Dr. Oz, from The Dr. Oz Show, is Oprah Winfrey's top doc! The vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University, who was the featured health expert on her show for five years, now offers up his top-notch health advice to stay germ-free during hectic holiday travel.
With the holidays upon us and over four million Americans flying tomorrow, I am going to let you in on a few secrets to keep you and your family healthy when traveling this holiday season.
No matter where you're going or how you are getting there, I recommend you always carry a "travel kit," which includes hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes and North American Ginseng. North American Ginseng is the one thing that we have shown to be correlated with reduction in flu. In populations where people take it, there seems to be a lower incidence of viral spread.
If You Are Flying on an Airplanes…
– Take a shot of North American Ginseng before you board. Above all, that's my number one tip to prevent getting sick.
– Be mindful of those coughing around you. If you cough in the middle seat, the person one seat behind you and over to the aisle is the one who gets most of the cough germs in their face.
– As opposed to shutting off the air vent, put it on "low." Also, make a fist in front of your lower chest and aim it at that fist. That creates a microcircuit of airflow that helps push away air from other people that otherwise would come toward you.
– Clean off the tray table with a sanitary wipe as 60 percent of those tables have bacteria. Also, use the sanitary wipe on the bathroom handles as you walk in and out of the bathrooms on the plane.
If You Are Staying in a Hotel…
– Take the bedspread off immediately. It never gets washed and is full of bacteria. Put it neatly over in the corner of the room.
– The glasses in the bathrooms usually don't get sent to the dishwasher. Ask for plastic cups.
– The TV remote never gets cleaned. Put it inside a plastic bag or bring a hand wipe to clean it off.
For more holiday travel health tips, tune into today's installment of The Dr. Oz Show. Check local listings to find out when his talk show airs near you.
For more holiday tips, visit our "Holidays with Us" hub!
