A person packing a suitcase.

Holiday travel often includes visiting loved ones or taking a vacation. Whether you’re seeking a winter wonderland or an escape from subzero temperatures, follow these travel tips to stay healthy and safe during the holiday travel season.

Before Your Trip

No matter where you plan to travel, check CDC’s destination pages for travel health information. These pages include information about

vaccines and medicines you may need, and
diseases or health risks that are a concern at your destination.

Get up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines and seasonal flu vaccine. CDC recommends getting the flu vaccine every year.

Get up to date on routine vaccines. Routine vaccinations protect you from infectious diseases such as measles that can spread quickly in groups of unvaccinated people. Many diseases prevented by routine vaccination are uncommon in the United States but common in other countries.

Prepare a travel health kit that includes personal needs, especially those items that may be difficult to find at your destination. Take enough of your prescription and over-the-counter medicines to last your entire trip, plus extra in case of travel delays. You may also want to pack insect repellent, sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher), aloe, alcohol-based hand sanitizer, water disinfection tablets, and important paperwork like your health insurance card.

Make sure you have a plan for getting health care during travel. Find out if your health insurance covers medical care abroad. Travelers are usually responsible for paying hospital and other medical expenses out of pocket at most destinations. Consider buying additional insurance that covers health care and emergency evacuation, especially if you will travel to remote areas.

During Your Trip

Choose safe transportation. Always wear your seat belt. If you are traveling with children ages 12 and younger, make sure they are properly buckled in a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt—whichever is appropriate for their age, weight, and height—in the back seat.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among healthy travelers. Be alert when crossing the street, especially in countries where people drive on the left side of the road. Find out other steps you can take to stay safe on the roads.

Protect yourself from the sun. Apply sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher when traveling. Protecting yourself from the sun isn’t just for tropical beaches. You can sunburn even if it’s cloudy or cold. You are at the highest risk for ultraviolet light exposure during summer months, near the equator, at high altitudes, and between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Stay alert in crowded areas. Does your holiday travel involve markets, festivals, or other activities that involve a large number of people at the same place (mass gathering)? If so, learn some tips to stay safe at a mass gathering.

Considerations for cold weather travel

Wear warm clothing in several loose layers when traveling in cold weather or climates. Learn practical skills and lessons like how to prevent hypothermia and frostbite.

Considerations for warm weather travel

If you are traveling in hot weather or to a hot climate, wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.

Your chances of getting heat stroke, heat exhaustion, or other heat-related illness during travel depend on your destination, activities, level of hydration, and age. The more active you are in high temperatures, the more likely you are to get a heat-related illness. Learn how to prevent heat-related illness.

Use insect repellent and take steps to avoid bug bites. Bugs, including mosquitoes, ticks, and flies, can spread diseases such as Zika, dengue, Lyme, and others. These bugs are typically more active during warm weather. Check your destination’s page to determine what you need to do to protect yourself from diseases spread through bug bites, including medications or vaccines when recommended.

After Your Trip

If you recently traveled and feel sick, particularly if you have a fever, talk to a healthcare professional. Tell them about your travel. Be prepared to answer questions about your vaccination history, destination(s), reasons for traveling, itinerary, and other aspects of your trip.

Resources

Thanks in advance for your questions and comments on this Public Health Matters post. Please note that CDC does not give personal medical advice. If you are concerned you have a disease or condition, talk to your doctor.

Have a question for CDC? CDC-INFO (http://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/index.html) offers live agents by phone and email to help you find the latest, reliable, and science-based health information on more than 750 health topics.

By: Kathryn Landis

Don’t get caught winging it! Follow these tips for a safe and healthy winter.

As the temperatures get colder, make sure you know how to stay warm. Wear warm winter clothes and plenty of extra layers, and listen for radio or television reports of travel advisories issued by the National Weather Service.

Play it Safe Outdoors

Unfortunately, we don’t have downy penguin coats to keep warm. When going outside, do not leave areas of the skin exposed to the cold. Learn to recognize the symptoms of hypothermia and frostbite.

When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it can be produced. Prolonged exposure to cold will eventually use up your body’s stored energy. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature. Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well. This makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know it is happening and won’t be able to do anything about it. Victims of hypothermia are often elderly people with inadequate food, clothing, or heating, babies sleeping in cold bedrooms, and people who remain outdoors for long period.

Warnings signs of hypothermia include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, and drowsiness. If you notice any of these signs, take the person’s temperature. If it is below 95°, the situation is an emergency—get medical attention immediately.

Visit CDC’s Outdoor Safety page for more information

Driving in a Winter Wonderland

Driving in severe winter weather can be dangerous and lead to accidents. Be sure to prepare a winter emergency kit for your car. Include blankets, a flashlight, a shovel, an ice scraper, water and snacks, and a first aid kit. Make sure your car is serviced and has a full gas tank before a storm. Consider signing up for an all-weather driving course in your area to practice winter driving skills, and know what to do if you ever become stranded in your car.

Stay Warm and Save $$$

Huddling is great, but may not be enough to keep you warm when winter weather hits. Learn how to prepare your home for winter weather and save on your electricity and heating bills. Insulating walls and attics, and putting weather-strips on doors and windows keeps heat inside and maximizes warmth.

Handle Heating Equipment Safely

When you need to warm up, take proper precautions and review instructions before handling heating equipment and fires. Have your heating system serviced by a qualified technician every year. Make sure fireplaces, wood stoves, and other combustion heaters are properly vented to the outside. Never leave children unattended near a space heater. Learn more by reading CDC’s Indoor Safety Guide.

Don’t Forget Your (Other) Furry Friends

If you have pets, make sure to bring them indoors. If you cannot bring them inside, provide adequate shelter to keep them warm and make sure they have access to unfrozen water.

Stay Chill around Ice

Walking on ice is dangerous and can cause serious falls on driveways, steps, and porches. Use rock salt or sand to melt the ice on driveways and sidewalks.If walking on ice can’t be avoided, walk like a penguin! Bend your back slightly and point your feet out – this increases your center of gravity. Stay flat-footed and take small steps or even shuffle for more stability. Keep your arms out to your sides to help balance.

Support Each Other

Although it’s best to not leave the nest when severe winter weather hits, maintain your support network by checking in with family, friends and neighbors. Your neighbors might need extra help before and after a winter storm, so check in to make sure everyone is okay and has adequate heat. Use CDC’s PSAs and Podcasts to help spread winter preparedness messages. We’re all in this together!

Know how to prepare your ‘nest’ for upcoming winter weather using CDC’s Winter Weather Checklists.

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Category Archives: frostbite

Prepared Penguins: Tips for a Safe and Healthy Winter

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