Stay healthy this SUMMER

Whether you’re jetting off or having a mini-break at home, avoid being unwell with these top tips

Aholiday in the sun is the highlight of the year, but in the time it takes to unpack your flip-flops, a summer getaway can be derailed by health niggles. So how do you deal with a bad hangover on holiday and what soothes a bout of travel belly? Here’s the expert advice to keep you well…

Fix motion sickness

Feel dizzy and nauseous from car, train, boat or plane travel? ‘Activating pressure points can provide quick relief,’ says wellness 1 expert Skye Alexander. Locate the ‘P6’ point on your inner wrist – two finger-widths from where the arm and 2 palm join.

Press your right thumb on your left wrist for 60 seconds, then switch hands. Continue until the sick feeling eases. Wearing a travel sickness band applies constant pressure. Try the Safe & Sound Motion Sickness Bands (£3, Tesco). WHAT ELSE WORKS?

Focus on a fixed point and try to breathe fresh air. Note that reading or looking at digital devices will make it worse.

Stop blood clots

Sitting for hours affects blood circulation to the legs and can lead to the development of blood clots, so speak to your GP if you have a family history of varicose veins or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), says Vanessa Livingstone, a nurse at UK Vein Clinic. ‘DVT also has a higher rate if you’re overweight or a smoker.’

✱ KEEP MOVING

Walk around the plane when you can. While seated, lift and rotate your ankles, and do heel and toe raises with feet flat on the floor. Do both 10 times, every 20 mins. Sip water and limit your booze intake.

✱ SLIP ON SOCKS

Compression socks stimulate circulation to stop blood from pooling in the legs. Try HJ Hall’s Flysafe socks (£11, hj.co.uk).

Beat jet lag

Nauseous and overtired? ‘It’s when your body clock can’t cope with changing time zones,’ says sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley. Set your watch to your destination time zone on take-off, and eat and sleep at the correct times on board. If it’s light when you arrive, head outdoors before going to bed, to help reset your body clock.

Help a hangover

Gone OTT on cocktails in the sun? Drink lots of water and stay in the shade. ‘If you’re suffering, top up electrolyte levels with coconut water to replace potassium and salt that’s lost through boozing,’ says nutritionist Sally Wisbey.