One of the few downsides to seeing amazing places around the world is that they are popular. That popularity brings travelers from all over the planet to see them and with them come germs from who knows where. Major communicable diseases aside (not much of a chance) common cold and flu germs are easy to pick up. Those hitchhikers can ruin an otherwise wonderful trip really fast. Whatever you have planned, odds are those plans do not include being sick. Let’s avoid that with these ten easy holiday travel health tips, just in time for holiday travel.
- Use Good Hand Sanitizer All The Time- We like GermBloc for this use as it is not alcohol-based nor skin-drying. Keep in mind: no alcohol means you can not smuggle booze on the ship in Germbloc hand sanitizer bottles.
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Blow It Away- On the plane, if overhead controls allow direction of airflow, point it away from you to blow airborne germs on to someone else. This is survival. If someone is hacking and coughing, that’s the direction you want to try for. I have absolutely no scientific evidence to prove that this works. But it does.
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Carry Lysol Wipes- Wipe down those airline seats, armrests, tray tables and seat backs. I wish I had wiped down the obviously sick child who gave us both colds on the flight back from our Thanksgiving visit with relatives.
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Wash Your Hands is king among common travel health tips. Do that whenever possible and do it right. Scrubbing like a doctor before surgery: excessive. 20 seconds of scrubbing: you can do this.
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Bring Cheap Spa Sandals to go to the aircraft lavatory which can get pretty disgusting to walk on. Use a hand towel to open the door on the way out too then get rid of it before the door closes or realize “Oh, that’s why there is a trash can just outside of the bathroom door.”
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Burn Your Clothes- By the time travelers get to their destination/home they may have bumped up against and/or made contact with an untold number of people from anywhere in the world. Use the hotel/ship laundry service to immediately clean those clothes on arrival. At home, strip and hit the showers as a first priority.
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Be Nosy- We swear by Nozin Nasal Sanitizer- Nozin has to be bought online and is well worth the trouble. Here’s the science on it.
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Poke Those Buttons- In elevators (germ cages), use the edge of your hotel/cruise ship room card to select floors. Better yet, stay away from elevators and other small spaces.
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Skip The Whirlpool Tubs…or what we call Bacteria Cauldrons. Enough said.
10.Wait To Go Ashore- The mob of people wanting to get off the ship first create a wonderful springboard for germs do a swan dive, right down onto you.
Bonus Tip: Do Not Skip Buffets
Because there are so many chances to pick up someone else’s germs, cold, cooties, lists like this often include advice to skip buffet lines. Don’t. This is a line item that has been on the list of things to deny yourself for the greater good for a long time. Perhaps too long. Nearly every major cruise line has recently redone buffet areas. The cafeteria line you remember from past
sailings or high school is probably gone. That was replaced by stations where we do not have to stand in line or wait behind someone who can not make up their mind what they want.
Chris Owen shares frank, inside information about cruise vacations on ChrisCruises.com