STAYING HEALTHY & SAFEBjorn Koch

W H I L E Y O U ' R E T R A V E L I N G A B R O A D

TRAV E LBy now , you ’ve probably heard some of the disgust ing facts regarding where

germs l ive and breathe around us . While eating off of your toi let seat might seem

like one of the most disgust ing things you could imagine , analyses have shown

that common household i tems l ike your doorknob , your faucets , your carpet and

your cutt ing boards al l could harbor far , far more bacter ia and germs than the

seat on your porcelain throne . And those are just the germs within your own

house . I f your domici le i sn ’t safe f rom e . col i and other bacter ia , what i s?

Well , certainly not the airport , that ’s what .

PR I OR I T I Z I NG SA F E T YWhen we travel , we ’re often well aware–and even hopeful–that we wil lhave the priv i lege to experience new things and open the door to newhorizons . Unfortunately , when the door to new horizons i s opened , otherthings can squeeze through the doorway and wreak havoc on your l i fe .

Those things include i l lness .

Safety should always be a primary concern for travelers , and not justsafety f rom physical threats l ike street scams or muggers , but small (even

microscopic ) threats , such as i l lness and germs .

For many of us , i t seems l ike we ’re often prone to gett ing s ick whentravel ing , part icular ly travel ing abroad . Here are a few ways to stave off

that i l lness and avoid germs and bacter ia during your next tr ip .

QU I CK T I P S

Don 't Touch Anything

in the Airport

Or on the plane

Be careful with what you eat

and drink

1

2

3

Bring hand sanit izer

4

Airports are veritable breeding grounds for bacteria andgerms. In fact, airport bathrooms were named as one of the

germiest places in your life by USA Today, coming in atnumber two. Others on that list are often found within the

confines of an airport, including drinking fountains andATMs. Generally speaking, if you can avoid making skincontact with anything in an airport, including the toilet

seat, toilet handle, sink, water fountain or essentiallyanything else people regularly touch, it may be for the best.

The Airport

Remarkably, the airport bathroom and water fountains maynot even be the germiest places you’ll come across during a

flight. The bathroom aboard an actual plane doesn’t fairmuch better, as you may expect. This includes the flushbutton in the bathroom and the lock, according to CNN.

Though you’re still not quite safe when you make it back toyour seat. Some of the germiest places on an airplane areback at your seat, including your seatbelt buckle and, the

worst of them all, the tray table.

The Plane

While tap water in most of the United States is potable, thesame isn’t said for every country on Earth. When it comes

down to it, it’s generally safer to either boil your waterbefore you drink it when you’re traveling abroad, or simply

buy bottled, as overpriced and wasteful as it may be.

The same can be said for food–while tasting new cuisineand sampling the local fare is one of the best parts of

traveling, it’s important to note that radical changes toyour diet can have a strong effect on your health.

Your Diet

When you’re traveling, as you may have noted from pointsone and two in this list, germs and bacteria can be an issue.

You never know what you’re touching, where it’s been, orwhat it may end up doing to your body. Bringing a trustyportable bottle of hand sanitizer can be great for making

sure your hands are clean at all times, while bringingbottles of medicine (think Ibuprofen, Immodium, DayQuil,etc) can keep sickness at bay if you do wind up catching

something.

Your Medication

For more ontravel, connect

with Bjorn Kochbelow.

BjornKoch.net@BjornKoch