Business travel

How to avoid getting ill on the road

Being exposed to new environments, eating on the go, air conditioning and changing time zones can all take their toll on business travellers’ health. So, to keep yourself in good nick follow these simple tips – and hopefully you’ll avoid the lurgy this year!

Kill germs

Travelling on business inevitably means you’ll spend plenty of time on planes, trains or buses. As well as being sat in close proximity to coldy people, the air conditioning adds to the likelihood of you picking something up by circulating germs. So, make sure you’re prepared.

Take a Sanitas Healthcare FluPak (£4.99) with you, which includes tissues to cover your nose and mouth, plus a sanitising spray and wipes. Equally, it might be worth having something like Ultra Chloraseptic Anaesthetic Throat Spray (£4.69) to hand to nip a sore throat in the bud and stop it developing into a full-on cold or flu.

“It is also vital to wash your hands very carefully,” says ear, nose and throat expert Professor Janet Wilson. “Infective particles can be easily passed on to another person from light switches, door handles and other commonly touched objects.” Milton Antibacterial Hand Gel (£1.99) will easily do the job and the go.

Boost your immunity

Remember to pack a supplement to strengthen your body’s defenses against fighting off bugs. Moducare (from around £20) contains plant sterols to maintain your immune system and is available in travel-sized packs.

Take probiotic multivitamins to maintain a healthy digestive system – essential when your travel plans don’t quite tally with your healthy-eating ones

Or, try a probiotic multivitamin like Seven Seas Multibionta Activate (from around £5.50), which also helps to maintain a healthy digestive system – essential when your travel plans don’t quite tally with your healthy-eating ones.

Eat healthily

Nutritionist Kirsten Brooks from The Really Healthy Company, manufacturers of supplement BioBran Plus (£19.53) recommends reducing sugar and refined carbohydrates while on the road. “They can significantly reduce the number of white blood cells that our immune systems require,” she says.

Making use of what the hotels offer, opt for the fresh fruit in your hotel room or breakfast buffet, and make sure your dinner plate has plenty of veggies on it, however tempting that portion of chips looks.

To be super-healthy you can also make use of Linwoods’ handy sachets of seeds and berries. Pop into your bag and simply sprinkle over cereals or salads to top up the zinc, vitamin C and Omega 3 in your diet (from £7.50).

Keep exercising

Exercise is another way to avoid getting ill, as Dr Rosemary Leonard explains. “Half an hour of gentle exercise every day keep circulation working and releases mood-boosting endorphins and stirs up your lymphatic system,” she says. Even a quick dip in the hotel swimming pool or blast on the treadmill can do the trick.

Sleep well

Being short on sleep is one of the fastest ways to make yourself vulnerable to being run down. As you set your alarm call ahead of that crucial breakfast meeting, why not try Restbites (£12.90)? Made from pumpkin seeds – a natural source of tryptophan, the amino acid responsible for the sleep process – they are an all-natural sleep aid. Many hotels now have pillow menus, blackout curtains and double- or triple-glazing, making dropping off a cinch.

Rest up

If you do feel unwell, the adage of getting plenty of rest and fluids applies just as well while away as at home. If you do need to see a doctor, your hotel’s reception staff will doubtless have the local knowledge about where to get medical help.

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