✨ Holiday Travel Tips with Chronic Illness✨ •
🎄 Pack medications & supplements in a carry-on rolling suitcase. Why? 1. You don’t want to check them in case it gets lost. 2. You don’t have to carry it on your back/ shoulder as you would a shoulder bag or backpack. I use a small duffel as my personal bag that I carry on top of my rolling suitcase until it’s time to board, then I put it under the seat in front of me. It holds my book, water, headphones, travel essentials. • ✨
🎄Hydrate!!! Bring bottles to fill up/ purchase extra water at the airport. Bring nuun/ liquid IV/ salt/ your favorite hydration. • ✨
🎄Eat every few hours (if you can). I find my POTS does better especially when traveling if I snack every 2 or so hours. Keeps the blood moving. •✨
🎄Plan ahead for food/ keep safe snacks on hand in case you get stuck in a hunger situation without any safe food options. It’s way less tempting to cheat on food that will make you feel crappy when you know you have safe snacks that can get you through until you can find safe food. • ✨
🎄Squeeze those muscles!! If you can, try to get up and move every hour or so. If you are stuck in a car or a window seat, try to engage several muscle groups (squeeze your buttocks, point and flex your toes, do some knee raises from your abs to work your core, squeeze your thighs) in order to pump your blood! Your legs and muscles are a natural blood pump. My blood pools a bunch when I travel due to my POTS. Compression socks help a ton too! •✨
🎄Let go of the fear of being “high maintenance”- the first time I checked a bag and did the rolling carry on/ duffel above was just a week trip to meet my boyfriends family. I didn’t want his family thinking I was “that girl” who needed multiple suitcases for a week- because it wasn’t all clothes and shoes!! But I quickly realized that I need to take care of me, period. If anyone said anything, I could shortly state it was a bag of medical items, end of story. No one said anything! 💖✨🥄🧂
What’re your favorite chronic illness travel tips? Share with me below! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
As always, sending light, love, salt & spoons!
Pink Salt Collective 