Trains, planes, and buses are some of the germiest places you can encounter, with dirty seats and floors, and sick people all around you. If you have an upcoming holiday trip planned, you’ll want to check out these tips from our very own Debbie Sardone, owner of Buckets & Bows Maid Service. She was recently interviewed on FOX with expert suggestions on staying healthy.

Did you know that 40% of people admit that they travel even when they’re sick? Everywhere you look, you’ll see people coughing into their hands, or sneezing, and then without a second thought, they touch the window shade or tray tables and everything else around them, spreading their germs. The tray table that comes down from the seat in front of you on a plan actually has EIGHT times more bacteria than the flush buttons on toilets in the plane’s lavatories.

Seat belts and seat back pockets are also places where sick people’s hands have lingered. We hope you brought your own reading material, because the magazines are never cleaned or sanitized and they are handled by hundreds of people before being swapped out for new issues.

Over 100 million people will travel this holiday season. If you’re one of them, you’ll need…

Debbie’s 5 tips to stay healthy while traveling

  1. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Avoid touching your face with unclean hands.
  2. Sanitize the area where you sit using disinfectant wipes.
  3. Turn on the overhead air vent so that fresh air is blowing and the germs don’t just settle on you.
  4. Drink plenty of fluids.
  5. Take an immune booster, like echinacea.

We hope these tips help you stay healthy while you are traveling! Happy holidays!