Staying well on vacation

[gregdan]

We love to travel and do many steps to stay healthy prior and during, yet
DW always has a stomach bug/virus of some sort by the end of each trip. It
makes for a difficult departure and trip home with a 6 year old.
Any suggestions to stay well? We eat properly (with small amounts of junk food), use hand gel alot, take vitamins and sleep enough. Yes, we even wipe down many things in the hotel room with clorox wipes. Any idea? Thanks

 

[Albertan mom]

We only ever drink bottled water. Some peoples stomachs are sensitive to other water sources that they are not used to.

We try to stay as close to our schedule at home. Eat at the same times, eat similar foods. Though it is holidays, so of course we do eat extra junk food!!

Washing hands is the most important for sure though.

Have fun!!

 

[minnietoo]

We love to travel and do many steps to stay healthy prior and during, yet
DW always has a stomach bug/virus of some sort by the end of each trip. It
makes for a difficult departure and trip home with a 6 year old.
Any suggestions to stay well? We eat properly (with small amounts of junk food), use hand gel alot, take vitamins and sleep enough. Yes, we even wipe down many things in the hotel room with clorox wipes. Any idea? Thanks

Maybe it is not a stomach bug/virus or even food poisoning. Maybe she is sensitive enough that eating different foods, being off schedule, and not getting enough rest just irritate her - and her GI system takes the beating. Some people that have a sensitive system who suddenly add additional fats and sugars to their diet will get GI symptoms and even diarrhea as the body tries to get rid of the "bad stuff" - spicy foods might cause this also. THere are thoughts that one has a "weak" part of the body and when defenses are down (over tired, exposure to germs, etc.) that is the part that gets sick first. Her's may be her GI tract - so care is needed to keep healthy and to act quickly at the first sign of discomfort. For my it is my throat - if I feel a scratchy throat - out comes the airborne and Vit C and I make an effort to be sure I drink enough water and get extra rest.

Take "Airborne" everyday (one dose - not more than 2). Drink 8-12 glasses of WATER (not other things) everyday. Be sure to wash hands with soap and running water frequently and not just rely on waterless hand wash - especially before eating and after using the rest room. Run when you hear someone cough or sneeze. Be sure to get extra rest - so allow recovery time for time changes etc. Eat yogurt that contains "acidophillus live cultures" (great for the GI system) everyday - it is written on the labels). Sometimes taking too much Vit C will also cause GI upset - the trick here is once you have gas - back off on the Vit C.

I work hard on vacations to stay well - and I build in an extra travel day if there is a coastal time change. If you start out tired - you are starting out in a weaker state.

Hope this helps.

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

I "second" the suggestion to take Airborne (or Emergen-C) every day, and drink lots of water.

Otherwise, I think you're already doing a lot of the right things. Sometimes no matter what you do, you get sick. It's a bummer when you're on vacation, but you can only do so much! Sometimes the germs win!

 

[TXAng]

That's no fun at all.

My DH has the same problem. It's just due to the change of schedule plus all the extra excitement of vacation for him, though. He's the kind of person who loves his set routines, so anything out of the ordinary will throw him for a loop.

 

[stampinshauna]

Keep hand sanitizer gel in your pocket and use it often after going on rides.

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

Ditto on the Airborne!

You can also try some zinc lozenges if you feel something is coming on.

Drink lots of water.

Wash/sanitize hands often.

Don't eat any sugar (sugar prevents phagocytosis). If you do eat some sugar (hard not to when on vacation), then up the Vitamin C intake.

We're about to go into this mode - don't want anyone sick on our trip! And Mommy saying "no one is allowed to get sick" may not be enough!

 

[DisneyZell]

I'll second, third or fourth Airborn...I now swear by this stuff. Start taking it 2-3 days before you go, to build up your system and keep taking it (I do it once before bed and once in the morning when I get up) through your vacation.

This might not stop stomach's from being upset, but will avoid other things which would make the upset stomach's worse.

Also...bring the Pepto pills...they sell Pepto in a pill form which has worked wonders for me, and is alot more portable than the liquid kind...