Sick of traveling? Don’t overdo it

My nose is clogged shut. My chest rattles every time I inhale. The back of my throat feels as if I tried to swallow a porcupine.

I’m sick.

What’s worse, I’m on a business trip. I should be conducting an interview. Instead, I’m flat on my back in a hotel room, rendered practically incoherent by the effects of several different cold and flu medications that, now that I think about it, I probably shouldn’t have taken all at once.

Think you’re immune? A recent survey conducted by Pepto-Bismol found that 62% of all travelers have experienced some physical ailment while traveling and that 20% of business travelers were forced to cut their trip short as a result. Some diseases, such as typhoid fever, are caught almost exclusively by travelers. Of the 400 cases that occur each year in the United States, 70% are acquired by traveling internationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

There are three general categories of illness that can affect you on the road:

Minor illnesses. These include the sniffles, a small cut or diarrhea, and happen so often and can be so insignificant that they hardly slow you down. Sure, they’re uncomfortable, but they usually don’t end the trip. (I don’t mean to downplay these ailments – after all, the sniffles can turn into a full-blown cold, a cut can get infected and a serious case of diarrhea can put an end to your trip. But not usually.)

Debilitating illnesses. Illnesses such as influenza, typhoid fever or the increasingly common Norwalk virus do have the potential to stop your trip. Not only are they painful, but they can last far longer than the trip you had to cancel, affecting your productivity for days or weeks to come. If you’re stricken by a debilitating illness, you have to make the decision: Either stay on the road and risk making it worse, or return home.

Catastrophic injuries or illnesses. For injuries like those sustained in a car accident, or a heart attack or even an accident that results in a serious concussion or broken bones, you cut short your trip. If you have medical insurance that covers it, you get a medical evacuation to return you home. (Note: Frequent travelers need insurance, as I detailed in an earlier column.) The trip is over; your health is too important to risk.

I believe the most common kinds of travel illnesses fall somewhere between the first and second category – a gray area where you’re stuck between an approaching malady and a strong desire to finish your trip. You’re not sure how serious your sickness is, but you know it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Diane Scholfield, a Web site editor from Oceanside, Calif., remembers one such trip to Maine. “I had some sort of horrible flu and spent the entire day in bed in the hotel,” she recalls. “There’s no way I could have had the energy to make the arrangements to fly home, not to mention actually sitting on an airplane for several hours and waiting in an intermediate airport to make a connection. So I just called room service to get soup and fluids.” Finally, she pulled herself out of bed on the second day to attend a meeting.

“I struggled to stay awake,” she says. “It was just awful.”

How should you deal with sickness on the road? Here are five guidelines I’ve developed in more than three decades of traveling. Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional, so please don’t substitute my tips for the advice of a doctor.

Two words: preventative medicine. The truly seasoned business travelers I know don’t wait for sickness to overcome them while they’re on the road. They swallow horse-pill sized doses of vitamin C and echinacea to boost their immune systems. On my most recent trip, I prepped myself by downing lots of fresh-squeezed fruit juice. Apparently, not enough. Peter Shankman, a marketing consultant from Manhattan, takes in plenty of fluids before he travels to ward off the dehydrating effects of the dry aircraft cabin air. His preflight quota of bottled water is “at least a liter of water an hour.”

Stay away from things that make you sick. Obvious, right? But you’d be surprised at how many travelers don’t do it. For example: drinking water from a questionable source. Don’t even ask me to describe the grueling 24 hours I spent in bed in the French Alps after drinking water from a spring that was downstream from a cow pasture. I turn a shade of green just thinking about that experience. “Drink Coca-Cola,” advises Louise Stahl, a researcher from Austin, Texas. The reason? It’s safer than tap water. Bottled water and beer work, too. If there’s any doubt about the quality of the water, head to the closest grocery store. You’ll be glad you did.

BYOR (Bring Your Own Remedy). Not to knock the medical community, but let’s face it: Doctors like to keep comfortable hours. When you’re doubled over in pain at 2 a.m., you’re going to need fast relief. BYOR to the rescue. Lynn Murphy, a retired traveler from Anacortes, Wash., doesn’t go anywhere without a clove of garlic, which she uses to ward off an oncoming cold. (In case you’re wondering, the fresh-peeled garlic goes between the gums and cheek, and it’s said to zap a cold overnight.) My “get-well” arsenal includes a small bottle of aspirin, a nasal decongestant, and zinc lozenges, which also seem to work well at treating cold symptoms. A medical professional can certainly be helpful, when available, but the bottom line is that in most cases you know your body best. You know what will make you feel better, whether it’s garlic, zinc or chicken soup.

Don’t overdo it; get your rest. A few years ago, while researching an article on the job market for college graduates, I spent a day interviewing seniors at the California Institute of Technology campus in Pasadena. One of the students confessed that the stress of final exams often made her sick, but that she had never missed a job interview. How do you do it? I asked. “Tylenol Flu,” she whispered, as if sharing a trade secret. I tried it on my next trip, when I happened to be feeling a little under the weather but needed to keep going. The medication worked fine, but my body soon gave way to the chills, fever and soreness that are harbingers of an oncoming illness. I learned an important lesson that day: I am not a 20-year-old Caltech senior who can just pop a couple of pills and push on. There’s no substitute for slowing down and resting.

Err on the side of caution. Calling a trip off is never an easy decision, particularly when it is going to cost you business. I just spent an entire week in a hotel room, unable to do any work, so believe me, I know what I’m talking about. Jane Jackson, who works in the sales and marketing department of a travel agency in Toronto, was stricken by a bronchial infection while traveling to Houston. Instead of heading to her next appointment, she made a beeline to the nearest pharmacy to stock up on decongestants, throat lozenges and sinus medications. She self-medicated and eventually pulled through. But when should you decide that the trip is over? If you’re too tired, too incoherent or just too plain miserable to continue, and there are no signs of improvement, my inclination is to call the whole thing off. You may have to remain in your hotel until you’re well enough to travel again. But don’t even think about getting any business done. It’s not worth making your condition worse, and possibly even infecting a client or business prospect.

As a small-business owner, illness represents more than an inconvenience. When I can’t work, I stop earning money. I’m angry at myself for allowing the cold, flu or some other viral infection to hold my business hostage. My first instinct isn’t to take my own advice and slow down, but to keep going. I want to get out of bed and make all my meetings. I’m frustrated when I can’t.

I can’t offer any good advice on how to deal with the feeling that a trip is a failure. It’s just something that happens. But these tips may help you contain the loss and salvage what’s left of your trip.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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