For some people, there’s no greater joy than walking out of the house with a plane ticket in hand. Traveling abroad provides amazing, eye-opening experiences. You can visit new lands, experience new cultures, and have unique adventures you couldn’t find in the states.
However, when traveling to foreign countries, you must make an extra effort to stay healthy. New places and people have germs and bacteria you’re not acclimated to. You’re body’s never had a chance to build up a defense against them.
This can be especially important in less developed countries. But that doesn’t mean you should cancel your trip. Instead, keep reading to find out more about healthy travel.
Wash Your Hands After Using the Restroom
Though we were all taught as children to wash our hands after going to the bathroom, many adults have abandoned this practice long ago. Others have variations of handwashing, such as:
- Only washing after going number two
- Running their hands under the tap and calling it good
- Wiping their hands on their shirt or pants
Washing your hands isn’t necessarily about cleaning up after yourself, it’s about killing any bacteria or germs you picked up while in the bathroom. You need to wash your hands with soap to ensure you’re not bringing anything out of the bathroom with you that can make you sick.
Carry Around Hand Sanitizer
Washing your hands after going to the bathroom isn’t the only practice to stay healthy. Anytime you’re in heavily trafficked areas, touching surfaces and interacting with people, you should be conscious of germs. For example:
- After taking public transportation
- After walking through museums and other attractions
- After touching handrailings, handles, and other surfaces
Carry around a small hand sanitizer bottle to make sure you can quickly kill the germs on your hands. This is important, especially before taking a break to eat.
Drink Plenty of Bottled Water
For optimal health in any situation, you need to be well-hydrated. This rule doesn’t change while traveling abroad. If anything, it becomes more important, particularly if you’re walking around all day in the heat.
If you have a full day of tourist activities ahead of you, start your morning with two full glasses of water. Then, pack a bottle of water along with you for the day.
Drinking water helps your body function at full capacity. Aside from avoiding dehydration, it will also keep your immune system humming along at an optimal rate.
Finally, before you go on your vacation, do a little research about the quality of the drinking water. In certain areas, it’s best to drink only bottled water.
Get Plenty of Sleep
People often underestimate the significance of getting quality sleep every night. While you’re vacationing abroad, your instinct will be to pack in as much as possible. You don’t want to miss out on anything in the time you’re there.
While we understand this logic, you shouldn’t deprive yourself of sleep. Not getting enough sleep has several negative side effects. This includes:
- Lowered immunity
- Irritability
- Inability to focus
- Increased stress and anxiety
- Fatigue
- Muscle exhaustion
- And more
If you’re like most people, you hardly get enough sleep in your regular schedule. Take your vacation as an opportunity to catch up a bit. Get at least seven solid hours of sleep each night.
Eat Healthy Foods
One of the best things about traveling to new places is experiencing the local foods. Some places are tourist destinations because of their food. However, make sure you don’t overindulge in sweets and other types of unhealthy foods.
Avoid eating greasy foods for every meal. Additionally, don’t wash every meal down with soda. If you do drink soda, pair it with a glass of water.
Furthermore, to stay healthy, you need to consume plenty of vitamins and minerals. A couple of times a day, eat a meal that includes fresh fruit and veggies.
You can also cook at your home base to avoid fatty and greasy foods. Check out https://thexcj.com/collections/national for some delicious options.
Adhere to the Social Distancing Standards
Even though you’re allowed to travel, we’re still in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic. As such, you need to take extra precautions to avoid catching and/or spreading the virus.
Follow the rules and regulations of the airlines, airports, and countries that you visit. No one enjoys wearing a mask, but it does help prevent the spread of Covid. If it’s a policy on the plane or in the airport, be responsible and follow the rules.
Avoid Excessive Alcohol Consumption
For several reasons, smart travel advice warns you not to drink too much alcohol while traveling abroad. First, and most obviously, if you get drunk at a local bar, you may have trouble finding your way home. You could also run into other problems, like getting mugged, harassed, assaulted, or arrested.
However, even acute binge drinking is shown to have negative effects on your immune system. The high levels of alcohol in your blood disrupt your immune pathways, making it easier for you to get sick.
Avoid the Aisle Seats on Planes
You may not realize it, but sitting in the aisle seat on airplanes can expose you to more germs and bacteria. Sure, sitting on the inside makes it more difficult to get up and go to the bathroom, but at least you have a view.
More importantly than that, however, is that airplane passengers walking down the aisle tend to place their hands on the tops of seats. And when they’re walking up and down the aisle, it’s because they’ve just visited the restroom. You can probably follow the logic from there.
Bring Sunscreen
Finally, to stay healthy on your trip abroad, bring sunscreen. It sounds silly, but if you’ve ever been severely sunburnt, you know how quickly it can ruin your week.
Putting on sunscreen before you go out for the day is essential if you’re spending the majority of your time outside, especially if it’s in hotter climates. You should also pack the sunscreen with you for reapplication later in the day.
Do You Want to Stay Healthy on Your Next Trip?
If you’re planning on traveling abroad, we are more than excited for you. We know how exciting it can be to see new places and have new adventures. Just remember our safe travel tips to stay healthy and happy.
And if you’re looking for more travel advice, stick around for a bit. We have tons of articles created to help travelers like you make the most out of their vacations. Stay safe and have fun!
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