Traveling to a Flu Hotspot this Holiday Season? Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Holiday travel can be stressful enough, but getting sick while you’re away from home can make it much worse. So what do you do when you’re visiting family for the holidays, and the area where you’re headed is a hotspot for flu? Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. Here’s what you need to know.

Flu and the Holidays

Influenza is a potentially serious respiratory illness. Unlike the sniffling and sneezing that may come along with a common cold, the flu is more severe and usually comes on suddenly. It’s often accompanied by symptoms like fever, body aches, cough, sore throat, congestion, headaches, and fatigue. In severe cases, or in people who have weakened immune systems, it can be life-threatening.

While the flu virus circulates year-round, the number of cases peaks between December and March, which is why the fall and winter are typically considered flu season. And with more people traveling and staying in close quarters indoors during the winter, it can spread rapidly.

Should You Get a Flu Shot?

The CDC and most health care providers agree that the most important thing you can do to protect yourself from flu is to get a flu shot.

While the vaccine isn’t 100% effective and may not protect you from all strains of the virus, it can significantly lower your risk. And even when it doesn’t prevent you from getting the flu, it can help minimize your symptoms and reduce the risk of serious complications from the illness. The flu shot is especially recommended for pregnant women, older adults, and young children, who are considered at high risk of dangerous complications from the flu.

A 2017 study found that children who were vaccinated were at significantly less risk of dying from the flu. It takes about two weeks for the flu shot to become fully effective, so plan accordingly and get your family vaccinated well in advance of any travel.

Keep Germs at Bay

Aside from getting a flu shot, there are other things you can do to protect yourself while you travel. The flu virus is transmitted in tiny droplets that are passed on by an infected person when they cough or sneeze. You can catch the flu by inhaling these airborne droplets, or by touching something the person has sneezed on, then touching your face.

That’s why one of the best things you can do to avoid illness is to wash your hands frequently, but especially before you eat or drink. Lather your hands with soap and warm water, and rub them all over for at least 15 seconds before rinsing them off. If hand-washing isn’t an option, rubbing a generous pump of alcohol-based hand sanitizer all over your hands can help kill most germs.

Similarly, using sanitary wipes to wipe down your airline seat area, luggage handles, and other items you come into contact with while you travel can reduce your exposure.

And while travel often squeezes people together in planes, buses, and airports, try to avoid sitting or standing near someone who you notice coughing or sneezing, and don’t hang out in crowded areas longer than necessary.

Avoid spreading germs by coughing or sneezing into a tissue or the crook of your arm (and then washing your hands afterward). Finally, for extra protection — or to protect those around you if you get sick — consider wearing a facemask. One study found that wearing a facemask combined with hand washing reduced the risk of flu-like symptoms by as much as 75 percent.

What to Do If You Get the Flu

Coming down with the flu can make travel absolutely miserable — and it can spread the virus to those around you. If you do get sick while you’re away from home, you might be able to shorten your illness and reduce the severity with an antiviral medication.

Both prescription medications such as Tamiflu and Xofluza work best if it’s taken within 48 hours after symptoms start, but it can still help if taken later and can reduce the potential for serious complications in people who are at higher risk.

If you do need prescription medication, be sure to use RxSaver so you can save on your medications at nearby pharmacies closest to you, even if you are not close to home.

While it can be hard to lay low while you’re traveling, if you do come down with the flu, try to stay in bed if possible, drink lots of fluids, and rest. Treat symptoms like fever, sore throat, and congestion with over-the-counter medications. Finally, avoid spreading germs by covering your mouth with your sleeve when you cough or sneeze, and by keeping your distance from others as much as possible.

The winter season can be prime time for getting the flu, especially when travel takes you through places where there’s an outbreak. By getting a flu shot and taking steps to protect yourself, you can up your chances of keeping the holidays as healthy as possible.