Wellbeing
How the 1% Stays Healthy While Traveling
It’s awful being sick or hurt on vacation. If you’re willing to spend the dough, you can minimize the chances of mooning in your hotel room while friends and family frolic.
Whether it’s the streets of Paris, a private atoll in the Maldives, or your yacht in the Mediterranean, travel is only wonderful when you’re feeling good. And staying healthy when you travel can be a challenge.
There’s often unfamiliar food to deal with, potentially unsafe water to drink, jet lag, motion sickness. Plus there are all the other health woes that can befall anyone, any time, anywhere—with the added challenge that you’re in an unfamiliar place without access to your own physician, pharmacy, or physical therapist.
As with many things, money can overcome many of these obstacles. Prince Charles and Queen Camilla, for instance, supposedly don’t travel anywhere without their private physicians. Yes, physicians—plural. Even when the royal couple travels together, they each bring their own doctor.
Wellness advocate and curator of Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow, has her own travel rituals to stay healthy. She told InStyle she likes to “spritz colloidal silver all over the seat, because it’s a natural antibacterial and antiviral. Supplements-wise, I take loads of vitamin C and have this magnesium and calcium packet that I put in my water as magnesium is really calming on your nervous system.”
For the rest of us, who don’t want to fill our luggage with supplements and whose doctors aren’t ready to jump on a plane with us, there are other ways to avoid some of the most common travel woes—especially if cost is no concern.
The Doctor Is In . . . No Matter Where You Are
International concierge medicine is the next best thing to having your doctor travel with you. This type of service means that you have access to medical care anywhere in the world. WorldClinic, for example, provides members with access to an app that allows them to reach a doctor by phone within about 60 seconds. But first the service takes steps to minimize the chance that any problems will occur in the first place.Â
Members are provided with a customized kit that includes both prescription and non-prescription medication and supplies, tailored to an individual’s medical history and destination. For those with private yachts or planes, there are medical lockers available to bring on board that include even more equipment in case of emergency.Â
Also included is a medical briefing about their destination that includes information about local hygiene, infectious diseases, and other potential health hazards. The service does research in advance to find the best local hospitals and specialists, just in case a member needs attention from a local physician while they’re away.
Membership in WorldClinic is annual only, since an extensive onboarding process is required, including a complete medical history. This service doesn’t come cheap but their members, says one WorldClinic executive, “just want to feel that they’re being taken care of, no matter where they are.” Membership for travel care alone (as opposed to year-round health care, which WorldClinic also offers) starts at $4,000 for young adults and rises with age.
The IV League
However you’re traveling, if you’re switching time zones, you may be losing your mojo. But you can avoid some of the effects of jet lag, including fatigue, digestive problems, fuzzy thinking, and irritability. Intravenous (IV) therapy can help you recover faster. There are IV therapy clinics in nearly every city. You can also have IV treatment come to you.Â
The IV Doc has locations all over the country and Europe (including the Hamptons, Palm Beach, and London), and will provide the service in your home, office, or hotel. Their Jet Lag Relief IV ($349) includes medication and vitamins to help you recover your energy faster. If travel takes its toll on your digestive system, they offer Stomach Bug Relief IV ($349) or Food Poisoning Relief IV ($319) to help you replenish fluids and feel better more quickly.
Skin Care With an Added Benefit
And as long as you’re doing everything you can to feel good, you might as well look your best too. Airplane air is dry no matter what you paid for your ticket. By the time you land, you—and your skin—will be feeling the effects of that 12-hour time difference. Sure, you can drink lots of water and slather your face with moisturizer. But how about treating your skin and your jet lag at the same time?Â
BYNACHT, a German skin care line, was born out of this need, and is based on sleep science. Says founder Jessica Hoyer, “I was frequently flying around the world and always felt very jet-lagged and tired. I couldn’t find products that instantly helped with a tired body and mind and dull skin, so I created them.” Among the company’s many products that help people achieve “perfect sleep and perfect skin” are the Heavy Jet Lag Balm ($86), which uses “pure, organic essential oils to resynchronize your inner clock to prevent jet lag” and Overnight Onboard Hydration Mist ($76), which does exactly what it says.
No, You Don’t Have to Carry That Weight
Even if you travel relatively light, carrying luggage for any distance can leave you with sore muscles and a wrenched back. Of course, you could send your clothes ahead by FedEx or by a specialized service like LuggageFree. But you still have to pack . . . or do you? UOVO is a storage service with locations in New York, California, and Florida, specializing in art, wine . . . and fashion. When clients store their clothing, UOVO maintains a digital inventory which then enables their luggage-free wardrobe service. When it’s time to travel, clients can direct which items from the digital inventory they want packed and where they want it sent—whether it’s for a vacation, business trip, or second home. Fill out their online contact form or call 833-344-8686 for more information about services and pricing.
Hero photo by Jutta Klee/Getty Images
