Travel is a big part of the holiday season, with statistics showing that more than 119 million Americans plan to embark on some type of journey between Christmas and New Year’s.
Unfortunately, traveling also increases the risk of getting sick — but there are steps you can take to increase your chances of staying healthy while away from home.
“When you’re traveling, when you’re on the road, there’s a lot of risk of stress and disorientation,” Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.
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“You’re not in your usual habitat, and that can make people disoriented, upset, anxious or even sleep-deprived, especially when changing time zones.”
Siegel shared some of his top tips for preventing illness during holiday travel.
Traveling increases the risk of getting sick — but there are steps you can take to increase your chances of staying healthy while away from home. (iStock)
1. Stay well-hydrated
Staying hydrated has been shown to boost the immune system and protect against illness.
Water is always best, but other hydrating fluids include plain coffee or tea, sparkling or flavored waters, 100% vegetable juice, and milk or milk alternatives.
2. Keep up with your exercise routine
It’s best to travel while “well-exercised,” Siegel said.
“If you have a regular exercise routine, I wouldn’t suspend it a week before travel,” he said.
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“If you’re regularly exercising, sleeping right and eating right before you go, I think that that puts you in much better shape when you’re traveling.”
3. Wipe down surfaces
Siegel said he’s a “big believer” in wiping down surfaces, especially when traveling by plane.
“You wouldn’t believe what these surfaces carry — we’ve studied that,” he said. “There are a lot of germs in that tray table, and it’s the person next to you who could be sick.”
“You wouldn’t believe what these surfaces carry — we’ve studied that,” Siegel said. “There are a lot of germs in that tray table, and it’s the person next to you who could be sick.” (iStock)
The HEPA filters on planes are “quite good,” Siegel said, but most of the time they don’t start working until you’re up in the air, he noted.
“So you want to be most cautious when you’re on the runway or just getting onto the plane,” he added.
4. Stay up-to-date on vaccines
“When you’re about to take a trip, it is a good time for you to think about whether you’re up-to-date on your vaccines,” Siegel said.
One immunization that isn’t given enough attention, according to the doctor, is Tdap, a combination vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).
It is given at least once every five to 10 years.
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“There’s a ton of whooping cough around this year,” Siegel said. “Thousands of cases are reported, but many thousands aren’t.”
The doctor also recommends the shingles shot for those over the age of 50 and the pneumonia vaccine for people 60 and older.
“When you’re about to take a trip, it is a good time for you to think about whether you’re up-to-date on your vaccines,” Siegel said. (iStock)
“When you’re under stress from travel, that might be when you could get sick,” Siegel said, as the immune system isn’t functioning at an optimal level.
“When you’re under stress from travel, that might be when you could get sick.”
“That’s when shingles might reappear,” he warned. “Shingles is actually a chickenpox virus that’s dormant in your body for years, but can recur at times of stress.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that everyone 6 months and older receives COVID and flu vaccinations, with rare exceptions.
5. Pack a travel health kit
For those who take multiple daily medications, the doctor recommends traveling with one pill bottle and putting the various pills in it, making it less likely for any to get misplaced.
“Make sure you have more than enough,” he advised. “You never know when you’re going to get delayed, especially around holiday travel.”
Siegel recommends bringing three or four extra days of pills for all medications. (iStock)
Siegel recommends bringing three or four extra days of pills for all medications.
“Depending on what chronic illnesses you may have, it’s a good idea to be up-to-date with blood draws and visits to your doctor” before traveling, he added.
6. Get sufficient, quality sleep
It can be challenging to maintain a regular sleep cycle while traveling, Siegel noted, especially when time zones are changing.
“The more you can catch some winks while traveling, the better off you’re going to be,” he said.
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For those who have trouble falling asleep while on the road, Siegel recommends identifying what makes you drift off at home and using those same techniques.
“I get asked a lot for sleeping aids,” he said. “For people who are traveling on long trips, I personally am uncomfortable giving medication if the patient hasn’t been taking it already.”
7. Use masks as needed
While masks “got a bad name” during the pandemic because of mandates, Siegel noted that they are tools that can be used for those who are ill or at a higher risk.
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“If you’re a person who’s at risk of an infectious disease or has a chronic illness, the last thing you need is to get the flu, COVID or RSV.”
While masks “got a bad name” during the pandemic because of mandates, Siegel noted that they are tools that can be used for those who are ill or at a higher risk. (iStock)
The doctor recommends considering a mask for tight spaces where there are a lot of people around.
“You don’t know what they have or what they are harboring,” he said.
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“That’s why I would consider one, especially if you’re at high risk, if you’re on a plane that’s sitting on the runway and the air isn’t circulating and the HEPA filters aren’t yet engaged.”
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Overall, Siegel said, “staying hydrated, eating right and sleeping properly as best as possible is the way to go in decreasing stress while traveling.”
