Sick, Sick ,Sick....
 

What do you do to stay healthy while traveling? I take vitamins, exercise, eat properly, get plenty of rest but still I've had 3 bad colds in the last 9 months after returning home from international trips of about 6 days. I catch most of these bad colds come when I fly in the winter or when I fly to the southern hemisphere during the northern hemisphere's summer and encounter the southern hemisphere's winter.

FAs must have some secrets. I'm tired of being sick!

one thing that works for me is regular acupuncture. Chinese acupunture helps keep your body healthy. I've gotten sick far less frequently since I have been having acupuncture and it made my allergies much better. I now go once per month.

Friends laugh at me, but I carry and use my own pen all the time. When someone gives me a pen to sign something, like a charge receipt, I whip out my pen. I think it helps. Go ahead and laugh!

A great idea, actually. More infections are spread by objects touched by many than by sharing air.

Regular hand washing when spending days moving through heavily used public places is also a good idea.

I am sure that I am not the first to notice, but AA planes are incredibly filthy. Perhaps others, too, but I fly only AA. The arm rests, the tables, etc.etc. sometimes seem not to have been washed in weeks.

Best wishes,

Teacher49

Drink Cranberry Juice.

Some of the suggestions I've heard were: wash hands often, use those Airborne vitamin tablets, mini air purifiers, travel sized antibacterial hand cleaners, drink lots of water (out of a straw - Ha!) and consume copious amounts of beer. :D

I think that less stress equals better health. When I first started travelling for business I always got a cold when I returned, or even going out. That was at a time when travelling long distance was completely new to me, and I had never had to adjust my clock more than one hour in either direction. My business trips had 11 hour flights, and could take up to 24 hours from home to destination. The timezone adjustment was seven or eight hours.

After five such trips or something like that I got used to the whole thing, and was more relaxed during the trips. I also gained status with StarAlliance and was able to relax in the lounges between flights. (That way I had a chance to fill up on alcohol, always a good way to keep a cold away. :D ) I also learned to drink a lot of water during my flights, and now always carry a bottle of water with me when travelling. I now almost never catch a cold during my trips. This all adds up to my list of suggestions:

• Relax during the flight, try to sleep even if it is in economy class. If you can't sleep during the flight, then don't stress about that and instead watch movies or something.
• If you have a long wait between flights, try do be in a relaxing environment rather than in the stress of the main terminal. If you do not have airline status, get a DinersClub card or Priority Pass.
• Drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration. (And alcohol if you enjoy that, since free alcohol is always good. ;) )
• If you have a long trip, try to remain at your destination for at least a few days prior to returning. Otherwise you will be exhausted when starting you return trip, and you will be more likely to get sick. I think that this is even more important when travelling across multiple timezones.
• If you wear contact lenses (I do), remove them prior to boarding long flights. Your eyes will be less dry, and I beleive dry eyes are perfect entry points for infections.
• What others have said about washing your hands is obviously correct, even if not travelling. Just don't let it go too far, so that you refuse to touch a doorknob without wearing gloves.
• Enjoy the trip! Even if you have to suffer 11 or 12 hours on a long-haul flight in economy class (I have done that too many times), try to find some way to enjoy it. I think it is possible to fool yourself to think it is fun, even if that is not how you really feel. Basically, if you spend the whole time thinking positively you will be less likely to get sick (placebo effect).

The most important thing you can do is wash your hands frequently. Hand washing is the number one way to prevent cross infection. Vitamins, good nights sleep are all good but if you don't wash your hands enough you'll still get sick.

The travel sized wipes,and-now don't laugh-I turn off the overhead vent!Iknow it is probably not effective,but I rarely get a cold in the air,I wash my hands a lot also,and use paper towels for opening the bathroom doors(upon exiting)bit of a freak I know-but not as bad as some.

I take an acidophilus pill every day when travelling. Acidophilus helps your body to fight off invaders in the intestine. In fact, I found a new product that is really good and on the box it recommends you take two a day--one in the morning and one in the evening--when travelling in areas where you feel you might get sick. The brand I use is Culturelle and it's made so that the lacobacillus acidophilus survives the stomach acid and bile so it gets to your intestine in a usable state. You can order it from culturelle.com, if you're interested.

I know it works because of my dog. I take her to a park to play every day. They use reclaimed water to water the grass and it stinks to high heaven. God only knows what sort of germs are in that water. At times, they've watered the grass before we get there, so her rubber ball gets some of that water on it. She had been getting a little diarrhea and I started giving her one of these pills a day. She hasn't gotten the diarrhea ever since I started giving her these pills.

I always dress quite warmly on long haul flights, especially if I'm at a window seat.

airborne rocks and so does washing your hands.

When using a restroom, never touch the door handles, always use a paper towel.

There are some gross people out there that don't wash their hands :mad:

And I thought that DL was the only ones with the above conditions. Seems like both of them are in the same trouble. Don't even think about a pillow or blanket.

Yoga and relaxation help your general well being as well as keeping clean (antibac soap, the pen idea a few posts up, stuff like that) and eating healthy. Also, work out as much as you can, it's really good for you on many diffrent levels. Follow these prinicples and you'll feal much better.