We’ve all been on flights next to someone sick or sick ourselves and I’ll tell you from experience, there isn’t much that’s more uncomfortable than flying sick.  It’s miserable to put it bluntly.  But if you have to get from point A to point B, there often isn’t much of an option.  For me, there are 2 flights in particular that stand out in my memory when I had to fly sick.  The first was our first trip to Iceland 4-ish years ago when I was so sick I had red rings around my eyes from my eyes constantly watering and was sneezing every other breath.  The second was my most recent trip home from Stockholm.  I felt flu-ish miserable and was going in and out of chills and sweats pretty much the whole ride home.  Long story short, traveling while sick is miserable however you cut it but there are a few things you can do to make it a little bit easier.  So if you’re in that position – try some of these ideas to ease the pain!

Upgrade if you can.

If you’re flying sick and have to take the flight, see if you can upgrade.  On our way home from Stockholm, the idea of being stuck in Coach in a tiny seat was almost unbearable so we were able to pay to upgrade for our flight home.  It’s always worth the money if you can and will make a miserable flight seem a little less miserable!  You’ll be able to stretch out more and hopefully sleep if you’re more comfortable.

Always travel with DayQuil, NyQuil, and Immodium.

I never leave for a trip without liquid gels of DayQuil and NyQuil and a small container of Immodium.  If you don’t have to use them, great.  But if you do get sick while traveling, this saves you from having to find a pharmacy and dealing with everything in a foreign language.  Just take your own emergency kit with these in it and you’ll be covered!

Drink tea and water.

No matter where you travel in the world, you’ll always have access to tea and water.  These two drinks will get you through any kind of sickness even if you can’t keep anything else down.  I always bring teabags with me of my favorite teas when I travel so that wherever you are, you can always just ask for hot water.

Don’t skimp on travel Kleenex.

I’ve had a few trips where I forget to pack enough travel packs of Kleenex and then get kind of panicky that I’m going to get sick and not have access to tissues.  So now I double check before I travel and always carry more than I need in case of getting sick.  The airline tissues are really rough and don’t hold up super well, so take your own just in case!

Get in a good mindset.

One of the best ways to make yourself a little less miserable when traveling sick is really just your mindset.  I always figure that I’d be miserable at home in bed anyways, so it’s not much different to just lay on a plane for however long your flight is.  Talk yourself into feeling a little better and it might just help!