Expert Recap: Travelling with CIRS
Travelling with CIRS is possible with the strategic preparation. Prioritizing access to outdoor air circulation and safe accommodations are key. Bring a portable air purifier and ensure you have enough binders to get through a flare. Finally, trust your intuition. If somewhere feels unsafe, leave. If you’re starting to feel sick, rest. By being prepared it is possible to stay healthy.
How to Stay Safe on Planes, Hotels & Airbnb
*Note: this blog was written by me, Mark Volmer. All spelling mistakes, misquotes, errors, and omissions are my own doing. It is not AI generated.*
Lena had been looking forward to this retreat for months. Three nights in Costa Rica, reconnecting with friends, practicing yoga every day, enjoying some sun. After a long winter spent focusing on her CIRS recovery, she deserved this.
Things started going sideways almost immediately. As soon as she dropped her bags in her room, she detected a distinct musty smell. There was also a mysterious brown stain coming through the ceiling paint in the yoga studio. But Lena decided she was just being paranoid and she could just push through. All she was asking for was a brief break from the toll of CIRS.
However, halfway through her second night at the hotel, she woke up gasping. Chest heavy. Brain fog rolling in thick. Her throat burned like she’d been breathing smoke. She knew she wasn’t being paranoid, this was definitely CIRS. She cut the trip short and flew home feeling even worse than when she left.
If you have CIRS, this story probably doesn’t surprise you. Maybe you’ve lived a version of it yourself.
Travel is where CIRS patients get blindsided most often; not because they were reckless, but because they weren’t given a real framework for doing it safely. That’s what this blog is all about.
I want you to be able to travel. Connection, rest, and new experiences are all part of healing too. You just need the right strategy.
Why Travel Hits CIRS Patients So Hard
If you have CIRS, your immune system is already running hot. The defense budget, so to speak, is stretched. That means exposures that a healthy person can shrug off may push you into a flare.
Add travel to the mix, and suddenly you are potentially stacking many new exposures at once.
Planes recirculate air, concentrating VOCs, mold spores, and chemical off-gassing.
Hotels have hidden water damage, HVAC systems nobody has maintained, synthetic fragrances baked into every soft surface.
Add jet lag, disrupted meals, and a packed schedule and your detox and immune systems are in an uphill battle from the moment you leave home.
This isn’t about being fragile. It’s about understanding your biology and being appropriately prepared.
Ready to start real recovery?
Book a consult with our team today.
Before Travelling with CIRS
Start preparing from the moment you decide to travel.
Choosing Your Destination
Decide what kind of trip you want to take. Are you craving a hot, sun vacation? Look at the climates of your options. Check humidity levels and local air quality. Tropical destinations and older coastal cities automatically carry higher risks. This doesn’t mean avoid them, but you will need to prepare accordingly.
For me, I feel much safer travelling to Mexico than I do to Florida. Not because Mexico has lower humidity than Florida; humidity levels in coastal Mexico are not much different than in Florida. But the building methods are completely different.
Most home construction in Mexico is done with concrete, cement, and rebar. Most home construction in Florida is done via stick framing and drywall. Wood + drywall is all the “food” mold needs to grow. This makes a stay in Florida riskier than a stay in Mexico.
Are you considering a trip to a cooler climate? If this is the case, you need to look very closely at all of the indoor environments you will be frequenting.
Thinking of taking the kids to Disney? Because of the moderate climate, DisneyLand, in California, is primarily an outdoor theme park. Lines, rides and many restaurants are outdoors.
However, Florida’s DisneyWorld is mainly located inside because of Florida’s rainy season. This means the hours you will be spending in line to meet Mickey will be inside.
CIRS Safe Travel Accommodations
Now that you’ve decided where you want to go, you need to find somewhere safe to stay. Whether you are considering a hotel or a rental, you need to see how much fresh air can enter the premises. With CIRS, we’re generally concerned about concentrated indoor microbial contaminants. The solution to pollution is dilution. If you can keep all the windows and patio doors open, you will significantly dilute indoor air contaminants. This makes for a much more CIRS-friendly indoor environment.
When you’re booking, choose newer buildings over older ones. Upper floors are safer than lower ones (less chance of plumbing leaks migrating up). Ask hotels directly whether they’ve had water damage and how recently HVAC filters were serviced. Most will answer honestly if you are direct.
How to pack for CIRS
When travelling, you already know what the packing basics are. Think pyjamas, socks, underwear, medications, sunscreen.
When travelling with CIRS, you need to add a few more items to the ‘Don’t leave home without it’ list.
The non-negotiables:
- A portable air purifier. If you are flying, don’t trust it to your checked bag. Make sure it is small enough to carry on with you.
- A small hygrometer to check room humidity,
- Co2 monitor to check for fresh air (higher co2 levels = stale indoor air)
- Binders*
* I always recommend patients increase their binder frequency one to two days before travel.
Choosing and Triaging Your CIRS Safe Accommodation
Not all accommodations are equal, and “nice hotel” does not mean “safe hotel.”
Online booking is convenient, but you should call or email your accommodation directly to ask a few key questions before hitting the Book Now button.
What to ask before booking:
- Have there been any recent renovations?
- Are there hard floors or carpet?
- Is it possible to book away from the kitchen?
- Do windows open or are they sealed?
- How does the bathroom vent?
Once you check in, the first 15 minutes in any room are the most important.
- Check humidity with your hygrometer (you want 40 to 50%),
- Check Co2 levels (you want <1000ppm),
- Inspect the ceiling corners, bathroom grout, and baseboard for any staining or water marks.
- If you’re in a hotel and something doesn’t feel right, ask for a different room. You have that right.
Once the room has checked all the boxes, it’s time to prepare the space. Open every window, run your purifier on high, and let the space ventilate before you unpack anything.
Run your purifier continuously for the first 24 hours.
During your stay, keep the purifier running near where you sleep. Vent the bathroom aggressively after any shower to prevent steam and humidity buildup. If the climate permits, keep the windows and doors open at all times.
Handling a CIRS Flare Mid-Trip
If you get with a flare hit mid-travel, the approach to recovery is systematic.
Take an additional binder dose as soon as you recognize the exposure. Get outside if you can. Do a nasal saline rinse if you suspect inhaled spores. Rest aggressively rather than pushing through.
The most common mistake I see is ignoring early signals. A mild headache or slight throat tickle is your body telling you something. Respond early and the recovery is usually manageable. But if you ignore the signs and wait until you’re flaring you’re going to be fighting much harder.
Don’t question your initial intuition when you enter a new indoor space!
Alternative CIRS-safe travel
Consider thinking about new ways of travel. Do fewer international trips. Get out into nature and explore locally. Spend time camping.
If you’re used to big, Instagram-worthy international trips, this will be an adjustment. And international travel does not have to be completely off the table. But regular camping trips into nature can be far more settling to your nervous system than crossing multiple time zones.
Ready to start real recovery?
Book a consult with our team today.
The Bigger CIRS Picture
Lena eventually traveled again. She did it differently: a newer hotel, a purifier in her suitcase, a slower pace, and a plan for what to do if something went wrong.
That’s the goal. Not a perfectly sterile trip. A trip where you’ve stacked the odds in your favor, responded well when things weren’t ideal, and came home without setting your recovery back.
Travel is worth figuring out. Your world shouldn’t shrink because your biology is complex. Start with one short trip. Track what works. Refine your system. Build from there.
Mark Volmer has attained the highest level of Shoemaker Protocol certification, and is one of only two of Canada’s Shoemaker Protocol practitioners. The Shoemaker Protocol is the only scientifically proven method of treating CIRS.
