You’re more likely to fall ill while travelling. If you’ve noticed that you usually get sick on holiday, it is possibly due to the ‘let-down effect’. This happens during trips as your body starts to relax. It experiences lower cortisol and adrenaline levels compared to when you’re stressed while working, making the immune system more vulnerable to infections and fatigue.
Luckily, simply taking a few precautions can ensure your next holiday experience is a happy and healthy one. If you’re curious to know more, here are a few healthier ways to travel:
Wear compression socks on transportation
Usually, travelling involves sitting for long periods. This can cause your blood to clot and result in deep vein thrombosis—a painful condition where parts of your body become red and swollen. Experiencing this while travelling makes moving hard and prevents you from enjoying your time.
Avoid this by wearing compression socks while sitting for an extended period. These are becoming increasingly popular as more people become aware of their advantages: they apply pressure to your legs to improve blood flow, minimise swelling, and lessen discomfort. The Neo G compression socks offer medical-grade compression, ensuring you won’t get blood clots. Its reinforced toe and shaped heel cup means they’ll also fit you comfortably, which can be an added bonus on more extended journeys like long-haul flights.
Frequently disinfect your hands
Travelling exposes you to different bacteria and viruses. After all, you’re visiting high-traffic areas—like airports and stations—and engaging with many other people. Airline staff even reveal that planes are very dirty because cleaners usually only have 6 seconds to disinfect each seat. You can only imagine how much bacteria and dirt you’ll get from previous passengers.
That’s why it’s crucial to sanitise your hands frequently while travelling, both on planes and in public areas like lavatories and restaurants. Doing so kills all elements that can potentially make you sick. Portable disinfectants like the We Are Paradoxx anti-bacterial hand spray can be especially handy for your carry-on: its 70% alcohol content can effectively protect you from bacteria and viruses wherever you are.
Protect your eyes
Eyes are very sensitive, and they’re especially prone to dryness and strain on flights. Indeed, dry air on planes is a problem for those with sensitive eyes due to low humidity, re-circulated air, and changes in lighting. Given that a flight can be a couple of hours or more, you’ll likely be reading a book or watching a film, and that also promotes eye strain, especially in those dry conditions.
It’s a good idea to get an eye test before your holiday to address potential eye concerns, such as getting a new prescription to reduce eye strain. If you need prescription eyeglasses for reading or watching a screen, alleviating the problem before you board the plane will lead to a much more comfortable flight. Dry eyes can be treated with eye drops, which might be worth having in your hand luggage, but for on-plane activities such as reading, a pair of suitable glasses is a must. You can get glasses from fashionable brands, such as Ray-Ban, so you look good for your holiday before you even get off the plane.
Ray-Ban also offers transition lenses with advanced photochromic technology, so your glasses could prep you for when you step onto the tarmac of your holiday destination. Alternatively, you may need to invest in some new sunglasses before you go, particularly a pair that offers 100% UVA and UVB protection. This is because, compared to the UK, the sun can be very bright in our holiday destination, and it’s crucial to be prepared. Sticking with Ray-Ban, their Aviator glasses are designed to cover as much of the face as possible, offering not on UV protection but also stopping harmful rays and glare from less direct angles.
Know your destination’s hospital contacts
Despite your protective measures, some conditions can’t be avoided: you can still fall ill due to food poisoning or allergic reactions. Because of this, you must know your destination’s hospital contact information. This is especially important if you’re not staying at a hotel—which usually has medical centres on speed dial—but in another person’s home that you’ve acquired through our Holiday Swap services. After all, their home may not have a phonebook.
So encourage your host to include hospital and first aid contact information in their guest welcome pack. Their instructions should also tell you how to get to local medical institutions—such as by calling taxi companies or using specific bus stop locations. If you’re bringing a pet, request veterinarians’ information, too. You can even encourage them further by providing the same information for them in your welcome pack. After all, you can’t be too prepared for a health emergency.
Staying healthy while travelling allows you to enjoy your holiday to the fullest. Try the tips above to make the most out of your next adventure.
