Your winter travel checklist

December 3, 2019

Mark L. Friedman, MD, FACEP, FACP

Going on a ski trip in the mountains? Or a short drive to Grandma’s house? Regardless of where your seasonal travel takes you, you’ll want to stay healthy.

Airports, restaurants, even cousins at Grandma’s are home to all sorts of not-so-fun bugs. Cold, flu, noro-virus, and other unseen germs are lurking everywhere.

 

With that in mind, here’s a checklist to keep you (as well as your ski companions and family) healthy.

  • If you haven’t gotten your flu shot, get it. Why? It works. And it’s safe.
  • Wash your hands. Even if you don’t want to heed your mother’s advice, you should listen to the Centers for Disease Control.1
  • If you can’t wash your hands, use hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer should be at least 60% alcohol.2
  • Pack smart. If you’re going hours from home, don’t forget your regular medications. Pack them in your carry-on, not checked luggage. If you do forget your medicine, remember that FSH doctors can prescribe short-term refills, when appropriate.3 A first aid kit containing band-aids, disinfectant, bacitracin, ace wrap, tylenol and an antihistamine should go along as well.
  •  
  • Stay away from the sickies. Cousin have a cough? Skip the hug goodbye.
  • Eat well and stay hydrated.
  • Get your Zzzzzzs.

Even the best checklists aren’t foolproof. You might still catch a bug this season. If you do, our doctors are available in all 50 states and 24 hours a day.

Related article: Why Antibiotics Aren’t Always the Solution



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Call 888-691-7867 or use the app to request a visit.


1 https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html
2 https://www.nytimes.com/guides/travel/healthy-traveling-tips
3 https://www.fshealth.com/prescription-policy

Originally published Dec 3, 2019 3:47:37 PM.