Guest Blogger Bobby D. on Vacation Sickness

Ways To Avoid Vacation Sickness

There are any number of things that can put a damper on your vacation: lost luggage, high-priced restaurants, overcrowding at attractions and bad weather are some common culprits. But illness is probably the worst; getting sick during a fun time can be a serious roadblock for all your plans, and dishearten the most optimistic of tourists.

If you get sick, all the time, money, and preparation you put into your trip may have been for nothing, and there will be nothing to do but hole yourself up in a hotel room and try to get better before the flight home.

But it doesn’t have to be like that! There are a few quick, simple things you can do to stay away from sickness during your vacation.

Most Common Sources of Viruses on Vacation

Unsurprisingly, the two biggest sources of vacation virus are airplanes and hotel rooms, so it’s important to take extra precautions when flying and when settling into your room.

In a plane, all of the air in the cabin is continuously re-circulated. This means that any germs that other passengers may have brought on board stick around, and gradually spread through the cabin as the flight progresses.

As you can probably guess, longer flights present the greatest risk of germ exposure; the longer flight gives germs more time to spread, permeating all the corners of the cabin, and to infect passengers.

When flying, remember to wash your hands frequently, and try as best as you can to keep them away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Frequent hand-washing is hard on airplanes, so bring some alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your carry-on, and use it every hour.

Stay hydrated during travel, which means drinking plenty of water and avoiding caffeine and alcohol. These substances contribute to dehydration, which is bad for your immune system.

On a normal day, at home, you should be aiming for drinking 60% of your body weight in ounces of water – in other words, if you weigh 100 pounds, drink about 60 ounces of water every single day. But, while traveling, your body tends to get dehydrated much quicker due to stress and activity – aim for drinking 70% of your body weight in ounces of water during trips!

Viruses can linger for up to 18 hours, which means that if a sick person has recently stayed in your hotel room, there may still be virus in the room when you check in, particularly on faucet handles, remote controls, light switches, telephones, and doorknobs. If the hotel staff doesn’t do a good enough job of cleaning up your room, there’s not much you can do.

What you can do is wash your hands frequently. Also, it’s a good idea to leave your room for a few hours immediately after checking in. Leave a window open. Hopefully, by the time you return, the room will be virus free.

Avoiding Other Illnesses

Motion sickness is a problem for many first-time cruise passengers. For some, it lasts only a couple of hours, while for others it doesn’t go away until they get back on solid ground. Most cruise ships have doctors who can give you motion sickness medication, and you can also use anti-histamines or motion sickness disks. Also, some sufferers of motion sickness say that green tea and ginger can be helpful.

E. coli, or traveler’s diarrhea is no fun, but fortunately it usually passes within a day or two. If you want to avoid it, only eat food that is thoroughly cooked, drink bottled water, and – stay away from ice cubes.

If you’ve ever had a severe sunburn on vacation, you already know how crippling it can be. The key is prevention: Any time you’re going to be out in the sun, slather on as much sunblock (SPF 30 at least) as you possibly can. Repeat application regularly throughout the day, and if you do get burned, drink plenty of water and use aloe lotion until the pain passes.

About The Author: Bobby DeMuro is the Founder of FusionSouth, a personal training/sports conditioning firm in Charlotte, NC. He is also the Executive Director of NoFizz Charlotte, a non-profit dedicated to bringing awareness on the importance of proper hydration. He resides on Lake Norman with his 2-year old boxer, Dakota.