How to Avoid Getting Sick During Holiday Travel (2024)

FAQs

How not to get sick during holidays? ›

When you're with large crowds especially, wash your hands before touching and eating food. Take care of yourself: Get plenty of rest, drink at least eight classes of water a day, stay active and eat nutritious meals. You are more susceptible to germs if you are tired and run down.

Leisure sickness could be attributed to factors other than stress, adds Professor Gunn. People on holiday are more likely to do things that make them susceptible to infection: eating from the cruise buffet, for example, or sitting in close proximity to sick people in an aeroplane cabin.

Medicines can be used to prevent or treat motion sickness, although many of them cause drowsiness. Talk to a healthcare professional to decide if you should take medicines for motion sickness. Commonly used medicines are diphenhydramine (Benadryl), dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), and scopolamine.

If you have sinus congestion or a sinus or ear infection or have recently had a concussion, you may be more prone to motion sickness. People who get migraines are also more likely to get motion sickness.

Emetophobia and Travel

If they have to travel, people with emetophobia often rely on a safety net of travel sickness tablets, travel sickness bands, mints or sedatives to take with them and get them through (even if they've never actually been travel sick).

Unfortunately, constipation and diarrhoea are both commonplace while travelling. As many as 50% of travellers experience some sort of gut issues when abroad. This can be because of many different factors, from changes in your circadian rhythm, to pre-holiday stress of packing and changes in what you eat and when.

Make sure your pre-travel diet includes plenty of fiber, which makes stools softer and more comfortable to pass. Foods high in fiber include many fruits, like apples (with the skin), raspberries, and pears; beans; and whole-grain foods such as bran cereal.

From flu-like symptoms to digestive tract upsets, feeling ill post-vacation affects up to 80 percent of returning travelers, says Dr. Ashima Oza, a primary care physician and an instructor in the Division of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Sore throat can make it extremely difficult to swallow food or even to speak. Fact is, on an average every 3rd person traveling to a foreign country experiences a sore throat. The reason why this happens is that there is generally greater exposure to various cold viruses that one's body is usually not used to.

You may be staying up later, consuming more alcohol and getting less exercise than usual. You're also more likely to be in crowded places for prolonged periods, interacting with a more diverse population than you're used to.” All of these factors can weaken your immune system and set the stage for getting sick.

What to take before a trip to not get sick? ›

Boost your immune system

Taking vitamin C before boarding your flight can help you boost your immunity to protect you against germs that can easily spread in airplanes. Regular exercise also helps you improve your overall health and stay fit to fight off infections.

Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.