How to avoid Con Crud
Also posted to my Tumblr.
Alright so, I see it often enough from friends and friends of friends, the posts and announcements of catching colds and whatnot after returning from a con, or even a vacation. And I've done pretty well with avoiding con crud for a couple years now so I'd like to help others.
Quick list for those that don't want to read the whole post:
1) Keep to a routine
2) 5-6 hours of sleep
3) Maintain normal eating patterns
4) Drink water
5) Take time to get fresh air
6) Emergen-C twice daily
If you keep in mind that traveling and getting out of your normal routines means a good amount of stress you can see why many fall ill on or shortly before their return. There are things you can do to reduce that stress and give your body the tools it needs to stay healthy on your trip.
Consider that travel to most cons involves flying. So you're on a plane for a couple hours breathing other people's air. And at the end of the trip, you're going through the same ordeal to get home. (Protip: your nose is a better filter than your mouth.) So your trip begins and ends with a decent amount of stress on your body. Reducing stress is a big factor on keeping yourself healthy.
1) Keep a routine
At home you probably have a normal routine; a set of hours you sleep, times to take meals and breaks, times to work, etc. Breaking out of that routine for trips and conventions can be stressful on your body. If you set up a routine for your trip/convention your body will respond accordingly and it will be easier to stay healthy while on the go.
Have a look at the con schedule ASAP and at least loosely schedule a routine around the activities you want to attend. Make time to eat and sleep each day with a little wiggle room in case you change your mind.
2) Make time to sleep
Chances are at home you sleep 5-8hrs regularly. At cons, we all fall prey to the 'I want to do everything' mentality, so sleep is one of those things that gets thrown out the window. But to stay healthy your body needs time to rest and rejuvinate. This means you'll have to make the call:
A) Do I want to stay up and go to the dance parties/late night panels then sleep, missing the morning activities?
B) Do I want to go to bed at night so I can catch those morning panels?
You won't be able to do both. You could say 'I'll sleep in the afternoon so I can do late night and morning stuff' but the best panels usually happen in the afternoon and the dealer's room/artist alley/art show hours often end around early evening.
3) Maintain normal eating patterns
If all you do during your trip is eat pizza and fries, drink soda and do so at bizarre intervals, your body is going to be weeping at you in short order. I know it's more difficult on trips to eat regular meals with some regard to healthful food choices, but if you make that effort you're much less likely to come home feeling like death warmed over.
Eat regularly and with regard to healthful food choices and your body will reward you.
4) Drink water
Most attendees carry some kind of bag/backpack at a con, so it's easy to find a place to stash a water bottle. And most hotels are awesome and place water coolers or fountains around the area so you can easily refill that bottle in between panels. Get a little thirsty on a panel? Hey lookit that, you've a water bottle within reach!
Staying hydrated flushes toxins out of your system and makes it less likely you'll get dizzy, faint or drink too much soda while on a trip. To help myself, I usually only drink water at meals.
As an alternative, the Powerade/Gatorade drinks have low sugar/calorie versions that may give you more oomph than water.
5) Take time to get fresh air
Ok so you're surrounded by hundreds or thousands of people all day, cramped in stuffy halls or dealer's rooms. Give yourself a few minutes in a more open area outside where you can take some nice deep breaths and stretch. You can totally feel your stress levels drop when you have just a little time to breathe.
6) Emergen-C twice daily
Starting the day before and thru the day after you return.
This is an immunity booster, which temporarily puts your immune system into overdrive. It's not something you want to take all the time. Vitamin C in large quantities is an alternative, but I've found these packets tend to work better on the go. Plus, it gets you to drink at least two glasses of water each day.
As a last thought, carry around alcohol-based hand sanitizer to use after extended periods of interaction with people or things. (They come in travel sized bottles and wipes.) Washing your hands in a bathroom also works quite well. Always make sure to cleanse your hands before a meal, too.
So that's my take on staying healthy and avoiding the con crud while on trips. I hope it can help you too. Good luck and enjoy your next con adventure.
Alright so, I see it often enough from friends and friends of friends, the posts and announcements of catching colds and whatnot after returning from a con, or even a vacation. And I've done pretty well with avoiding con crud for a couple years now so I'd like to help others.
Quick list for those that don't want to read the whole post:
1) Keep to a routine
2) 5-6 hours of sleep
3) Maintain normal eating patterns
4) Drink water
5) Take time to get fresh air
6) Emergen-C twice daily
If you keep in mind that traveling and getting out of your normal routines means a good amount of stress you can see why many fall ill on or shortly before their return. There are things you can do to reduce that stress and give your body the tools it needs to stay healthy on your trip.
Consider that travel to most cons involves flying. So you're on a plane for a couple hours breathing other people's air. And at the end of the trip, you're going through the same ordeal to get home. (Protip: your nose is a better filter than your mouth.) So your trip begins and ends with a decent amount of stress on your body. Reducing stress is a big factor on keeping yourself healthy.
1) Keep a routine
At home you probably have a normal routine; a set of hours you sleep, times to take meals and breaks, times to work, etc. Breaking out of that routine for trips and conventions can be stressful on your body. If you set up a routine for your trip/convention your body will respond accordingly and it will be easier to stay healthy while on the go.
Have a look at the con schedule ASAP and at least loosely schedule a routine around the activities you want to attend. Make time to eat and sleep each day with a little wiggle room in case you change your mind.
2) Make time to sleep
Chances are at home you sleep 5-8hrs regularly. At cons, we all fall prey to the 'I want to do everything' mentality, so sleep is one of those things that gets thrown out the window. But to stay healthy your body needs time to rest and rejuvinate. This means you'll have to make the call:
A) Do I want to stay up and go to the dance parties/late night panels then sleep, missing the morning activities?
B) Do I want to go to bed at night so I can catch those morning panels?
You won't be able to do both. You could say 'I'll sleep in the afternoon so I can do late night and morning stuff' but the best panels usually happen in the afternoon and the dealer's room/artist alley/art show hours often end around early evening.
3) Maintain normal eating patterns
If all you do during your trip is eat pizza and fries, drink soda and do so at bizarre intervals, your body is going to be weeping at you in short order. I know it's more difficult on trips to eat regular meals with some regard to healthful food choices, but if you make that effort you're much less likely to come home feeling like death warmed over.
Eat regularly and with regard to healthful food choices and your body will reward you.
4) Drink water
Most attendees carry some kind of bag/backpack at a con, so it's easy to find a place to stash a water bottle. And most hotels are awesome and place water coolers or fountains around the area so you can easily refill that bottle in between panels. Get a little thirsty on a panel? Hey lookit that, you've a water bottle within reach!
Staying hydrated flushes toxins out of your system and makes it less likely you'll get dizzy, faint or drink too much soda while on a trip. To help myself, I usually only drink water at meals.
As an alternative, the Powerade/Gatorade drinks have low sugar/calorie versions that may give you more oomph than water.
5) Take time to get fresh air
Ok so you're surrounded by hundreds or thousands of people all day, cramped in stuffy halls or dealer's rooms. Give yourself a few minutes in a more open area outside where you can take some nice deep breaths and stretch. You can totally feel your stress levels drop when you have just a little time to breathe.
6) Emergen-C twice daily
Starting the day before and thru the day after you return.
This is an immunity booster, which temporarily puts your immune system into overdrive. It's not something you want to take all the time. Vitamin C in large quantities is an alternative, but I've found these packets tend to work better on the go. Plus, it gets you to drink at least two glasses of water each day.
As a last thought, carry around alcohol-based hand sanitizer to use after extended periods of interaction with people or things. (They come in travel sized bottles and wipes.) Washing your hands in a bathroom also works quite well. Always make sure to cleanse your hands before a meal, too.
So that's my take on staying healthy and avoiding the con crud while on trips. I hope it can help you too. Good luck and enjoy your next con adventure.