How To Stay Healthy When You Travel

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We all know it’s not so easy to stay healthy when you travel, especially with children. Recirculated air during flights, being in high traffic areas, plus changes in eating and sleeping patterns, can all affect our health and make it easier to get sick.

With the busy holiday travel season ahead of us, even I get a but worried, because we always try to enjoy a family vacation at the end of the year.

5 Tips to stay healthy when you travel

Here are my top 5 tips to stay healthy when traveling:

• Be proactive. If you or your kids are prone to catching colds, start taking extra vitamin C (we prefer EmergenC) a day or two before your trip.
• Plan your meals. It’s always nice to explore new places when you travel, but be careful of skipping meals or waiting too long to grab a bite to eat. You might be in an area that doesn’t offer many dining options. That’s why when we travel as a family, I always make sure we have a good breakfast to hold us up until we can stop for lunch. Hotels like Embassy Suites make it easy to eat well and make healthy choices while you’re on the road, because it has great options like yoghurt and made-to-order omelettes.
• Wash your hands! It’s obvious, I know, but it still surprises me how often we forget to get rid of germs on our hands. When you travel, it’s even more important. Soap and water are still the gold standard, but alcohol-based hand sanitizers are a great second choice.
• Take calculated risks when eating out. Part of the joy of traveling is getting to know different cultures and foods, but instead of eating everything everywhere, be selective. If the temperatures are hot, avoid creamy sauces and mayo, because they spoil easily. If you’re unsure of the hygenic conditions, eat steamed vegetables or ask for fresh tomatoes and cucumbers to be peeled to avoid contamination.
• If unsure of the water quality when traveling overseas, go for bottled. In certain countries where drinking water might be contamimated, I even brush my teeth using bottled water to avoid gastroenteritis or what’s commonly referred to as “the stomach flu.”

In any case, always have a plan in case you or your children do get sick while on vacation. Also, snap pictures on your phone of the front and back of your insurance cards. You might also want to consider travel insurance that covers emergencies when traveling overseas. Finally, check with your credit card companies because some do offer assistance when you travel, and can even refer you to a doctor in other countries. Hopefully you will never need that service!

Disclosure: I am collaborating with Embassy Suites and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own. Find more travel tips from experts and other parents by visiting embassytravelhacks.hilton.com or follow the conversation on Twitter and Instagram using #prettygreat.

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