tips and tricks

Traveling Healthy

It’s June, the kids are out of school, the sun has finally graced Seattle with its smiling face and many of us will soon be hopping the first plane/car/train for the annual family vacay.

As I’m sure you’ve often found, planning travel (ensuring the kids have their favorite toys, your hubby has the proper summer wear, exchanging dollars for Euros, and making sure you haven’t forgotten the important little details) can be incredibly stressful.

With travel maps in hand and excitement at its peak, the last thing you want during vacation is to contract norovirus or something equally contagious vacation wrecker. With help from Dr. Kelly Reynolds, microbiologist and mom of 3, and The Clorox Company I bring you these healthy summer travel tips:

• Pack disinfecting wipes (such as the new thicker, textured Clorox Disinfecting Wipes with Lavender scent- ahh!)
• If you’re flying, make sure the whole family keeps drinking water (no ice ), and take a stroll down the aisle to keep your circulation going
• Choose the right seat to keep the airsick bag where it belongs.
• Pick the seat that’s most stable (especially for those prone to motion sickness) – the front seat of the car, the first car of the train, a seat over the wings of the airplane, or in the midsection of the bus or boat
• Watch out for potential germ hot spots such as airplane tray tables (as Dr. Reynolds noted we’ve all seen people change their child on a tray table…yeah remember that? Exactly, and ewww!), hotel TV remotes and phones, ATM buttons and vending machine buttons. (There are actually more germs on vending machine buttons than on surfaces in public restrooms.)
• Exercise sun smarts
• Know your sunscreen. Some sunscreens are less effective when used with insect repellents, thus you may need to reapply even more often
• Stay hydrated, and keep moving.

And the # 1 “germ-busting” technique – Yes you guessed it:

• Wash your hands for 20 seconds using warm, soapy water (sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice as kids wash their hands). An alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a great substitute for when you can’t get to a sink

Now that you are well prepared for a healthy journey go forth and enjoy, but when you arrive at your destination be careful before jumping into the pool. Dr. Reynolds shared this little tidbit which bears repeating: properly chlorinated pools do not have an intense chlorine smell. If you’ve encountered a pool that has an intense chlorine smell and upon entering the pool the chlorine burns your eyes…run! That olfactory assault does not mean the pool is incredibly clean, that is actually the chloramine (the chemical compound in chlorine) reacting with urine, sweat and feces. Nice , right ? That said, please stick to pools and hot tubs with only a mild scent of chlorine – you’ll be happy you did.

Happy Summer!

Stacey can usually be found blogging at Because I Must Blog.