How to stay well during a trip overseas?

[clo]

53 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

I still get 90 at a time. So, would you would say that your Ambien has lost some of its potency but still puts you to sleep? Just curious as maybe I won't be quite so quick to discard unused Ambien in the future (although I won't keep it around for more than 6 months past its expiration date).

Check it out at home sometime and see how you do.  One time when we had an intl flight departing mid-afternoon, I had lunch/early dinner and took half an Ambien and a melatonin.  And red wine 🙂

[clo]

48 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Perhaps it is because I routinely ignore all the precautions that people practice to keep themselves healthy so I have built up my immune system.

I think Bob and I must have done the same re immune system.  Or maybe it's how we were born.  We do none of those things either.  I drink a ton of water due to a dry mouth but that's a 24/7/365 thing for me.  Knock wood 🙂

[clo]

20 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

You are a fortunate man, Don.

I certainly don't consider myself a germaphobe - I'm simply attempting to employ best practices in avoiding illness when flying. I did become quite ill before I began my regimen of attempting to diminish my chances of contracting illness on airplanes and mass transportation - the cold turned into a particularly virulent case of walking pneumonia & ruined a good portion of my 3 month stay in Europe. Lesson learned!

Airlines are of particular concern to me as they fly in the range of 36,000 feet (across the Atlantic) where humidity typically runs at about 10%. Our mucociliary clearance system (our natural protective system and first line of defense against bacteria and germs) is crippled at such low humidity levels (in other words, the mucus in our nose and throat dries up) thus creating a much more tolerant environment for infection by colds, flu and the like. 

Have you ever flown the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?  If you have a problem with the low humidity you should see if you can fly them.  They have higher humidity and lower air pressure.  I certainly feel better after one of their flights.  It's a wonderful airplane 🙂

[dogs4fun]

53 minutes ago, clo said:

Have you ever flown the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?  If you have a problem with the low humidity you should see if you can fly them.  They have higher humidity and lower air pressure.  I certainly feel better after one of their flights.  It's a wonderful airplane 🙂

No, I have not.  The only dreamliner that departs from my home airport is via Norwegian Air and due to ongoing financial concerns within Norwegian Air, I have been hesitant to book with them.  I usually fly Lufthansa - no 787's in their fleet that fly my routes. I have read that the 787 reduces jetlag/fatigue - hope to experience a flight one of these days.

Edited November 10, 2019 by dogs4fun

[slidergirl]

My $.02...

 

I don't do the sanitizer/wipes thing.  The only time I'll use sanitizer is when I'm out in the boonies and the "facilities" have no running water to wash my hands.  

I drink lots of water.  If I have to buy it because the local wells are not trusted, I'll do it.  In Rome, I refill my bottle frequently from the excellent public water supply and the faucets you'll find all over.  Some places, I won't even brush my teeth or open my mouth during  shower with the local supply (Egypt as an example).  Bottled water comes in when I brush then.  I would never take an excursion or a tour if I was told there was no toilet stop!   If I have to run into a bar or a McDs or a store, I'll always be polite and buy something, too.  

I don't overdo it.  Just because I may not be back to someplace, I do not run myself ragged trying to "see all the sights".  I'll pick one or two big things I want to see/do and use the rest of the time to just amble/wander sit and watch the world go  by.   I don't drink much at home, so I don't go hog-wild and drink myself silly.  A glass of wine or maybe one cocktail (with a side of 2 glasses of water!) is all I'll do.  OK, maybe 2 glasses wine...   I make sure to get sleep!  I'm not going to go on 4 hours of sleep because I have to get out there and see everything.  I don't plan on things in the morning or the evening because I don't know how I'm going to feel.  I'm OK with that.  I don't do Melatonin - I've tried it for work if I had to change shifts - it leaves me rather foggy and sluggish.  I just resign myself to sleeping as much as I can on the flights.  I do get better sleep in Business in the lay-flat seats than in the Cattle Car stuffed next to some stranger who is encroaching on my "space" or has to get up to walk/ bathroom all the time (I have to sit in an aisle seat for my claustrophobia and to give my bad leg some room to move).

 

For the air thing - air everywhere is different, inside and out.  I used to have problems when I visited my Corporate HQ and certain customer sites.  I would always get sinus issues there after 2 days of being in their environment.  This was in the pre-Emergen-C/Airborne type of stuff days.   I haven't had that problem too much anymore as I'm an Emergen-C person (we even have it at work, when someone starts getting sick, we all grab it and put in our water!).  

 

 

[clo]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

No, I have not.  The only dreamliner that departs from my home airport is via Norwegian Air and due to ongoing financial concerns within Norwegian Air, I have been hesitant to book with them.  I usually fly Lufthansa - no 787's in their fleet that fly my routes. I have read that the 787 reduces jetlag/fatigue - hope to experience a flight one of these days.

We flew Norwegian Air in March and have just booked them for next April. (They had just released their US departures schedules.)  From what I've read they've secured debt protection for at least a couple of years.  By pledging their gates at Gatwick which I think sounds brilliant.  I did find out that were they to go under anyone who booked with a credit card (who wouldn't?) would get their money back as they didn't get what they had paid for.  We traveled in their premium which is their equivalent to business.  It's SO much less expensive.  Check out the fares and I think you'll be impressed.  But in the back you pay for EVERYTHING.  Also they don't have window shades that you pull down; there's a button that you press to make it lighter or darker.  After our daytime meal service they asked everyone to dim theirs and the cabins were dark.  I LOVE that airplane as you can tell 🙂

[iancal]

We travel frequently and for extended periods.  Europe in the fall, SE Asia/Australia or Central America in the winter.  We are careful not to get overtired or stressed.  We like to stay 3-5 days at each stop, 7 or more if it is a nice resort on the ocean.  We do not do many one night stays unless it is an airport hotel prior to departing.

 

We seldom get ill.   Could be down to our genes.   We have eaten lots of street food in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.  Never even a stomach upset.   In Thailand we often eat in small, local, family run establishment where the kitchen is in one area and the seating in another, open air area.  The only time we were sick was yeas ago in a fancy NA style place in Phuket.  Never again for either!

 

We keep well hydrated and we typically only eat at breakfast and dinner but we do remain hydrated.   It is all independent travel and it involves lots of work because we only book a few days in advance.  IF we take a last minute cruise for a bit of a change and a rest we are very careful to avoid touching the handrails, etc.   We avoid the buffet unless we are getting cooked to order items.

 

Infrequently we have started a 16-24 hour air trip home and found ourselves with a cold once we got home.  Perhaps the red wine kills all the bugs.  I really do not know.

Edited November 10, 2019 by iancal

[clo]

20 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

Just because I may not be back to someplace, I do not run myself ragged trying to "see all the sights".  

All your points are good especially this one IMO.

[clo]

1 minute ago, iancal said:

Perhaps the red wine kills all the bugs.

If someone says that I look younger than I am my reply is "well, it's not from clean living!"  🙂

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

It is still effective after 2-1/2 years? I discard any unused meds (including Ambien) by their expiration date listed on the bottle. I realize that one can extend usage beyond the expiration date but 2-1/2 years seems like a lot.

Ambien doesn't lose it's potency...this is one of the many prescription meds that don't. 

The big drug companies want you to believe they do.

[Ashland]

4 hours ago, clo said:

Check it out at home sometime and see how you do.  One time when we had an intl flight departing mid-afternoon, I had lunch/early dinner and took half an Ambien and a melatonin.  And red wine 🙂

Hmmm. You cut an Ambien in half and drank wine with it. I've been using Ambien CR for years and certainly wouldn't think to do this. But glad it worked out well for you...The wine alone would have given me a horrible headache and what a waste of an Ambien. I tend to want to stay as alert as possible when I fly but I do take a 24 hr. decongestant.

[clo]

36 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Hmmm. You cut an Ambien in half and drank wine with it. I've been using Ambien CR for years and certainly wouldn't think to do this. But glad it worked out well for you...The wine alone would have given me a horrible headache and what a waste of an Ambien. I tend to want to stay as alert as possible when I fly but I do take a 24 hr. decongestant.

I would never take an Ambien if I were flying alone because I sometimes do have amnesia.  But my husband is really always with me and keeps an eye on me 🙂  I never do anything weird but I don't always remember going through customs and immigration.

[clo]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

Ambien doesn't lose it's potency...this is one of the many prescription meds that don't. 

The big drug companies want you to believe they do.

You really piqued my curiosity.  I can't find anything that supports this.  Can you give me something?  (lol, odd choice of words, eh?)  It's not that I don't believe you.

[ilikeanswers]

Unassisted sleep I think is the most important thing. Plenty of studies have shown the better quality sleep the stronger the immune system and my own anecdotal evidence seems to back that up as I have noticed a lot of my own illnesses seems to occur when I haven't slept well. 

 

I know hydration is a popular thing but if you find yourself worried about toilet availability you are probably overdoing it😳. With the exception of those over 70 our bodies are really good at telling us when it needs hydration as long as you drink when you feel thirsty you should be ok🤗. 

 

Otherwise I think it is down to luck. If someone around you is sick you are either going to catch it or or not and there is not much you can do about it😕. Though if you do get sick look after yourself because once you are sick it makes it easier to catch something else. 

[Ashland]

28 minutes ago, clo said:

You really piqued my curiosity.  I can't find anything that supports this.  Can you give me something?  (lol, odd choice of words, eh?)  It's not that I don't believe you.

Several in the medical field in my immediate family...they know of which they speak.

Again, something the big pharma's don't want you to know....as that cuts into their profits.

 

[clo]

6 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Several in the medical field in my immediate family...they know of which they speak.

Again, something the big pharma's don't want you to know....as that cuts into their profits.

 

Ah well.  I don't disagree with them 🙂  A few years ago I was having a rheumatological  problem and we were heading to SE Asia.  My doctor gave me a rx for a steroid just in case.  I think I still have it 🙂

[chipmaster]

On 11/9/2019 at 5:09 AM, Lazz58 said:

Four of us just got back from a wonderful 16 day trip to Europe that included a cruise on the Constellation.  However we all came back with illnesses of varying severity. We thought we had prepared and preformed those tasks that would keep us healthy (sanitizer, individual water bottles, etc.) This was our first trip to Europe.  We want to travel overseas more, but we have become concerned about becoming sick every time we travel overseas.  Some thoughts about causes came to mind:  Planes full of people coughing and sneezing, lack of sleep on flights, burning the candle at both ends with tours and activities, and not staying hydrated (hard to stay hydrated when they warn you that they are no public restrooms where you are visiting).  I am looking for advice from you experienced overseas travelers.  Any advice or recommendations would be very helpful.  Thanks in advance.

 

Traveling whether  you are in an airplane, on a ship, in an airport or crowded public transportation or tourist = lots of people and lots of germs. 

 

I find it foolish for those that believe wiping down your tables, using a wipe on door knobs, or wearing a mask will somehow stop you from getting ill.   It may help a tiny bit, but the most important things are your own health, how you eat, sleep, and how well you travel.  There are some that simply get sick every fall, and others that don't have to do anything and can travel and almost never get sick.    

 

1) When traveling drink lots, hopefully you are healthy enough to keep moving.    While flying if you ain't going to the bathroom every couple hours you are not drinking enough.  The humidity on even the 787 is bone dry and other airplanes even dryer, that will suck your energy and health 

 

2) When flying try and get up and move around.  It amazes me the people that pass out and sit in a cramped position for 8 hours, not drinking enough and not moving also is terrible for your body.

 

3) Be healthy, in western society people don't nearly exercise enough, and it shows, if you are fit, believe it or not it sets the stage for everything else.  On my weekly 14 hours to the far east, I'm standing for 2-3 hours and up and walking and stretching at least every two hours. When I land I'm amazed how different the eastern world is, people walk everywhere and eat a lot more greasy and what I'd think was fattening food, and the love their food, but they are far thinner.  Sadly the are plumping up as cars and walking get discarded for the western lifestyle.      When I land usually the next day I hit the gym at 4am to reset the body clock.  On cruises I'll hit the gym all sea day for 2-3 hours, got to burn them four meals a day, LOL

The human was made to move, and you gotta move to stay healthy.

 

4) Diet, eat well and balanced, hopefully your stomach and mind love an adventure.  So when you land you can try the local delights.  Too many people are too narrow in their eating locally so when they travel anything and everything upsets the internals as well.  I live by 3) so I generally go wild eating at home or away, no fear of going local, as I've been trained since I was young by my wife to eat street food. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.   At home we'll eat everything from Street carts and nigh markets to expensive, variety is the key to health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by chipmaster

[clo]

36 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

The humidity on even the 787 is bone dry and other airplanes even dryer, that will suck your energy and health 

We live in Reno with frequent single digit humidity and, knock wood, are rarely sick.  And:

10% to 15%

With a body largely constructed of super-strong plastics—carbon-fiber composite material—instead of aluminum, the 787 can have higher cabin humidity since rust isn't a worry. The humidity level in the Dreamliner cabin is 10% to 15%, compared with 4% to 7% typical in other airplanes.Feb 16, 2012

How Dreamy Is the Boeing Dreamliner? - WSJ

 

https://www.wsj.com › articles

[chipmaster]

1 hour ago, clo said:

We live in Reno with frequent single digit humidity and, knock wood, are rarely sick.  And:

10% to 15%

With a body largely constructed of super-strong plastics—carbon-fiber composite material—instead of aluminum, the 787 can have higher cabin humidity since rust isn't a worry. The humidity level in the Dreamliner cabin is 10% to 15%, compared with 4% to 7% typical in other airplanes.Feb 16, 2012

How Dreamy Is the Boeing Dreamliner? - WSJ

 

https://www.wsj.com › articles

 

Dreamliner is indeed a more comfortable, as long as you don't fly the one built in SC, LOL

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, clo said:

We live in Reno with frequent single digit humidity and, knock wood, are rarely sick.  And:

10% to 15%

With a body largely constructed of super-strong plastics—carbon-fiber composite material—instead of aluminum, the 787 can have higher cabin humidity since rust isn't a worry. The humidity level in the Dreamliner cabin is 10% to 15%, compared with 4% to 7% typical in other airplanes.Feb 16, 2012

How Dreamy Is the Boeing Dreamliner? - WSJ

 

https://www.wsj.com › articles

 

To be honest I usually don't know what type of plane I am flying on. This year was the first time I looked at my planes on my flights because I wanted to make sure I wasn't flying on a Boeing 737 Max 😂. Which I suppose was me being concerned about long term health impacts😉. 

[iancal]

I believe two things impacted our travel health.  Prior to retirement we prepared for it.  We both got our weight down plus we started walking/hiking 4 KM a day.  We often find ourselves on 10 or 12 flights.  Going to SE Asia we add a second one of about 8 hours to that.   No way we wanted to feel uncomfortable flying because of excess weight.

 

The second thing was partially a result of travel and how/what we ate on travel.  Big switch to lots of fresh fruit, salads, and away from all processed foods.  Less red meat and we grill everything.

 

I thing these have resulted in an increased sense of well being -especially when we travel.  Switching to carry on only was also a big help.

[SRF]

16 hours ago, clo said:

Maybe it's the free booze that kills germs!

 

Most airlines are back to some booze on international flights, even for economy.  Non-US airlines never stopped.

 

 

[SRF]

3 hours ago, clo said:

We live in Reno with frequent single digit humidity and, knock wood, are rarely sick.  And:

10% to 15%

With a body largely constructed of super-strong plastics—carbon-fiber composite material—instead of aluminum, the 787 can have higher cabin humidity since rust isn't a worry. The humidity level in the Dreamliner cabin is 10% to 15%, compared with 4% to 7% typical in other airplanes.Feb 16, 2012

How Dreamy Is the Boeing Dreamliner? - WSJ

 

https://www.wsj.com › articles

 

787 also runs a higher cabin pressure differential.  So the cabin altitude is lower.

 

Rust is not a problem with airplanes, they are mainly made of aluminum.  And 10 - 15% humidity would not be a problem anyway.  You would need to be up around 70% or greater.

 

But, since the only source of humidity is the cabin and people, then it means that more of the air is recirculated. 😄

[SRF]

One other thing is.  The more you travel and the more you are exposed to various pathogens, the more you exercise your immune system.  So you will be more healthy.

 

So, using a lot of hand sanitizer can actually reduce your immune system response by not challenging it. 😄

 

Since I started working with a lot of international travel, I have a LOT less issues with respiratory illnesses.

[mickey89]

I wonder when we should abandon cruising as everyone knows your immune system weakens with age.

Does HAL's  'Code Orange' really help ?