What do you do to stay healthy when you travel?

see a doctor?

Get a good sleep every night

Eat healthily as possible to avoid gastrointestinal upset

Sanitize! We use Wet Ones on hands, train and plane tray tables and armrests, TV remotes. Wash hands often.

Don't push yourselves day and night. Getting worn out is ill advised.

Rest is important, and the thing we miss out most on when traveling, I think. Also staying hydrated, and I bring cold-eze or other zinc tablets that can reduce the length and severity of a cold when taken early and often (follow directions religiously).

As others have said, good rest/sleep. Stay hydrated, use wipes/hand sanitizer. I keep taking my vitamins that I take at home. I dress for the weather,
I always bring all the over the counter medicine that I might need from home. I tend to get sinus issues when travelling... not all international medicines have the same ingredients as they do here in Canada so I bring my own. I learned this the hard way.

If you are on a prescription medication, make sure that you have it indoor carry on and that you bring enough for the time that you will be away plus a few days.

It depends on what you've got going on. It's good that you are planning for next time!

Respiratory/colds
Ahead of time: I start taking Airborne a week ahead of time, then when I'm on the plane I take doses with me to take as soon as I board, halfway thru (I'm from the west so my International flights are 9-10 hours long) and as we land. I am sure many will think this is nuts but I feel like this improves my immune system and allows me to fight off any respiratory issues. I continue to take daily during my trip but if I feel I am getting sick I bump it to AM and PM. I use the "fizzies" kind and take enough for 1.5 the number of days I'll be gone but pack the chewable tabs in small ziplocks for use on the plane.

During: I use a neti pot daily at home to lavage my nasal passages. I travel with it and use it as soon as I get to the hotel (and after I have stopped at the store to get bottled or distilled water) just to rinse the "travel" out of my nose. I also use an additive called Goldenseal along with the salt solution. If I start getting a cold, I'll bump this to AM and PM as well.

Handwashing: I do try to use good handwashing. I don't like Purell but I'll use the wipes. I prefer soap and water if possible.

I'd agree that good sleep ahead will put you in a better place for a stronger immune system. I'd also agree you should talk to your health care provider when you get back home to get their input on your particular travel issues.

Hope you feel better!

Some good advice above, really common sense stuff. I think the single most important thing is adequate rest. So don't wait until the trip (or until you get sick while on the trip) to ensure you are getting enough rest. Make sure you're well rested and de-stressed and feeling as healthy as you can, long before you head for the airport to depart.

Eat yogurt every day. It's usually part of any breakfast buffet.

I have read suggestions from credible sources suggesting that the reason so many people seem to come down with colds and other respiratory viruses after flying is that the air on planes is extremely dry, which makes the nasal passages less efficient at stopping viruses. The suggestion is to use a saline mist (in a squirt bottle, from your drug store) before and periodically during the flight.

I use Cold-eeze (or generic equivalent) high-zinc lozenges when I first come down with a cold. For me they are quite effective in stopping the sniffling and resulting raw throat. (I still feel slightly achy and under the weather, but not nearly as bad, and the cold is a couple of days shorter than usual.) Swallowing zinc tablets has not been proven to have the same effect. High-zinc lozenges are something I have not been able to find in Europe, and I have looked in at least 4 countries. Therefore, I take a substantial supply with me on each trip. This year was the first time in four years that I haven't needed to use them.

Obviously, get a flu shot (and pneumonia if you have reached the minimum age or are at heightened risk).

If I get sick, I give myself permission to slow down. I don't know whether it helps, but I figure it doesn't hurt to take it easy.

Vaccinations and washing hands.

Annual flu vaccinations. Hepatitis A&B. Pneumococcal vaccines PPVS23 & PVC13. Any others that the CDC suggest for foreign travel.

October 18 is Global Handwashing Day: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html

Handwashing with soap removes germs from hands. This helps prevent
infections because:

People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even
realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and
mouth and make us sick.

Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people
prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or
drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.

Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like
handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another
person’s hands.

Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea
and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye
infections.

Rest, more rest, fluids and AirBorne

I find taking a day flight to Europe alleviates any exhaustion, which is usually a major factor when I get sick. Skipping a night's sleep will make me sick. Breaking connections/travel into two days instead of one also allows for a more relaxing trip. I also take Emergen-C before the trip and a bit into it, and then if for some reason I felt ill, I'd start it up again. I eat properly while on vacation as well. But mainly, cross your fingers and hope for the best.

For me it's eat healthy and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I'm already getting plenty of exercise walking around, so I have that one covered.

Nature’s Way makes their Sambucus in a gummi. Take daily, more often if you feel like you are comng down with something.

Yogurt every day

Be the first person at or skip the food at a hotel breakfast buffet for sure.

as well as hand wipes etc, we regularly spray our nose with a saline type nose spray, particularly on planes and trains etc. also if you feel a bit of a scratchy throat etc coming on, seems to work for months of travel.
hope this helps.