Healthy Habits: Healthy Holiday Travel

Here are some tips from Dr. Jennifer Collins, MD on staying healthy during holiday travel.

1. Wipe it Down!
Who wants to eat stuffing when suffering from cold symptoms? That’s why I recommend carrying antibacterial wipes so that surfaces on planes or in cars can be wiped down. Pay extra attention to wiping down commonly-touched products and areas such as the belt buckle, food trays and latch, volume control, and armrests.
2. Keep it Clean!
I know that holidays are the perfect time for giving family and friends hugs and kisses but always remember to wash your hands especially before and after coming into contact with your own or a loved one’s eyes, nose or mouth. Keeping hands clean is a great way of avoiding the transference of common cold germs.
3. Stop Sickness in its Tracks!
Instead of suffering through the long holiday weekend, if you feel the onset of a cold coming, be sure to take Cold-EEZE at the first sign or anytime to shorten the duration of your cold, minimizing the amount of time you are sick to better enjoy Thanksgiving and the holiday season. Cold-EEZE zinc lozenges have been found to decrease the duration of colds by nearly half in studies by Dartmouth College and the Cleveland Clinic. * When you’re not sick with the common cold, you also can’t spread it to your loved ones!
4. Take Your Vitamins!
When taken correctly, immune-boosting complex vitamin formulations can help to counter stress, which is known to lower your resistance to common ailments like certain coughs and the common cold. As we all know, traveling with the family can be particularly stressful, it’s good to have all the extra help you can get!
5. Be Your Best Self!
Take steps to give your body a break this holiday by honing in on the basics. It’s not surprising what good hydration, good nutrition and exercise can do to offer the body the support it needs to stay healthy and at its best this Thanksgiving. To further help your system, try to load up on foods that are high in antioxidants and can help fend off the cold virus. Some seasonal favorites that do the trick include apples, raisins, asparagus, pumpkin, squash and spinach. 

Dr. Jennifer Collins, MD has been an Assistant Professor and physician specializing in Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in the Department of Otolaryngology at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEEI) since September 2009. Dr. Collins is a diplomate of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and Internal Medicine. 

 

Dr. Collins has published several papers and abstracts as well as oral presentations at national allergy and immunology meetings. Her research interests include the prevention of asthma in young children, chronic urticaria, chronic sinusitis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. She is an active member of the chronic sinusitis committee for the American College of Allergy and Immunology, as well as a member of a number of professional societies including the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and the America Medical Association.

Dr. Collins maintains a personal blog titled, “Itchy & Scratchy” where she provides medical advice on fighting allergies and asthma to her patients in New York City.

Disclosure: I received complimentary samples of Cold-Eeze as a thank-you for this post.