Have you noticed that ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, you see the world a bit differently? Is it safe to touch that or are my hands clean enough? This may not be such a terrible thing since we’ve become more aware of the hygiene around us.
If you’re now worried about how to practice good hygiene while traveling, don’t worry, there are ways. To give you a hand and ease your worries, we made a list of 7 tips that will help you stay clean and safe during your upcoming travel.
1. Wash your hands whenever possible
Clean hands can mean the difference between life and death. This may seem overly dramatic to you, but it’s actually true. If we’ve learned anything in the past two years then that’s the importance of hand hygiene.
Washing your hands can prevent many infections and bacteria. When you’re traveling, keeping your hands clean is even more important. During your travels, you are susceptible to so much more germs and bacteria, more than you normally are. That’s why you must wash your hands whenever you can.
When washing hands, use running water (warm, if possible) and anti-bacterial soap. Then make sure you thoroughly dry your hands, either by using an electric hand dryer or clean paper towels.
2. Trim and keep the nails clean
Long fingernails are a perfect refuge for bacteria, dirt, and germs. Gross, right? And when traveling, the amount of all those pesky germs multiply by a lot. And you eat and touch your face with your hands a lot, so you can put two and two together.
So, to avoid fostering dirt, bacteria, and germs under your nails, the best would be to trim them. Also, washing hands, and using a nail brush to wash underneath your nails is a good idea, especially when you’re traveling.
3. Don’t touch your face and sanitize your hands
Touching our faces is something we often do unconsciously, and unfortunately, that’s exactly how bacteria and germs spread. By touching our faces with dirty hands, we spread bacteria to all the inlets of our bodies such as noses, ears, eyes, and mouths. To avoid doing this while traveling, try to keep your hands busy.
Additionally, have a bottle of hand sanitizer handy. This will help you keep your hands relatively clean when you can’t wash them with soap and running water.
4. Keep your face and body clean
Honestly, this should go without saying, it’s highly important to keep your face and body clean, regardless of whether you’re traveling or not. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have a pack of wet wipes handy. In addition to wet wipes, a moisturizer and facial wash can also be in your handbag, together with a toothbrush.
A change of clothes is also something that is recommended, even more so during long trips. A spare pair of clothes and underwear will help you feel clean and free even during a long trip.
5. Eating habits
Your eating habits during travel can change a little depending on many factors. The first thing to keep in mind is to never share food with anyone! Germs are easily passed across from sharing food. The same goes for sharing cutlery – don’t do it! If possible, bring your own reusable cutlery that you know is clean and safe.
Avoid eating uncooked food, and if you’re eating fruit, make sure it’s washed. When traveling, the best solution is to bring your own food, snacks, or non-perishables.
6. Be wary of shared restrooms
Restrooms are ideal spots for bacteria and germs to grow and spread, that’s why you need to find a way to be quick in shared restrooms. The first rule everyone should know is to never sit on the toilet seat! Then, never touch anything with your hands if you don’t have to, use clean toilet paper and wash your hands thoroughly!
If you need to take a shower in the shared bathroom, it would be best to use non-slip bathroom slippers. These slippers will prevent any falls in the slippery shower, plus they are more hygienic than walking barefoot.
If you don’t have anti-slip slippers, flip-flops are a good substitute, or, ultimately, make sure you clean your feet thoroughly when using a shared shower barefoot.
7. Take a hygiene bag anywhere you travel
As a final tip, we suggest always having a hygiene bag on you when traveling. A hygiene bag should be packed with all the things that will help you stay clean while on vacation. While, yes, packing clothes and being stylish during travel is important, staying healthy is even more so.
That’s why always keep a shower gel and shampoo in your hygiene bag, a travel size if possible. Then, hand soap, a sanitizer, nail brush, moisturizer, face wash, sunscreen, toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, tissues, and so on.
A small travel first aid kit with band-aids and essential medication, and disposable gloves are something we all need to have handy when traveling.
Staying clean and practicing good hygiene whilst traveling is not as difficult as it may appear. It’s mostly all about being prepared and knowing small tips and tricks that can help you stay clean and safe.
