Travel for Germaphobes

Where are all my Germaphobes? I won’t ask you to raise you hand because you might touch something gross. It is not easy to travel as a germaphobe. There are so many gross things out in the world and leaving our comfort zones is hard enough. Even if you are terrified of germs and getting sick from contacting foreign surfaces, travel doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are some awesome things to pack that will help you feel cleaner while you travel the globe and expand your worldview.

Travel with sheets

If the idea of sleeping in a hotel room creeps you out then we have the perfect solution. Pack your own sheets and you won’t have to worry about sleeping in filth. Hotels rarely wash the comforters and duvet covers so I generally toss those into the corner and keep my vacation moving.  I tend to keep an extra set of sheets in my car so why not pack them on trips as well.  There is nothing grosser to germaphobes than sleeping in a dirty bed.  

Hotels around the world treat cleanliness a little different than we do in the states. Their standards of cleaning can be below our standards, but that all depends on your destination. If you are going to London, their hotels are generally cleaner than say Bulgaria, so you may want to pick your destination carefully.

Simply pack a set of sheets in your luggage that you don’t mind losing or throwing away. Use them on your vacation and if repacking them grosses you out, toss or donate them. Some orphanage would love some slightly used sheets, I’m sure.

Surgical Masks

If you are a real germaphobe, chances are you already own a few surgical masks.  You see surgical masks all over Asia where the general populations are overcrowded, so why not travel with one? They are cheap, usually a few cents and for germaphobes they are lifesavers. Wear them when you are on crowded subways or airplanes and you can rest easy knowing you won’t catch anything that’s airborne.

Pack Medicine

If the congested airplanes or groups of people gross you out then make sure you prepare by packing some emergency and airborne with you. These medicines will boost your immune system and ease your worries of contracting some crazy foreign illness.  I get it, people are dirty and gross and being jammed packed with them on a plane tends to gross me out as well. I never travel without these two over-the-counter drugs.

Sanitize

Hand sanitizer should be on you at all times if you are a germaphobe. These convenient pocket sized sanitizers are awesome and keep germs at bay while you can explore foreign cities. Buy them anywhere and travel with some extras just incase you lose one. Shoot, I should invest in one of the companies, since I use them so often.

Water Filters

Germaphobes really hate drinking dirty water and I understand that. Water around the globe is not as clean as our water, unless you are from Flint Michigan. If you’re from Flint, drinking motor oil is probably better than drinking your city water, but I digress. When I travel I always pack my own water bottle with a filter on it. Its great, I can take river water and drink it without worrying about getting Giardia or any other water born illness. A great brand is Potable Aqua with PA+Plus. These are germicidal tablets that you can place in water and it cleans it without any weird aftertaste.