HealthyLife Articles

Category: Healthy Travel

Safe Travel For Pregnant Women

Healthy Travel

Expecting to travel before your baby is due? Follow these guidelines.

* Check with your physician to make sure travel is permissible. Travel during pregnancy is least risky during the fourth to sixth months.

* If you’re planning to travel by airplane or train, ask for an aisle seat so you can get to the lavatory more easily.

* Don’t exert yourself to the point of fatigue.

* If you experience motion sickness, get some fresh air or eat soda crackers. Don’t take motion sickness medication.

* If you’re traveling by car, wear a safety belt. It should fit snugly across your chest and hips, not over your stomach.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Destination: Fun

Healthy Travel

Taking a break from it all is good for your health and happiness. Planning ahead, packing smart, and knowing your destination will help you relax and enjoy. Use these tips for a safe and healthy vacation.

* Find out what to expect at your destination – weather, construction areas, and health concerns.

* If you are going outside the U.S., find out if you need any vaccines. Ask your doctor or visitcdc.gov/travel.

* Don’t carry large amounts of cash.

* Make sure you have enough of your medicines. Pack them in your carry-on bag.

* Pack a first-aid kit with over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, sunscreen, and bandages.

* During airplane travel, stretch your arms and legs at least every hour.

* Leave valuables at home. Don’t become a target for theft.

* Stay hydrated. If the drinking water is unsafe, choose bottled water. Limit alcohol and caffeine.

* Wash your hands often. Take alcohol-based hand sanitizers that contain least 60% alcohol.

* Talk to your family about safety concerns. Don’t let kids wander.

* Supervise your children at all times.

Action Step:Use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher to protect your skin from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Take A Vacation For Rest & Relaxation

Healthy Travel

Taking vacations has been shown to lower blood pressure and decrease stress hormones.

* Plan ahead to avoid traveling mishaps.

* Leave your work and worries behind.

* If traveling far busts your budget or is too stressful, enjoy a “staycation.”

* Visit a local museum or landmark. Relax at a nearby park or lake.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Don’T Forget Your Medication

Healthy Travel

Running out of your high blood pressure medicine or other prescription drugs at home is not as big of a problem as when you’re traveling. To avoid running out of vital medications, take these steps.

* Ask your doctor to prescribe enough medication to last the duration of your trip.

* Carry medication with you in a small bag. Don’t pack medicine in checked luggage, in case the baggage gets lost or delayed.

* If you take liquid medications, ask the pharmacist to put it in a plastic container instead of a glass bottle to avoid breakage.

* To avoid having your medicine confiscated by Customs agents, keep all medicine in its original container, with contents clearly labeled. Find out from your doctor if the medicine you take (injection supplies, etc.) can go through the X-ray scanners at the airport. Cards identifying you as the user of a medicine may be available from the medicine’s manufacturer. If you take an injectable medicine, you may need a note from your doctor when you travel by air.

* Keep your medications away from humidity, direct sunlight, and hot temperatures, which can reduce the potency.

* Insulin-dependent diabetics should check with their doctors about adjusting their dosage schedules to local time when traveling to a different time zone.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Taking The Stress Out Of Travel

Healthy Travel

Even if you’re jetting to a sunny climate on your dream vacation, travel can be stressful. Any change in routine, scenery, eating habits, or time zones can take its toll on your well-being.

Here are some things you can do to minimize travel stress.

* Begin to prepare for your trip well in advance of your departure date. Make a list of things to do each day.

* Finish packing your bags at least one full day before you leave. Devote the rest of the day to quiet activities, such as reading, napping, taking a leisurely bath, or listening to soothing music.

* Allow plenty of time to reach your destination or catch your flight. It’s better to have time to spare than to rush.

* Once you reach your destination, don’t over-schedule every day with endless hours of shopping, sightseeing, sports, and partying. Allow for some “downtime.”

* Don’t overeat, especially at night.

* Get enough sleep. Otherwise, you’ll come home pooped instead of renewed and refreshed.

* Get some exercise.

* Schedule your return so you have a day or so to “decompress” before you return to work.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Eat, Drink, And Be Wary

Healthy Travel

It’s been said that travel expands the mind and loosens the bowels. One-third of visitors to developing countries suffer from travel sickness, or turista. This includes diarrhea, cramps, fatigue, and sometimes fever and nausea. Food and water contaminated with bacteria are usually to blame. Here’s what to do.

* If you plan to travel outside the United States, check with the local tourist board to find out if the water is safe for foreign visitors to drink. Often, natives who are used to the local water can drink it with no ill effects, but outsiders experience nausea or diarrhea (or both).

* If you know or suspect the water is unsafe, drink and brush your teeth with bottled water that has a sealed cap. The same goes for making ice cubes, washing fruits and vegetables, or cooking.

* Carry an immersion coil so you can boil your water. Boil the water for at least 10 minutes, and allow it to cool before you use it.

* If you can’t boil your water, use purifying tablets, such as Halazone or Potable Aqua tablets, which you can buy at most drugstores and many sporting goods stores.

* Drink beverages served in original bottles, cans, etc. Don’t use ice made from tap water.

* Don’t eat raw fruits or vegetables (including salad). The exception: fresh fruit you peel yourself.

* Don’t order undercooked meat. Beef, pork, chicken, and fish should be cooked thoroughly.

* Don’t eat raw or undercooked shellfish.

* Avoid smorgasbords and buffet meals, where food is often left out for long periods of time, giving disease-causing microbes plenty of time to grow.

* Avoid unpasteurized milk and cheeses in countries outside the United States and western Europe.

* If your choice of safe foods is severely limited, take a daily multiple vitamin and mineral capsule to supply the nutrients you may be missing out on.

Ask your doctor about taking diarrhea medicine with you. Ask what product you should take and in what doses. (Note: Don’t take Pepto-Bismol if you’re allergic to aspirin. Don’t give Pepto-Bismol to anyone under age 19. Like aspirin, it contains salicylate.)

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Travel Hints For Retirees On The Go

Healthy Travel

Some of the most avid travelers are in their fifties, sixties, and seventies. Yet people in this age group are susceptible to certain health problems. To minimize your risk of health trouble away from home, take these precautions.

* Before confirming your reservations, be sure the itinerary is not too demanding for you or your traveling companions.

* Visit your doctor and dentist before your trip. Schedule your appointments far enough in advance to allow time to take care of any health problems that need to be resolved before departure.

* If you’re being treated for an ongoing medical condition, carry copies of your medical records when you travel in case you become ill.

* Get adequate sleep before and during your trip. Fatigue aggravates existing medical conditions and reduces resistance to illness.

* Pace yourself, and take time to rest once or twice a day.

* Medicare recipients who need supplemental travel health insurance for travel outside the United States should contact the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Insurance Division at 1.800.523.5800 orwww.aarphealthcare.comfor further information.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Fitness In Flight

Healthy Travel

Sitting in a narrow, crowded airplane seat for hours causes cramped and achy muscles, swollen feet, and fatigue. And anyone who has a problem with circulation in his or her legs runs a risk of thrombophlebitis when sitting for long periods of time. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent the typical aches and pains travelers frequently experience during long flights. One is to charter your own plane and stretch out in comfort. If you’re like most people, however, a private plane is probably beyond your means. Instead, you can try to reduce stiffness with the following exercises.

* Tense your feet for 5 seconds, then relax them. Repeat with each muscle group, including your calves, thighs, buttocks, shoulders, neck, forearms, and hands.

* Drop your head forward. Then slowly move it to your right, and continue rotating your head, to the back, to the left, and to the front again. Repeat four times. Then reverse direction, and repeat five times.

* Raise both shoulders, then move them back, down, and forward in a circular motion.

* Reaching toward the ceiling, stretch your right arm. Then repeat with your left arm.

To promote circulation in your legs:

* Flex and extend your feet, pointing your toes up and down.

* Try to get up and walk at least once every 2 hours, if possible. You should also make an effort to breathe slowly and deeply. Aircraft air is lower in oxygen than outdoor air, and deep breathing helps you to get enough oxygen into your blood and avoid fatigue or sluggishness.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Travel Safely Checklist

Healthy Travel

Before You Go

* Find out about health concerns where you are going and if immunizations are needed.

* Carry all needed prescriptions (in their original containers) and supplies with you. Get a letter from your doctor, for taking a controlled substance, injectable medicines, notice for having a pacemaker, artificial joint, etc.

* Find out what your health insurance plan covers and if you need extra insurance.

* Ask your doctor if you need to adjust medicine dosages and activity schedules. Arrange for special needs (e.g., wheelchair, special meals, etc.) with the airline, etc.

* If you have a heart condition, carry a copy of a recent EKG test. Know how to obtain your past medical records in case of an emergency while you are away.

For Motion Sickness

* Get plenty of rest before the trip.

* Take an OTC medication (i.e., Dramamine®) 30 minutes before travel begins.

* If traveling by airplane, request a seat over the wings. Open the overhead vents and direct air at your face.

* On a cruise ship, get a cabin near the middle and close to the waterline. Spend as much time as you can on deck in the fresh air.

* When traveling by car or train, gaze straight ahead, not to the side. Sit by an open window for fresh air except in a polluted area.

* If you feel sick, breathe slowly and deeply. Avoid smoke and food odors. Eat crackers.

To Help Prevent Jet Lag

* Three nights before you leave, change your bedtime. If traveling to a different time zone and going east, go to bed 1 hour earlier for each time zone you cross; if traveling west, go to bed 1 hour later for each time zone.

* Once on the plane, change your watch and activity to match the time where you are going. If it is daytime there, stay awake; if nighttime, sleep on the plane.

To Stay Safe While You Are Away

* Do not look like a tourist. Wear plain clothes and little, if any, jewelry.

* Avoid first floor rooms and those with doors facing outside. Lock your door using the safety chain. Make sure that windows and connecting doors are locked.

* Study the emergency exit map to prepare for an escape.

* Walk at night with others and in well-lit, safe areas. Ask hotel staff for advice.

Other Tips for Air Travel

* To reduce the risk for blood clots in the legs, extend your feet and flex your ankles several times while sitting. Get up and walk every hour or so.

* To avoid ear pain, chew gum, suck on hard candy, or yawn during take-offs and landings.

* Drink water, not alcoholic or caffeinated beverages, before and during the flight.

Resources

International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT)

716.754.4883

www.iamat.org

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Footwear And Foot Care For Travelers

Healthy Travel

Hours of shopping and sightseeing can leave your feet tired, aching, and sore. Here’s what to do to save yourself the agony of sore feet, blisters, and other foot problems.

To prepare your feet for the rigors of travel, do each of these exercises several times a day.

* Take off your shoes and socks, and pick up a pencil with your toes as you sit.

* Rotate your feet in a circular motion in one direction, then in the other.

* Point your toes to the ceiling, then to the floor.

* Stand, and roll up on your toes and hold for a count of 25.

* If you have foot problems and plan to travel, see your podiatrist. He or she may be able to remove corns, for example, or take care of other problems that might cause discomfort if you’re going to be on your feet a lot.

* Pack comfortable shoes that you’ve already worn several times. Walking or jogging shoes are best. Avoid high heels, dress oxfords, or other fashion footwear that don’t adequately support your feet.

* Take along two pairs of walking shoes, and alternate footwear every other day.

* Wear cotton socks, not nylon. (And don’t go sockless.)

* If your ankles and feet tend to swell, wear support stockings. Support hose are available for both men and women.

If these suggestions fail to prevent achy feet or blisters, try these remedies.

* Soak your feet in a tub of cool water to which you’ve added one cup of Epsom salts for every gallon of water.

* Wash and thoroughly dry your feet every day. Then apply a powder to help absorb perspiration.

* Gently massage your feet with a moisturizing lotion. Begin at your toes and work up to your ankles. Massaging the feet can also help to relieve foot cramps.

* Don’t pop blisters. Instead, cushion them with a corn pad or bunion pad.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026