Traveling Allergies

Fortunately if your coming into Fenton we are not on the list!  Allergies are on the rise.  Ragweed and mold are your top culprits, right now.  Phoenix tops cities with worst ragweed problems.  Are you traveling into an allergy nightmare?

Some studies are showing that sensitivities to common allergens, including ragweed, mold, two types of house dust mites, cats, dogs and five foods are on the rise by 15%.  The numbers maybe higher than that due to most people with allergies don’t bother to be tested.

The top, or worst, cities for ragweed are:
1.  Phoenix
2.  Las Vegas
3.  Kansas City
4.  Riverside-San Bernardino
5.  Dallas
6.  Chicago
7.  Sacramento
8.  Philadelphia
9.  Denver
10.  Washington
        Minneapolis/St. Paul (tied)

So knowing that you maybe traveling into an area of high allergens what can you do?  These tips work while you at home as well.

Pollens. Shower or bathe before bedtime to wash off pollen and other allergens in your hair and on your skin. Avoid going outside, especially on dry, windy days. Keep windows and doors shut, and use an air conditioner and in your car.

Mold. Open windows and use fans (where available) to increase air movement and help prevent mold.

What medicines can I take to help relieve my symptoms?  (These are our suggestions but please see a doctor before you use any of these)

Antihistamines help reduce the sneezing, runny nose and itchiness of allergies. They're more useful if you use them before you're exposed to allergens.

Some antihistamines can cause drowsiness and dry mouth. Others are less likely to cause these side effects, but some of these require a prescription. Ask your doctor which kind is best for you.

Decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine help temporarily relieve the stuffy nose of allergies. Decongestants are found in many medicines and come as pills, nose sprays and nose drops. They are best used only for a short time. Nose sprays and drops shouldn't be used for more than 3 days because you can become dependent on them. This causes you to feel even more stopped-up when you try to quit using them.

You can buy decongestants without a doctor's prescription. However, decongestants can raise your blood pressure, so it's a good idea to talk to your family doctor before using them, especially if you have high blood pressure.

Cromolyn sodium is a nasal spray that helps prevent the body's reaction to allergens. Cromolyn sodium is more helpful if you use it before you're exposed to allergens. This medicine may take 2 to 4 weeks to start working. It is available without a prescription.

Nasal steroid sprays reduce the reaction of the nasal tissues to inhaled allergens. This helps relieve the swelling in your nose so that you feel less stopped-up. Nasal steroid sprays are available with a prescription from your doctor. You won't notice their benefits for up to 2 weeks after starting them.

Your doctor may prescribe steroid pills for a short time or give you a steroid shot if your symptoms are severe or if other medicines aren't working for you.

Eye drops. If your other medicines are not helping enough with your itchy, watery eyes, your doctor may prescribe eye drops for you.

I hope this helps your next trip!

Ten Family Travel Med Kit Essentials

If you listen to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” then all you need is bandaids and Windex for a medical kit!  That would be the easiest but not very practical and I can’t see spraying Windex on a hurt knee.  OUCH!

I usually pack a bunch of ointments, sprays, and salves, but there was definitely a time, probably very early on, when I was a lot more careful and thorough and current about what to bring on family vacations.

So I reviewed the literature, as they say, and identified some products and preventatives that we all might consider packing on the next trip.

1. Butterfly band-aids. Not the first shape that springs to mind, is it? But if you’ve got young kids like mine who wait until they’re well away from cushiony surfaces before doing their tumbles and face plants, the butterflies are “helpful for minor cuts that need to come together,” says Dr. Christine Wood, a practicing pediatrician and spokesperson for USANA Health Services.

2.  Mederma for Kids. This is a cream Wood recommends parents use “on cuts or scrapes that are scarring. The product does truly help in minimizing the appearance of scars,” she says. (I use Neosporine with a germicide)

3. Hand sanitizer. The Centers for Disease Control Yellow Book has a handy section on traveling safely with infants and children. One of the book’s blander bits of advice is that “when proper hand-washing facilities are not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used as a disinfecting agent.” But there’s a twist: “Alcohol does not remove organic material,” the CDC says, “so visibly soiled hands should be washed with soap and water.”

4. Children’s Benadryl Anti-Itch Gel. This is one of several itch-stopping topical gels parents might use for stings and bites, Wood says.  If you also pack the Benadryl capsule it not only helps with allergies in general but it helps the kids sleep through long trips!

5. Insect repellent. To DEET or not to DEET? Parents debate this one in pharmacy aisles everywhere, and the CDC cites the American Academy of Pediatrics, which “recommends that repellents with DEET should not be used on infants younger than two months old. Also, the CDC reminds us that “products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus specify that they should not be used on children under the age of three.”

Plus, here’s one I know you didn’t know, which is that “repellent products must state any age restriction. If there is none, EPA has not required a restriction on the use of the product,” according to the CDC.

6. That part of your brain that keeps your fingers out of your mouth. Our friends at the CDC remind us not to “apply repellent to children’s hands” as “children tend to put their hands in their mouths.” I never remember this.

7. Sun-blocking garments. Nothing is more loathsome to me in summertime – other than jacked-up ice cream pricing – than all the time it takes to lather and re-lather kids with sunscreen. That’s why I love the CDC reminder that “there are sun-blocking shirts available that are made for swimming and preclude having to smear sunscreens over the entire trunk.” This kind of shirt and protective, fully brimmed hats are good ideas for kids of all ages.

8. Sea-Bands. Given that meds like Dramamine can cause drowsiness, Wood has used Sea-Bands on her own son. The bands, she says, “work as acupuncture bands on the wrist and minimize motion sickness.”

9. Probiotics. “For those children who are experiencing vomiting and diarrhea,” Wood says, a probiotic can be incorporated into a child’s food “to soothe indigestion symptoms.”

10. Ziploc bag. On a weekend bus ride last summer I mopped up my younger daughter’s vomit with a long-sleeved shirt, which I disposed of in the convenient Ziploc bag I had been carrying it in. From that trip forward our family has traveled with several strategically-placed gallon Ziplocs, each containing a few paper towels. A throw-up kit. Don’t leave home without it.

Advisory and disclaimer: Don’t try out any new medications, nutritional supplements, or treatments on your child without consulting your family doctor. In addition, although I don’t personally endorse the products mentioned in this post, I don’t feel I can say “zip-top” bag and be taken seriously, hence “Ziploc.”

Traveling with Children?

There’s nothing worse than a crying toddler or bored grumpy teenager to put a king-sized damper on family vacations.  Maybe these tips can help?

Don't forget the diapers

Why is it that the tiniest travelers require the most baggage? Baby Pack & Go supplies packing lists that you can customize for each child. It also sends reminders to ensure globe-trotting doesn't disrupt baby's routine: Ding! It's lunchtime. Ding! Naptime. $1. Download it: iPhone.

Bring storytime on the road

Dr. Seuss goes digital with iPhone- and iPad-ready versions of his best-selling stories. Let The Lorax app be your on-the-road babysitter: It reads the story aloud, and when you tap an illustration, the machine will speak its name ("Trees." "Grass." "Pond."). $5. Download it: Android, iPhone/iPad.

Color without crayons

The ultimate airplane toy for antsy tots, Dora the Explorer Coloring Adventures is a virtual coloring and sticker book for kids ages 2 to 6, with five scenes they can infinitely redesign. Here's to no more stray crayons under the seat! $5. Download it: iPad.

Scream for ice cream   

First, give yourself some elbow room. Then fire up Scoops, a highly addictive game even a technophobe could master. Your only goal is to position a virtual ice cream cone under colorful scoops that fall from the sky, using the phone's motion-sensitive accelerometer to direct the cone with a tilt of the wrist. Free. Download it: iPhone/iPad.

Summer is Coming and so is Rising Gas Prices

As gas prices rise we see families looking at how they can conserve some money but still get out for a vacation.  We also know that when the rising prices back in 2008 that families reduced the distance they would travel due to those peaking prices.  So why wouldn’t we expect to see families do the same thing this year? 

This will be another year of local travel.  I think we’ll see more families keeping their overall travel down just like we saw in 2008l.  The average distance traveled will be about 620 miles and average spending is expected to be $1,052 per family, AAA says.

Okay, what else will make your trip easier? Well I would suggest either having your vehicle checked over by a good mechanic or your husband if he knows how. Check the tires, filters, belts, brakes, change the oil etc.

Then the day before your trip get your vehicle cleaned really well, and fill up on gas. After that come home and pack what you will be taking with you into your vehicle, things like your overnight bags, travel pillows etc.  If you take extra blankets along these can be draped over the back of the seat so that they do not take up any additional room. And travel pillows can be placed next to whoever will be using them.

Money-saving strategies have even gone mobile. Apps like FuelFrog allow you to track your mileage to monitor gas prices in your city and your car’s gas efficiency over time. It’s one way that using a cell phone can actually improve your driving.

Whatever you decide to do I hope you have a great summer, and spend a lot of quality time with your children.

Bike, Scooter Sales Shifting Gears

As gas prices surge beyond $4 a gallon, more Americans are cycling as a way to stay fit, save money or both.  There’s definitely an obvious link that one leads to the other when it come to taking a bike instead of a car. 

Bike sales rose 9% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2010, and sales of road bikes – commonly used in commuting – shot up 29%.  Sales for gas-powered scooters are up even more: nearly 50% in the first quarter compared with a year ago. 

Census data show that when gas prices last peaked, in summer 2008, bike commuting rose 15% nationwide from 2007.  If gas keeps going the way the experts expect it to go I expect this will be no different this time around.  We embrace our travelling biker.  We’ve seen a few bikers booking with us and we feel it’s due to several of the nearby bike trails that we have.

In the past two years the federal government has made a $2 billion investment in aiding the growth to bike trails.  Cities have capitalized on this and the number of U.S. communities designated “bicycle friendly” by the league of American bicyclists has grown from 25 in 2003 to 179 this year.  See how our state or your state rates in bicycle programs by clicking HERE.

Travel Tips for the Solo Traveler

To minimize risks, follow these five practical tips, gathered from experts including Whitman, Schlichter, and travel guidebook author Rick Steves.

(1) Project strength. Walk purposefully, and show no fear — even if you have to fake it. Pickpockets prey on travelers who look like confused, easy victims.  Common areas for Pickpockets are crowded areas. Pickpockets probably hit thousands of tourists a day around the world. Follow these simple steps, and you'll avoid them:

Keep your money in three places. The big money, credit cards, and passports go into a money belt under your clothes. More money and perhaps one credit card go into a more easily accessible change purse or zippered pocket. Finally, small money, for tips and taxis, goes into a front pocket, where most pickpockets work. This way, if successful, they get only the small stuff.

Inner pockets of jackets are less likely to be lifted but if I pickpocket notices you putting your wallet there than they can and will attempt to relieve you of it’s contents.

Keep your purse or luggage locked in transit.  Also when sitting keep your bags in a visible area.  Do not hang your purse on the chair as this is a common area thieves will riffle or take while you are distacted.

(2) Always remain alert. "It's those few seconds of inattentiveness when your bag or purse could get snatched," Whitman says. "Thieves are generally looking for a quick steal, so bring a cable lock to secure your belongings to your seat on trains, and lock the zippers of your bags together so no one can easily open them."

(3) Readjust your schedule. If you feel uncomfortable going out at night, don't force it. Instead, sightsee during the day, make lunch your biggest meal, and turn in early. "Everyone should avoid walking alone at night," Schlichter says. "I've heard plenty of stories of male travelers who put themselves in bad situations — they made the mistake of assuming they'd always be fine because they're guys."

(4) Avoid the flirts. Steves has long advised single female travelers to wear fake wedding rings, especially in Mediterranean and Latin countries, where the men tend to pay more attention to women than Americans are typically used to. Getting hit on doesn't always turn into a safety concern, of course, but a simple gold band could save you some headaches.

(5)Follow your gut. If your radar goes off, listen to it — no matter who sets it off. "Woman and young children are just as likely to be pickpockets in some European countries — not men with knives," Whitman points out. "They often get away with it, I think, because people don't want to be rude to a nice-looking, middle-aged lady holding a baby, even if she's being pushy."

It’s the Little Things

Sometimes you forget some of those small items that can make or break your business trip or at the very least ruin your positive outlook.  Believe me we’ve seen some people forget some off the wall items.  But hopefully at the end of the day we can help salvage what you’ve missed.  There are a lot of little things you may find with our front desk staff.  This list varies from hotel to hotel but when all else fails we have been known to provide some of these items:

Matches

Toothbush/ tooth paste/ mouthwash

 Shavers and shaving cream

Deodorant

Pantyhose

Combs

Universal cell phone chargers

We may not have all these items all the time but give us the chance and our friendly front desk staff maybe able to surprise you with what we can provide.