I am a traveler and I know what it means when I am not able to travel due to health issues. Or you might even not know that you are over exerting yourself because you are not fit. Its really not easy to predict diseases when they might creep in but the best that we can do is love ourselves and nourish our body. In the last eight months, I have been watchful about my eating habits, more involved in activities that keep my body active and have been following some really helpful tips to do good to myself. Mind it, I am a foodie and its been a tough game to give up a lot of things which were not doing good to me. I call it a good eating regime which has really helped me to shed some extra kilos too. There is a still a long way to go and hence I will share that in a blog post later. For now, I have a very helpful guest post for everyone who loves to walk, run or travel.
Healthy Hacks for Travelers
Less warm weather or monsoon months are a rejuvenating time that most people try to fill with travel. There’s just something about the perfect weather that energizes people and gets them in the mood to get out and go places. But even in this weather, traveling can have a negative impact on your health. It is best to take some essential steps to make sure you are at your healthiest while traveling so you aren’t missing out on experiencing your destination.
Hydrate – Drink more water in the plane!
The best thing you can do while traveling is hydrate more often. Whether you’re traveling by plane or doing a lot of walking, extra hydration is absolutely essential. Because of decreased humidity on planes your body loses more water than usual, and from doing things like just breathing. It is recommended that you drink an extra eight ounces of water for every hour you’re on a plane.
If you’re doing a lot of walking on your trip, or are just outside more than usual, you should also be upping your water intake. In either case, you’re going to be sweating and thus losing water. Dehydration, and its effects such as irritability, headache and lightheadedness, is easily avoided by simply drinking more water while you travel.
Take Care of Your Skin
There are several things to keep an eye on while traveling when it comes to your skin. As previously mentioned, dehydration is a huge issue and pertains to your skin as well. Flying or being outside and sweating causes moisture to leave your skin further contributing to dehydration and leaving your skin dry. Even if you already have a skincare routine in place, it wouldn’t hurt to add a little more moisturizer into your routine.
Then there’s the risk that comes along with sun exposure. Most people have experienced sunburn in their life. It’s never fun and when it happens while you’re on vacation or traveling it can make the experience miserable. The absolute best thing you can do is to wear sunscreen every day, even if it’s not sunny out, and reapply as directed. In general, this is a practice that should be adopted in your day to day life as well. If you’re unfortunate enough to get sunburned there are several ways to repair the damage caused by the sun, including cooling your skin and using an anti-inflammatory.
Come Prepared
You cannot predict the future, so it’s important to do your best to go on your trip prepared for almost any medical situation. Only you know your body and its tendencies, so if you’re prone to headaches or an upset stomach make sure you have plenty of whatever your go-to treatment with you. The Centers for Disease Control suggests making sure to pack certain medications for common issues.
Being realistic and honest with yourself when it comes to your health will only benefit you in the end. If you’re traveling to another country, there’s a very good chance that they won’t have the exact medication you’re used to taking. In some places, it can be harder for you as a foreigner to get certain medications. And if you don’t end up using the medication on your trip, at least you’ll have it for the next time you need it.
Sanitize
Traveling is dirty and often full of germs. From airports to hotel rooms, there are people and germs literally everywhere, especially when these places are not often cleaned well. Hand sanitizer and a travel sized disinfecting spray should be on your must have packing list. With these you can make sure you’re sanitizing just about everything you come in contact with and keeping yourself healthy and germ free.
Make sure you’re packing more than one bottle of hand sanitizer so you have enough for the duration of your trip. Use this before you eat if you don’t have access to a sink and soap. You should also be using hand sanitizer after riding any form of transportation or touching anything public or communal. The last thing you want while traveling is to catch an illness when sanitizing could have prevented it.
Do Your Research
Just like being prepared in what you pack is important, so is researching the place you’re traveling to before you leave. Not research like looking up fun things to do, but research into the place itself. Check local news and government owned health sites to see if there is current high risk of certain illnesses and how you can prevent catching them. Also, look into the illnesses that are common in the area that you are traveling. That way you can make sure to get any relevant vaccines before you leave and bring proper medication just in case.
If going to another country, you should also check with your health insurance to see how far your coverage extends. In some cases insurance will cover doctor or hospital visits in foreign countries, in other cases you’re on your own. In the latter case, it might be worth it to look into supplemental travel health insurance just so you know you’re covered in case anything happens. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
This was a really interesting post, thanks for sharing your travel experience.
Good tips about how to take care of body while travelling
A good article with wonderful Explanation, Great Post, Good you explained everything in detail it has been a great help.