Doctor recommends ways to stay healthy while you travel for the holidays

The holiday travel season means millions will be heading on the roads or to the skies to visit family and friends.
The record-breaking 112.5 million travelers taking to the nation’s runways, highways and railways is a more than four percent increase over last year, according to AAA.
Nearly seven million travelers will head to airports for the holidays.
As travelers board flights, they’ll also be putting themselves in contact with more germs and other people who are ill.
“The issue with holiday travel is that it kind of coincides with the flu season. When you’re flying, you’re in closed spaces, you’re exposed to a lot of people who are coughing or sneezing,” said Dr. Marco Diaz, an emergency physician at Del Sol Medical Center.
Dr. Diaz said the worse thing anyone can do while traveling is sneezing and coughing into their own hands.
“I’d like to emphasize on something called sleep hygiene,” Diaz said.
He said when staying in hotels and spending time inside airports people are exposed to light and sound pollution.
“So I really encourage people to wear a mask,” Diaz said.
For those preparing for a road trip, Diaz recommends getting plenty of sleep the night before in order to remain focused behind the wheel.
For Texas and New Mexico road conditions, live images from TxDOT traffic cameras, bridge wait times and flight status, visit the Travel Center at kvia.com.