Hints for staying healthy while travelling?

[Maclean girl]

Do any of you have any suggestions for keeping healthy while flying and cruising? Are there things that you do before you leave and while you are traveling that has kept you healthy rather than succumbing to the viruses etc on planes and cruise ships?

Thanks!

[kneecap]

I heard somewhere that drinking water every half hour on a flight helps cut jet lag. I also bought some pills called "Jet Lag" that worked wonders for my Med Cruise last year. (I think the pills are from New Zealand.)

 

I also make sure I bring my multi-vitamins along and Vitamin C pills for onboard the ship.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have found Airborne to work fantastic:)

[SDHALFAN]

I remember reading somewhere that you should take one regular-strength aspirin a day for three days before your flight and then take one more about half an hour before boarding the plane. This will supposedly thin down your blood and prevent blood clots forming in your legs during long flights, which can lead to serious, if not fatal, illnesses.

 

It sounds feasible to me, but unfortunately I have only remembered to do it once on a transatlantic flight.

 

As far as viruses aboard the 'plane or ship, keep washing your hands;) .

 

Valerie:)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Maclean Girl:

 

As Valerie says above, "wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands"!!

 

 

As a former flight attendant, I recommend consuming little to no alcohol on flights, as alcohol will dehydrate you, and the air is already dry enough on the plane. Get up and stretch periodically, or walk the aisles (but not when the flight attendants are trying to serve!:) )

 

Karin

[O2B@C]

Wash hands - thoroughly. Use Purell. Use sanitizing handwipes. Do these things a LOT. ALWAYS do one or more of them (a) immediately before eating; (b) before and after touching your nose, mouth, or eyes; © after using the facilities; (d) after touching potentially germ-ridden surfaces with your hands; and (e) after sneezing or coughing.

 

When finished using the facilities, follow this procedure whenever possible:

(1) wash hands thoroughly with warm water and soap, rubbing briskly for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday [silently, of course;) !]

(2) leave water running (unless it turns itself off)

(3) dry hands on clean paper towel(s)

(4) cover hands with paper towel when turning off faucet and grasping handle of exit door, even if it means you have to pocket the damn thing for a while because the trash can is too far from the restroom door to throw the towel away after opening the door with it:rolleyes:

 

Airborne either works, or has a really powerful placebo effect!:D Ditto vitamin C.

[Juanita462]

I know of a person who wears a mask while flying - says she hasn't had a cold or flu since. I don't touch the onboard magazine or newspapers - you never know who has handled them before you.

 

we take ColdFX and have found it useful for not picking up viruses. We also take a nasal saline solution and use it during flight - the doc said that the dryer the nose, the greater chance of picking up something.

 

Re; the embolism problem - we now wear compression stockings on every flight - you can get them at a drugstore - have them fit you as it isn't one size fits all. We travelled once on a bus with a man who developed a clot while flying from Australia - he had to take a shot every day until he got home. Another man also developed a clot and after that wasn't allowed to fly for more than 3 hours per day.

 

Wish we could get Airborne in Canada.

[pitdoctor]

(e) after sneezing or coughing.

 

 

and do everyone a favor and don't cover your mouth and nose with your hands when you sneeze and cough. Use the inside of your elbow.

[midgecruiser]

Airborne!! I'm a Dental Hygienist and have had so many of my patients this winter coming in with colds, sore throat, strep throat (not kidding), getting over a flu...come on people give me a break I'M IN YOU MOUTH creating AEROSOLS!! Re-schedule! Anyway, sorry about the rant. I use Airborne. Drink it with my lunch at work and have not had a single cold or anything else in two years. Also take it when I fly and cruise. Seems to work. That and hand washing and keep your hands away from your face.

 

Wendy

[PatsyAnne]

Repetition of "wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands!"

 

I find it helps to drink a lot of water and use a saline nose spray often. For long trips, I feel better if I have something to wash my face with, moisturizer for my hands, lip balm, and eye drops. Stand up when you can and move around the cabin - especially after drinking all that water :).

 

Laugh a lot and remember you are on vacation!

 

And in the words the captain on my last cruise, "remember to wash your hands."

 

Trish

[sail7seas]

Wish we could get Airborne in Canada.

 

Can't you order it on-line? It's a common over the counter item in the States.

 

http://www.airbornehealth.com/

 

Try airbornehealth with www before and .com after. (I'm not sure if the link will post.) They provide the choice to purchase on line.

[Sallymcmama]

On long flights, be sure to get up and move around at least once every hour (better once every half hour)....try to get the aisle seat:) !

 

Did anybody mention that you should wash your hands?;)

[mamaofami]

Our physician told us to use a nasal saline solution and give a squirt while flying. We do it once an hour. It keeps the nasal passages moist and prevents germs from staying there.

[Maclean girl]

You know, I think I might wash my hands frequently!!!:) Actually I already do that and many of the other suggestions...even here at home. I have cancer so am pretty vigilant about washing my hands when I come home from shopping, the hospital etc. I REALLY don't want to get sick and spoil this once in a life time holiday in Europe.

 

Thank you for the suggestions about Airbourne, Cold FX and also the nasal mist and other ideas. We don't drink alcohol so that is not a problem but I have even heard that we should not get ice in our water on the plane as you don't know where that water came from.

 

Thanks for all the ideas and please keep them coming!

[Miss Jolly]

Thanks for the reminder re asprin. I had forgotten this but had it mentioned to me at the hospital just recently. Doctors also recommend the compression stockings. I even saw on TV recently that you can now buy them with a type of battery charge in them so they will keep pulsating your legs even when you are asleep. Of course, they do cost more than the regular ones. If I hear someone singing happy birthday when the tap is running ... I know who it will be.LOL! Relax -- happiness is the best health remedy. I'll get Sean to tell you a joke each day. He is quite the young comedian. his ipod is full of old comedy material.

Jennie

[Krazy Kruizers]

While flying we always drink water so as not to get dehydrated.

 

WASH those hands often.

 

We try to stay away from anyone who is coughing.

[mamaofami]

Wash hands - thoroughly. Use Purell. Use sanitizing handwipes. Do these things a LOT. ALWAYS do one or more of them (a) immediately before eating; (b) before and after touching your nose, mouth, or eyes; © after using the facilities; (d) after touching potentially germ-ridden surfaces with your hands; and (e) after sneezing or coughing.

 

When finished using the facilities, follow this procedure whenever possible:

(1) wash hands thoroughly with warm water and soap, rubbing briskly for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday [silently, of course;) !]

(2) leave water running (unless it turns itself off)

(3) dry hands on clean paper towel(s)

(4) cover hands with paper towel when turning off faucet and grasping handle of exit door, even if it means you have to pocket the damn thing for a while because the trash can is too far from the restroom door to throw the towel away after opening the door with it:rolleyes:

 

Airborne either works, or has a really powerful placebo effect!:D Ditto vitamin C.

 

 

I use the above method for washing my hands in the public bathrooms on the boat. Dry them with the towel, turn off the faucet, use the towel to open the door, keep a foot in the door, and then toss the towel in the bin. Seems to work well. I learned to do this from a dentist on one of the HAL ships when there was a code red.

 

ANother trick. Use your knuckles to push the elevator buttons instead of your fingers. Lots of germs on those buttons.

[gg3]

You are certainly right about getting up and walking and stretching and moving about when traveling whether by bus, train, plane or car. Or for that matter if you have a job where you sit a lot at a desk. My brother recently developed a pain in his leg, finally went to the doc. - a blood clot. Within a week another clot......this time a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) which is a very dangerous problem because this clot can travel and cause death. The questions asked by the doctor were: do you ride in a car a lot, travel by plane a lot, sit at a computer for long periods during the day or evening ?? He answered yes to all these. He had to immediately have a procedure where the surgeon placed a "safety net" in his vein to catch the clot if it traveled, before it dissolves with warfarin, and shots in the abdomen. Very scary. Soooo.....take this seriously. When you travel for extended periods, frequently get up out of your seat, walk about, stretch your legs, drink lots of water, and take at least two baby asprins a day or whatever your doc rec. gg

[PatsyAnne]

I forgot to mention using Oral-B Brush-Ups when you are not comfortable with the water. They fit on the end of your finger and you use them to brush your teeth. I like them for long airplane rides, and also in the airports.

[caviargal]

I use EmergenC daily and occasionally double up when I travel. It's a good preventative, especially on planes.

[PatsyAnne]

I'm packing for Alaska, and it reminded me of other health-related flying issues. I take an inflatable lumbar-support pillow for my back, because the airplane seats never fit just right (imagine that :rolleyes:). Also take earplugs or other noise reducers - these help with screaming children :eek: as well as engine noise.

 

Last post on this, honest! Heading out today in search of the Noordam.

[mountainmare]

I use immune system boosters for a couple of weeks before a trip and also eat good plain yougert with live culltures to boost my digestive system. I always try local food and have never had a problem, but I eat the yougert everyday.

Drink lots of water, especially on the ship.

Try to limit your alcohol consumption.(notice I said try)

Get up and stretch on the plane, be sure to walk on the ship.

Wash your hands and just be aware when you touch something in a public confined space that you have to clean your hands before you eat.

Most important--keep a positive attitude, go with the flow and don't try to pack everything into one trip--this is especially true in Europe. Stop, look at the sea and on land take time to enjoy the experience of being somewhere else. I see so many people stressed and rushing about while traveling, that's just not healthy.

[gg3]

Thanks for the great tips on the Airborne, EmergenC, and yogurt. I am always so wonderfully healthy, but on my last Alaskan Cruise, I had a really sore throat. Started getting sore after our long flight from Texas to Seattle, got worse each day, and finally when I got home, the doc said it was strep and probably got it on the plane. I am so careful to use Purell, hand washing, etc.....so just could not believe I had gotten something. Maybe the Airborne or EmergenC will come in handy for that, as well as the yogurt. gg

[OHCruiser]

Two years ago, after a spate of Norwalk virus outbreaks on a series of ships, I read an article that suggested ingesting a small amount of alcohol daily because an extensive public health study had shown that the stomach virus died rapidly in the presence of even low alcohol concentrations. Several types of alcohol were tested and the best results were with low sugar white wine.

 

We were headed on a family cruise Easter week, so the ship was packed with families and kids--all bringing their multiple exposures from hundreds of schools.

 

In addition to careful handwashing, etc., we started every day with an ounce of white wine before breakfast. Now, we're not drinkers--at all--but it seemed a small price to pay to avoid such a nasty virus.

 

Did it work??? Who knows for sure? We stayed healthy throughout the cruise. We did hear about several passengers who were quarantined in their room for several days because they had what appeared to be a stomach virus...

 

The science I read made sense, it was cheap and easy (even if it tasted bad), and if it was just the placebo effect--who cares---at least we weren't ill.

[katyj]

I agree with all of the above, but also, if you have daily disposable contact lenses, you shouldn't wear them on a plane if its a long flight, a, because you are not supposed to sleep in them and b, because your whole body becomes dehydrated on a plane and they can become very uncomfortable.

 

Saying that if you have to wear them use some "artificial tears" which are available from optitians or chemists, they have ones which are specially for use with contacts.