Fall Traveling: Health and Safety Tips

Make the most of your traveling this year by staying safe and healthy. It's easy to forget how quickly germs can spread, and there is nothing worse than coming home from vacation with the flu or maybe even something worse. If it can be prevented, which a lot of sickness can, then prevent it! Use these tricks to stay ahead of the curve and make the most of your vacation this fall.

Safety Tips For Single Women
As women, we must be extra careful when we travel alone. We don't know who is a potential harmful person that could possibly be near us without us even realizing it! Please use these hints and pass them on to all your single friends:

Carry Men's Clothing in the Car With You when traveling alone. Ask your boyfriend or any male friend if you can take along a rugged baseball cap or a neck tie. Anything that would be obvious that a woman would not normally wear. When you go to a rest stop for a break, hang the tie around the rear-view mirror, even a few minutes before you get to the rest stop so nobody sees you doing it. When people pass your car, it will only be natural to assume that you and your husband are traveling together and you become less of a target for a potential rapist. Use this tip especially at night!

Have A Mental-Plan Ready when traveling alone, men and women both should have in mind a mental-plan of self-defense if attacked anywhere. For women, the best form of self-defense we have is our voice. Screaming is one thing every man hates to hear, and if you should be attacked, by all means remember to scream loud and long.

Car Alarms are another form of defense we have available to us. If you feel you are about to be attacked or followed, set off your car alarm. It is a quick attention getter for all people near you, and the attacker will most likely not follow through with his attack.

Safety Tips For You and Your Family

Bottled Water is perfect to keep in your trunk in case of an emergency. There is nothing worse than running out of gas with your children in the backseat and no gas station for miles. Even if you have a car-side service, it may be a while until they arrive. Having backup bottled water, or even a healthy juice for the kids and yourself will be a lifesaver.

An Extra Car Key kept somewhere outside of the car is another safety trick. Many of us keep one in our wallet or purse, but how many of us leave those items in the car if our keys are accidentally locked in? Putting an extra key in a secure but hidden place below your vehicle will ensure you get back in quickly and not have to spend time calling a locksmith or having to do it yourself.

'Who Has the Baby?'...Good words to say before you leave the car. We see on the news too many times children getting left in the car because each person thought the other person was getting the baby. Come up with a family ritual that before you leave the car, someone must ask out loud "Who is getting the baby?" and someone must answer the question. This will ensure that your precious cargo will stay safe right along with you at all times.

Children's self-defense is vital also. While we don't want to encourage our children to be violent, they should be aware of the world around them. Unfortunately we don't yet live in a world where anyone can be totally safe. Make sure they know good self defense before your fall travels. This could include making it a family discussion and even practice sessions for them. Make sure they know what to do around strangers that are getting too friendly, drug offers, if they ever get lost, etc. Find out from your children what self-defense issues they have not learned yet and by all means get them prepared.

Health Tips for You and Your Family

In this hectic world, germs spread like wild fire. Use these helpful hints to ensure your family's health while you travel this fall.

Healthy Hotel Stays are a high priority, especially for your little ones who seem to want to touch everything that is anything but sanitary. While staying in a hotel can be pleasant, make use of these little tricks:

Mouthwash is a great disinfectant that can be used on many surfaces without the bleach odor. While some surfaces can be cleaned with just a cleansing wipe, like the faucets, light switches and toilet handles, there are other surfaces like the tub floor that would take more than one wipe. Get a bottle of cheap store brand mouthwash and pour it in the tub. Rinse it down whenever you're ready to use the shower. Surfaces like these can carry a multitude of germs. Not to be excluded is the handle to the hotel room itself. How many thousands of times has it been touched by numerous guests. Housekeeping cleans the hotel rooms of other guests, and then opens your door to clean yours too. This is one surface that should not be overlooked.

Sunscreen. Enough said. We all know the dangers of the UVA and UVA rays, so keep sunscreen in the car with you. It helps to put it on while traveling in the car too. For everyone, especially children, the major places it should be worn is the tops of the ears, shoulders and nose-cheek area. If you only have a tiny bit to spare until you get more, put it on those places first!

Homemade snacks for the kids and yourself can save money and health. Kids vitamins are great tasting for them, for us however, not so much. Vitamin C is a perfect vitamin to add to a baggie of dried fruit and they'll most likely eat it without realizing it. For the kids, try and aim for healthy snacks that are colorful and/or have cool shapes. Fruit snacks are so popular with kids, but have you noticed that some of them can taste the same? The bright colors are very attractive to their eyes. Also real fruit is another winner. If there is a fruit you want them to try that they don't like, try this tip:let it sit in a baggie with another more potent yummy fruit and the flavors will change a little. Maybe just enough for them to like it. Also lemon juice is a great fruit preserver if the fruit can't be refrigerated.

Use these tips and tricks for travel this fall. You and your family are worth keeping safe and healthy!