How To Stay Healthy While Traveling During The Holidays
I’m proud to partner with MinuteClinic as part of their Healthy Holiday campaign. As part of my involvement, I have received sponsorship from MinuteClinic for my posts and activities, but all opinions expressed are purely my own.
Last year for the holidays we traveled to Orlando and spent the week of Thanksgiving there. During our drive there, the kids managed to pick up a bug and two of them were pretty sick for 24 hours. Thankfully I had packed some medicine and their stomach bug was short lived, but that experience defiantly left me making sure I was prepared next time. What if that stomach bug had been more serious? What could I have done to prevent it? All of these questions needed to be answered before taking our next trip and I know I can’t be the only family out there wanting to prepare before traveling. That is why I have put together some tips to help you and the family stay healthy while traveling during the holidays! Here are some health tips if your travels are on the road this holiday season:
- Stick to very light meals before traveling and avoid greasy and fatty foods
- Pack light, healthy and nutritious snacks for the road and drink lots of water
- Stop frequently to get out of the car and move around
- Stay comfortable by choosing loose clothing and light layers to travel in
- If motion sickness is causing you discomfort, visit your local MinuteClinic for motion sickness prevention
Tips to Combat Flu + Cold on the Road
If there is one thing I have learned from our family traveling and having family travel to visit us it’s that someone always gets sick! You are more likely to become ill when you travel because germs spread easily in confined spaces like cars, airplanes and transit stations and airports. You are also more susceptible because you are getting less rest and exercise and may eat outside your normal diet. Practicing these hygiene rules can help you avoid getting sick:
- Coughing or sneezing in a tissue or your sleeve to avoid spreading it to others
- Wash your hands frequently, especially if you are helping with meal preparation
- Bring travel sized hand sanitizer with you
- If you haven’t received your annual flu shot, get one as soon as possible.
If you do find yourself coming down with a cold or the flu while you are traveling, you can visit your local MinuteClinic where a practitioner can help put you on the appropriate treatment plan. In order to save you both time and money, always avoid using the Emergency Room unless you have a critical issue. MinuteClinic walk in medical clinics can help wit sinus and upper respiratory infections, ear aches and suspected strep throat. No appointment is needed and most insurance is accepted. They are also open 7 days a week, including weekday evenings, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. You can observe wait times at MinuteClinic.com and even hold a place in line in advance.
What is MinuteClinic?
Before hitting to road for the holiday, why not make a visit to your local MinuteClinic? This is where practitioners will work with you to develop a customized treatment plan for your motion sickness; recommend over the counter products, write prescriptions when medically appropriate to help you. You can also get up to date on all your vaccines, this is important if you are going to warmer weather. It is also extremely important to have a pre-travel assessment before you go to places like the Caribbean, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Sleeping less, switching time zones, indulging in too much unhealthy foods… these are just a few things that can leave us feeling sluggish while traveling. So what can we do exactly to stay healthy once you have reached your destination?
- Take a morning bike ride or a walk after dinner
- Join a relative at their gym or yoga class
- If the kids, or even the adults, are going to be up late, try and build in rest or quite time during the day
- Bring a basket of fresh fruit for your host. It’s always a great option for snacking
Last month my husband came down with a pretty serious cold and he was anxious to get back to work. What was keeping him from seeing his doctor was the dreaded wait time. I remembered seeing a medical clinic inside CVS when I had shopped there recently and suggested he check that out. We looked it up online and he scheduled an appointment for 30 minutes later. My husband informed me that they saw him right away and he was there less than 45 minutes total (this time even includes picking up his prescription from the pharmacy.) Plus they accepted his insurance and he only had to pay his $30 deductible! I wish we had known about this soon, would have saved me so much time and frustration.
So the next time you are traveling or simply at home and don’t want to wait in your doctor’s office waiting room, visit a MinuteClinic medical clinic inside select CVS Pharmacy and Target stores.
