The coronavirus has us all spooked right now. Clients are canceling or postponing their vacations left and right. As a result, the travel industry is taking a bit of a hit. We’ve experienced epidemics before with Ebola, SARs, and MERS, and the one thing we know for sure is that things will eventually return to normal. In the meantime, while you grapple with whether to book that Caribbean cruise or not, it’s important to keep in mind the various ways to stay healthy while traveling.
Wash Your Hands
One of the best ways to maintain your health while on vacation is to wash your hands frequently. There’s a technique you should follow and the CDC lays out those steps in the video below.
Use this handwashing technique in the following instances:
- before, during and after preparing food
- before consuming food
- before or after tending to a sick person
- after going to the bathroom
- after changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has gone to the bathroom
- after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
- after touching pets or animals
- after handling pet food, treats or waste
- after touching garbage.
If soap and water is not available, use a hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol.
If your hands are visibly dirty, you should use soap and water instead of hand sanitizer.
There’s a lot that goes into the simple task of washing your hands. But that’s not the only thing you can do to help you and your family stay healthy while traveling.
Take Care of Yourself
Sometimes vacations can be incredibly relaxing, rejuvenating and recuperative experiences. And sometimes vacations are a frantic race to do and see all the things before heading home. We can become so focused on exploring a destination to the fullest that self-care goes out the window.
It’s important to take care of ourselves on vacation by drinking plenty of water, eating a reasonably balanced diet and getting the proper rest so that our body has what it needs to restore, regenerate and heal.
Avoid Close Contact with Sick People
If you encounter a sick person while on vacation, finding a way to politely leave the area could prove beneficial for your health.
I remember going on a cruise and standing in a very long, very slow moving line for pizza. Ahead of me was a father and his sick child. I knew the child was sick because when the dad picked the young boy up and leaned him over the counter so that he could watch as the kitchen staff tossed the pizza dough, the kid had snot that ran from his nose all the way down to the granite counter tops. I should have stepped out of the line at that point but I didn’t because I didn’t want to be rude. That decision cost me several days of sick leave and countless hours of misery after we returned home.
Sanitize Your Room
Another way to keep healthy while on vacation is to sanitize your hotel room or cruise cabin as soon as you set your foot across the threshold. This will reduce your chances of catching a nasty virus that may be lingering in your room. To learn more about how to do this in 10 easy steps, click the button below.
Final Thoughts
There’s a lot of panic and worry going on out there. We’ll all survive this if we stay calm, think rationally and take common sense steps to ensure a healthy and worry-free vacation.