5 Air Travel Tips for Seniors

---

Whether you’re taking that dream vacation, visiting the grandchildren or playing in a big golf tournament chances are you’re going to need to board a plane to get there.  Long flights on crowded airplanes probably aren’t tops on your list of ways to spend your retirement years but more often than not it’s a necessity.  Here are a few tips for senior travelers to help make your next flight a little more tolerable.

Arrange for Wheelchair Assistance   Even if you don’t normally require a wheelchair or any special assistance you can arrange to have a wheelchair ready for you at check in and to use again after you reach your destination.  I always make wheelchair arrangements for my mother when she travels to visit us.  She is fully able bodied but traveling in her 80s I don’t want her to have to navigate through an airport and walk long distances before boarding her flight.  This is a free service offered by the airlines and they have always been more than happy to make these arrangements for me.  This will afford you the luxury of having assistance at baggage claim, be able to board early and the peace of mind that the crew will check on you during your flight to ensure you don’t have any issues or difficulties once in flight.  It’s well worth the phone call. 

Stay Hydrated

The low cabin humidity is very dehydrating so it’s important to be sure to drink plenty of water during your flight.  This will also help minimize swollen legs and ankles.  Try to limit your intake of alcoholic beverages and caffeinated drinks as they tend to increase dehydration.

Choose Seats Carefully

When choosing your seats, try to sit as close to the front of the plane as possible so you can easily get on and off the plane quickly and easily.  Choose an aisle seat so you can get up often without disturbing other passengers.  Whenever possible, book seats with extra leg room. 

Wear Compression Airplane Socks

It’s worthwhile to purchase a pair of airplane socks.  The compression helps with the circulation in your legs.  Once you arrive at your destination lie down and elevate your legs for a bit if possible.  

Move Often

Try to frequently stand up and walk up and down the aisle once you’re in flight.  For times when it’s necessary to stay seated with your seatbelt fastened, be sure to wiggle your toes and stretch your legs.

Don’t let the thought of having to get on a plane discourage you from enjoying your retirement years.  International Vacation Home Exchange has luxury properties in 70 countries around the world including many luxury golf and beach properties to enjoy.  Click here to choose which destination you’ll be jetting off to. 

Thank you to travel writer Lisa Medeiros.  Follow her on Twitter @lisamedeiros_

Read More

SENIOR TRAVEL PLANNING TIPS - MEDICATIONS

---

Wow! Your vacation is getting near! You’ve worked at saving money on travel so you have a little extra to really enjoy your trip. Of course, as a savvy traveler you’ve not only been looking forward to this trip but planning like mad as well. Travel reservations - Check! Outfits for dining, lounging, swimming, etc - Check! Passport and travel documents - Check! Lots of those little travel sized toiletries and so forth - Check, check, check! Sports gear - Check! That novel you’ve been meaning to get to - Check!

In all the excitement of packing, planning what you’ll do, and so forth, don’t forget to check whether you have enough medication to get you through your trip. And we’re not just talking about your prescription medication either.

Be sure that you have either enough of your over the counter medications to see you through your journey or that there’s a source to get more of them near where you’ve set up your home exchange or other accommodations.  Another great idea is to find out the names of your over the counter medications in other countries. For example, in the UK a common pain reliever is known as Paracetamol. But in the US it’s known by the brand name Tylenol or the generic name acetaminophen. To help find out more about this, here are a link and an app for your smartphone which might help you look up international drug names.

With regard to you prescription medications, there are a couple of things you can do to make sure you have enough medication on hand. The first and easiest is to see if you can get a prescription written for enough medication to see you through. This will involve checking with your physician to request the prescription and with your insurance to make sure they’ll permit it to be filled. Sometimes insurances, especially in the US will have requirements that prescriptions for more than a 30 day supply be ordered from an online or mail order pharmacy. If that’s the case, you’ll need to be sure to plan to get the order in well ahead of your departure date.

If you’re not planning an extended stay, see if you can get your medications refilled early. In some cases you can get a refill some 7 to 10 days before the current prescription is exhausted. The trick here is to check with your pharmacy first. Each one can have different rules about refill schedules. Again, a bit of planning ahead can really save a lot of scrambling at the last minute.

So whether you’re looking to do a holiday home exchange to get away from it all in sunny Antigua or on the slopes in Sun Valley   make sure that your trip stays happy and healthy by checking on those other essentials. 

Thank you to the MA Scott writing team for this blog post.  

vacationing couple image courtesy of womenontheirway.com  paracetamol image courtesy of healthdoctrine.com   pharmacist image courtesy of money.cnn.com

Read More