Easy ways to reduce your risk of getting sick while travelling

With so many people travelling for business or pleasure, it can be easy for illness to spread. Travellers concerned about colds or other ailments may be unable to avoid cramped airline cabins or crowded restaurants, but there are ways to reduce their risk of getting sick while on the road.

• Stay hydrated. Travellers who are busy seeing the sights or attending seminars may forget to stay hydrated throughout the day. That can increase one’s susceptibility to illness, as fluids carry nutrients to the cells and flush bacteria from the bladder. Older travellers should be especially vigilant about staying hydrated while traveling, as the Harvard Medical School notes that older men and women do not sense thirst as much as they did when they were younger.

• Continue exercising. Even vacationers whose primary goal when traveling is to relax and unwind may want to squeeze in a little physical activity during their travels. Physical activity can flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways, potentially reducing one’s chances of getting a cold, the flu or another illness. In addition, exercise causes changes in antibodies and white blood cells that could help the immune systems of physically active people detect illnesses earlier than the immune systems of sedentary men and women.

• Purchase hand sanitizer. One of the easiest ways to get sick while traveling is to come into contact with germs. Travellers tend to be out and about instead of locked inside hotel rooms, so their exposure to germs is likely greater while traveling than it is at home. Airport security agents may discard hand sanitizer at security checkpoints, so it may be unwise for travelers to bring sanitizer with them on their trips. Instead, travellers can purchase some at their destinations.

• Get sufficient sleep. Studies have indicated that sleep helps sustain a fully functioning immune system, and that chronic sleep loss, which may be a greater concern for business travelers than vacationers, can impair the immune system.