Sitting on a plane on flights to Hawaii, with 31 inches of seat pitch for 5 or more hours, isn’t a comfortable or necessarily healthy way to begin your Hawaii vacation. And the last thing you want is to feel exhausted or even worse sick on arrival for your long awaited trip to Hawaii.
Here are our nine best suggestions for what to do before and during your flight to arrive in peak shape in Hawaii:
1. Reduce stress a week before departure.
We’re guilty of not always doing this ourselves. Get work projects and packing done early. Try to avoid stress at the airport by allowing enough time for flight check-in and security lines. You can save time by paying for TSA Pre-Check and/or qualifying for an airline’s premium check-in.
2. Boost your immune system 2-3 days prior to flight.
Taking a daily zinc tablet and probiotics can make a difference according to health experts.
3. Drink room temperature water on the plane.
Buy a bottle at the airport or bring an empty bottle and fill it at a water fountain before boarding. Drink more than the flight attendants will offer. Chilled water on the plane is not as good for you as warm water according to health experts.
4. Reduce coffee, carbonated beverages and alcohol on board.
These just make dehydration matters worse. Save them for some great experiences in the islands. Tea is a better choice over coffee.
5. Stretch your calves.
While moving around the plane is recommended to prevent the risk for DVT blood clots, it’s also good to stretch your calf muscles during the flight which can be done while sitting. The calf is often called your second heart and helps to pump blood to your lower extremities.
6. Keep an eye on your hands.
We’re already at increased risk of disease from the dry environment. It’s always good to pack a small container of liquid hand cleaner or sanitizing wipes. We also use this to clean the tray, surface areas around the seat, and controls.
7. Eat less on the plane.
Even with those free meals on Hawaiian Airlines, you may want to consider eating at the airport or elsewhere before departure. While in the air, try to limit really cold foods. Fennel seeds are reputed to be good for digestion. When packing snacks from home we consider things including nuts, sandwiches, pasta, salads and some sweets. We’ll be back with more on this later.
8. Hydrate skin.
Massage key sinus points on your face. Take a saline solution to spray inside your nose. Hydrate skin if so inclined.
9. N95 respirators.
We bought these ourselves and plan to use them starting now after getting sick following flights too many times. We hear mixed reports on their effectiveness at preventing disease.
Please add your ideas below. We also want to thank Cheryl Yamamoto, a physician assistant, for her contributions to this article.
Donna says
Three of us will be travelling from Hilo to Los Angeles from 26 Jul-7 Aug 2017. Will airfares go lower than $800? Thank You.
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Donna.
No one can say for sure. But gut call is that it will not.
Aloha.
Cheryl Y says
I agree with Deborah, what a great idea! I’m a physician assistant and many health providers recommend coughing and sneezing into your shirt by pulling it up over your mouth, if feasible and you don’t have a handkerchief or tissue readily available. It keeps viruses from spreading better than the elbow trick, although that’s certainly better than nothing!
Also, you may want to consider boosting your immune system with daily zinc tablets or capsules and probiotics 2-3 days prior to flying. As well as eating lots of fruits and vegetables, if you don’t already. Interestingly, stress can actually boost your immune system because your body’s in a kind of crisis mode but once the stress diminishes (hopefully once you arrive!) your immune system crashes to well below normal levels. This is especially bad if you’re traveling to an isolated area like Hawaii because we have cold strains and other bugs that are completely different than where you come from. Meaning you could get sicker and your symptoms could last longer than you’re used to. Oh joy!
As mentioned above, keeping stress down the week before a flight will also help your immune system. I usually start packing 1-4 weeks in advance and try not to leave anything for the last minute prior to getting to the airport, in addition to getting to the airport well ahead of time, if at all possible.
Hope this helps!
Deborah M says
Ask airlines to have flight attendants demonstrate how to properly cover coughs and sneezes with a handkerchief or inside of elbow, covering mouth and nose completely.
Richard T says
You must have been on my flight from Atlanta yesterday to HNL, because it seemed as though fully half those on the plane were coughing. I was recovering from a cold myself, but I wondered if I weren’t being re-infected. I’ll make your suggestion to the flight attendants next time.
RT, Hilo
Suzy says
I highly recommend the Humidiflyer! http://humidiflyer.com
A friend read about it, and I took the bait. It’s an Australian product, but they must have an American mail center, because it arrived very quickly. It’s expensive (around $70), but I travel a lot, and, like you two, found myself sick afterwards all too often. I’ve used it about 6 times on trans-Pacific flights (I live here), and it helped make the journey easier. To me, it is worth every penny.
Barney says
We use the travel packs of Clorox wipes soon as we sit in our seat. Wipe the buckles of the seat belt and all hard surfaces within reach….trays, armrest, window shade handle etc.
We also take Airborne the day before and day of.
So far, so good!
We have been contemplating masks too.
Gina says
What’s the situation regarding flight status to the BI with the dengue fever outbreak?
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Gina,
There is no issue with flights to the Big Island.
Aloha.