling. Airplanes can be very dehydrating environments, so make sure to always have a bottle of water on hand to take constant sips from. The last thing anyone wants when traveling thousands of miles is a headache and other symptoms of dehydration.
- Go For Walks
When sightseeing, we tend to do a lot more walking every day on holiday then we do in our ‘real lives’. To help prepare your body for those increases in activity, you should start going on some extra walks in the run-up to your trip. This will help to firm up your general fitness, so you don’t get any annoying niggles on vacation.
How To Stay Healthy When Away
- Use More Sunscreen Than Usual
It’s likely that you’ll be traveling to a hotter and sunnier country than your own, which means that you will have to increase your daily amounts of sunscreen. Your skin is always at risk from UV rays, even when the weather is slightly duller and cloudy, so make sure to always have a bottle of sunscreen in your bag.
- Remember Your Medication
If you have any existing health problems requiring medication then be sure to stock up on enough to last the duration of your trip. It’s also a good idea to take a copy of your prescription with you, which you can use at a local pharmacy if needed.
- Limit Alcohol Consumption
We all want to relax, unwind, and let loose when on holiday, but it can be really beneficial to your long term health if you keep an alcohol diary when traveling. By all means, treat yourself and be more indulgent than you usually would, but a diary is helpful because you can look back at it in the morning and adjust your water intake and eat a healthy diet in response to the fun that you had the previous evening!
- Vitamins
It can be a good idea to take a wide range of vitamins with you when going on holiday, as taking them will help give your body some of the goodness that you might be missing out on with an altered diet, drinking regime, and party lifestyle when on vacation.
- First Aid Kit
You never know when you might injure yourself on holiday, and it might not always be within easy reach of a hospital or doctor’s surgery. A simple way to cover yourself for minimal bumps and scrapes is to pack a fully stocked first aid kit in your luggage. Hopefully, you won’t have to look at it at all during your holiday, but it gives you peace of mind just in case!
