059 – 12 High Germ Danger Zone Areas to Avoid on Business Travel

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• Elite Road Warrior Site
• Pandora

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

• Zone #1: Touchscreen Ticket Kiosk
  • ABC Affilate Test
  • Advice:  Wash your hands or use sanitizer after touching the screens but use a digital boarding pass whenever possible.
• Zone #2: Security Checkpoint
  • Advice:  TSA Pre-Check or Clear are cleaner, quicker options.
• Zone #3: Water Fountains
  • Studies by National Sanitation Foundation
  • Advice:  Water bottle fill up stations! Or bring a small water bottle and ask for a fill-up at the nearest cafe. Or simply buy a bottle of water. Cutting down on plastic waste is a noble goal, but sometimes traveler health has to take priority.
  • My personal suggestion: save the plastic, bring your own aluminum water bottle from Elite Road Warrior!
• Zone #4: Airplane Seat Pockets
  • Advice: Keep it in your work bag. It’s worth the tiny extra effort to find it.
• Zone #5: Airplane Tray Tables
  • Advice: Wipe the tray tables down like your life depended on it!
    • Use wipes correctly – Smarter Travel suggests wipe down all hard, nonporous surfaces thoroughly.
    • Personally, I use the Wet Ones wipes that come in single packs.
• Zone #6: Airplane Bathrooms
  • The Save: Wash your hands, use a paper towel to open the door, do your business, use a paper towel to open the door again, and then use hand sanitizer when you get back to your seat.
  • Hand Sanitizer vs. Hand Washing on a Plane – Janilyn Hutchings 
• Zone #7: Hotel Light Switches
  • Study by NBC News
  • Advice: Use something to turn on the light such as your sleeve, shirt, tissue when you walk in the room then pull out a wet wipe and wipe down any and all light switches.
• Zone #8: Hotel Remotes
  • Advice: Smarter Travel suggests using the hotel shower cap over the remote or use those wet wipes – do you see a pattern here?
• Zone #9: Hotel Bedspreads
  • Advice: Remove the top layer of bedding and sleep with only the washed sheets and blankets.
• Zone #10: Hotel Pools
  • The Save: Rinse off before—and soap up after—a plunge in the pool. (Also: please, please keep your mouth closed)
• Zone #11: Handrails
  • The Save: If you don’t need to use a handrail, then simply avoid contact. If you do need to steady yourself, make sure to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer as soon as you can.
• Zone #12: Buffets
  • The Save: Wash your hands. The CDC calls hand washing a do-it-yourself vaccine and says that you should lather and scrub for 20 seconds (the length of two rounds of the “Happy Birthday” song) before rinsing.
• BONUS: Elevator Buttons
  • Advice: Take the stairs!
• 3 Tips to Avoid Getting Sick After Flying (Smarter Travel)
  1. Stay Hydrated
     • Nasal mists have been found to be very effective in keeping this system working in your nose. (I like the ones from Ayr.)
  2. Keep Your Hands Clean
     • Keep in mind that the water on planes isn’t typically potable, so you might want to combine hand washing with hand sanitizer, such as this travel-size option from Purell.
     • Given that tray tables are known to carry a high volume of germs, you might want to wipe them down with a sanitizing cloth.
  3. Take Your Vitamins
     • Vitamin C Tablets