Health concerns on the road

I'm having surgery this week to fix the carpal tunnel and ulnar nerve entrapment that my doctor says is the result of 33+ years of office work, computer usage, and (I think) video game console usage.  It means I'll be one-winged for a while, but that doesn't mean our trip planning will stop.  It also reminded me that an important part of an extended trip is to know and understand what is covered by our health insurance when traveling out of network and make conscious plans to stay healthy and well.

While DH is Medicare-eligible, we deferred his coverage as long as I'm still working, but that means we'll have to get him switched over to Medicare part B and get his supplemental coverage set up early next year.  And my coverage will change to an "early retiree" status which means I can maintain the same health insurance coverage and benefits that I currently have but I'll have to pay, pay, pay to keep it until I'm 65.

While no one expects to need medical care when traveling, it's best to know what to do  should a health issue arise.  Having an understanding of your health insurance coverage and how to use it when out-of-network is important so it's one less thing to worry about when you or a traveling companion are not well or someone has sustained an injury.  

Of course there are things we can all do to help prevent illness and injury while traveling.  Washing hands, maintaining good hygiene and nutrition, regular exercise, and enough sleep all contribute to our overall well-being.  And while it might seem like these should be easy to do while traveling, how many times have you laid awake your first night in a new place and not gotten sufficient rest?  Or over-indulged in meals at local restaurants, or had too many car snacks?  Or been in the car all day without enough breaks to stretch?

We're taking these things into consideration as we frame out our days.  We don't have too many one-nighters between multi-day stops which will allow for a good night's sleep.  We have limited our daily mileage to no more than 300 miles with many days being less than 150.  And even on the shorter driving distance days, we have stops along the way from point A to point B which will allow for ample exercise.  And by not having too many hours in the car each day, that will limit idle car-snacking!  I have to watch what I eat due to managing diabetes and celiac disease which also limits our dining choices, but that's for another blog entry (#stupidgluten).

Injury-prevention is also important, and as we are aging, we are keenly aware that our agility and balance are not what they used to be.  Some basic things we can do to prevent injuries include appropriate footwear (no hiking in flipflops), staying hydrated, and paying attention to signage.  How many TikToks or Instagram reels have you watched as people were injured because they went beyond posted signs or ignored barriers?  The National Park Service uses their social media presence to educate and inform visitors about safety awareness and what can happen when you ignore common sense.

So what about you? What are some things you do when traveling to stay healthy and prevent injuries?  Drop us a note in the comments.

~ Cindy D.