Traveling Tips when on a Nutritional Balancing Program
Many people enjoy traveling for various reasons. However, travel carries many health hazards ranging from airport x-ray machines and car accidents to poor food, pesticides, bugs in hotel rooms, and others. Travel in other nations is also not nearly as safe as travel in America, in general. For these reasons, I cannot recommend traveling more than is necessary to carry on your business and live your life in a peaceful way.
Today, spiritual development, which is the crowning achievement of mankind, is much easier to do at home, away from the hustle and bustle of most cities and travel areas. Video such as television, movies and DVDs can bring the most exotic places to your living room. I know it sounds boring, but this is more helpful in almost all cases than spending money and time traveling to faraway places.
Supplements to Bring While Traveling
Ideally stay on your full, normal supplement program while gone. Sometimes you will need to take fewer doses of your supplements if you are going through too many healing reactions. If you are experiencing a lot of symptoms of healing that you don’t want to suffer with while gone, cut back the amount of supplements you are taking two days before traveling so as to slow any healing reactions, and you would stay on reduced doses while gone. This will act as more of a maintenance program so that you aren’t having strong symptoms while away.
• If you are on Limcomin, bring extra, because Limcomin supports the immune system, and you can take more if you wind up with an infection while gone.
• Bring extra GB-3 to help with digestion and/or constipation. Constipation is very common while traveling.
• Bring extra Paramin in case you need it to help you sleep or in case you get a calcium or magnesium-deficiency symptom such as muscle cramps. Emergency/First-Aid Supplements
I always travel with Live Silver, Activated Charcoal, a strong probiotic, and Endo-AC. These four work with all sorts of events or trouble that can arise while traveling. We carry all of these in our office, but any probiotic will do. Sea salt is also good to bring along.
Live Silver: good for any infection. For use on intestinal infections (like stomach flu or food poisoning), take it straight between meals, up to 3 Tbs. per day for adults, less for children. You can break this up into 2 or 3 doses. For infection anywhere else in the body, add up to 3 Tbs. of the silver to 8-16 ounces of water and sip throughout the day. Live Silver may also be put in the eyes and ears and can be sniffed up into the nose to reach the sinuses. For this, you simply put some silver in the palm of your hand and hold it up to your nose and breathe in. Do this on both nostrils.
Activated Charcoal: good for any orally ingested poisons/toxins and diarrhea. If you suspect you just consumed something slightly toxic, such as a lot of MSG in your meal, you can take a few charcoal capsules to help absorb the poisons. It is also very helpful to stop up diarrhea. For diarrhea, take 3 or 4 charcoal on an empty stomach up to 3 times per day. This usually works quickly. Please note that your feces will turn black from the charcoal, and this is normal. Too much charcoal can constipate, so use more GB-3 if this happens.
Probiotics: good for any intestinal infection and especially helpful for food poisoning. Ideally get one that maintains potency unrefrigerated.
If you get food poisoning, immediately take a Tbs. of Live Silver, even if you are throwing up. You can always take more if you throw it up. Then get a probiotic and open the capsules up into some water and start sipping on it. Use 65 billion organisms or more per day until all food poisoning symptoms are gone. Start the silver and probiotic as soon as you notice food poisoning symptoms. Continue the Live Silver at 3 Tbs. per day between meals until all food poisoning symptoms are gone. Taking a few charcoal capsules is also a good idea, but take it away from probiotics and silver by at least 20 minutes. The charcoal can help absorb some of the toxicity from the food poisoning infection and helps prevent diarrhea. If you get diarrhea, follow the charcoal instructions above for diarrhea.
Endo-AC: This is an Endo-met product which contains vitamins A and C and bioflavonoids. Good for all infections, allergies, and for any toxic exposure. Adults may take up to 15 per day for these purposes. For example, if you are exposed to a toxic chemical like an air freshener or toxic cleaner, take a few Endo-AC. If you are sneezing a lot, take up to 15 that day. Due to the vitamin A content, if you have known liver disease, be cautious in use of this product.
Sea Salt: Bring a small baggy or other container of sea salt. Generally, if you want to add salt to your food in restaurants, it is best to use your own sea salt. Most restaurant salt has aluminum in it. Also, sea salt can be a good remedy for nausea and dehydration. You would simply sprinkle a little on your tongue and sip down with water. For example, in some cases of uncontrollable vomiting, sea salt taken down slowly with water can stop the vomiting. Do not consume large amounts of salt; you should only need a small amount (a teaspoon or less) for these purposes.
Bring Your Enema Bag!
Coffee enemas can be a lifesaver while traveling, so even if you don’t plan on doing your enemas while gone, bring your enema bag in case you need to do one. As mentioned earlier, constipation is common during travel, and a coffee enema or even a plain water enema can bring huge relief. Also, if you happen to get a headache or some other symptom, coffee enemas will usually help. You never know what you will encounter while traveling, so be prepared. Enema bags are easier to travel with than enema buckets. You may use any coffee, including Starbucks.
Sleep
Eye covers and ear plugs for sleeping: a simple eye mask designed for blocking out light can be extremely helpful while traveling to keep external light from disturbing your sleep. We carry these here, and you can also find them in most grocery and drug stores. Ear plugs can also be helpful. While it is normally not a good idea to sleep with ear plugs in, when traveling they may be needed to get a good night’s sleep. Ear plugs are available at most drug stores. I find the disposable foam ear plugs are most comfortable for sleeping.
Melatonin at 4 or 5 mg. per night can be useful for forcing one’s sleep schedule earlier. Do not continue high doses like this for more than a week. For long-term use of Melatonin, one should take 2 mg. or less. Of course, bring any other sleep aids you find you respond well to.
Grounding or Earthing
When you get to your destination, if weather permits, stand barefoot outside on grass, dirt, or un-painted concrete (regular sidewalks are perfect) for about 20 minutes or more. You can do this several times while you are there. This will “ground” you to the energy that is in the earth and will help relieve jet lag and other energetic stress from the travel. It will also help to set your body’s internal clock to the new time zone. There are small mats and bed sheets designed for grounding a person. These come with a cord that plugs into the grounding port of normal wall outlets (the small round hole under the normal two holes for the plug). When you have bare skin in contact with the mat or sheet, you are grounded just as if you were standing barefoot outside. We carry this equipment here, and it can be helpful to use at home and to travel with. But usually this isn’t necessary if you can stand barefoot somewhere.
Staying in Hotels
Hotel rooms are increasingly toxic these days. Hotel staff are spraying pesticides for bed bugs, disinfectants for other pathogens, and air fresheners so that everything smells nice. They use toxic cleaning products on surfaces and bedding. In addition, most of the furniture and carpeting is off-gassing toxic substances such as formaldehyde.
• Ask if there are windows in the room that open so that you can get fresh air in the room.
• Many hotels have air purifiers available upon request.
• Try to avoid hotels that have been recently remodeled, because the furniture off-gasses much more so when new.
• Request that room service not spray with chemicals in the room every day. They can make the bed and provide new towels, but you are better off avoiding the chemicals they use to clean.
• Bring your own pillow.
• Some people bring their own sheets, which is a good idea.
• If driving to the hotel from your home, bring an air purifier in your car and run it on high in the hotel room. Open all windows when you first arrive. When weather permits, try to leave windows open as much as possible during your stay. Some cities make hotels block how far the windows can open (such as Las Vegas due to suicide risks), but one can bring a screw-driver and often can remove the rubber stoppers that block the windows from opening. Just be sure to put them back on when leaving the hotel.
• It can help to get a room with a usable mini-refrigerator. Make sure it is a fridge you can use, not just a mini-bar with no room for your own items. This way you can stock some healthy snacks in your room such as yogurt.
• Bring your own soap and shampoo. Do not use those provided by the hotel, as they are almost always toxic products. Traveling in Cars (road trips)
Car trips are great, because you can bring all of your goodies with you, such as an air purifier, heat lamp, pillows, food, etc. A few tips for road trips:
• Be sure to hydrate even if it means stopping more often to use a bathroom.
• Try to pull over and walk around every hour. Sitting for long periods of time is very bad for the spine.
• Wear natural sunblock or long sleeves to protect arms from sunburn through the car windows, especially when traveling in summer months.
• Fair-eyed individuals should use sunglasses to protect the eyes.
• Try not to sit in heavy traffic, as the exhaust fumes from other cars are very toxic. I have not been able to find a good car air purifier. None are powerful enough. But most new cars have built-in filtration in the car air system. You may need to put the air on recycle if you are near cars with smelly exhaust.
Flying in Planes
When you travel by plane, you are exposed to a lot of radiation at that altitude. To help with this, it is best to sit on the aisle, not the window seat. Sit at least 5 seats from the back or front of the plane. It is best to choose a seat on the North side or East side of the plane. For example:
• Traveling west to east: Sit on the left side of the plane, aisle seat
• Traveling east to west: Sit on the right side of the plane, aisle seat
• Traveling south to north: Sit on the right side of the plane, aisle seat
• Traveling north to south: Sit on the left side of the plane, aisle seat
Make sure to buy a lot of water at the airport (spring is best) and drink this on the flight, as you can get very dehydrated. Also, bring some green tea bags with you and drink green tea on the flight and afterwards. Drink green tea for a couple of days before and after the flight, too, because it protects against radiation and radiation damage. (Skip the green tea if you are sensitive to caffeine.)
Airplane air is recycled, and therefore you are exposed to many pathogens and other toxins while flying. Moisture inside the nose is protective against airborne particulates, since it can trap these as you breathe in through your nose. Since airplane air is often very dry, it can be a good idea to use a mild chapstick, vaseline or other oil to coat the inside of your nose while flying. This way, as you breathe in through your nose, this moist environment can better trap any particles.
Also, it is best not to go through the imaging scanner at security checkpoints. This is a new technology being employed in many airports that will expose you to radiation and other forms of cellular energetic disturbance, and may otherwise violate your privacy. You can read more about this on the ACLU website here: https://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/know-your-rights-when-traveling
The following is an excerpt from the ACLU website as of January 2014. Please refer to the actual ACLU website for the most up-to-date information. There is additional information on the site regarding electronics, children, religious coverings, etc.:
BODY SCANNERS
Many airports now require passengers to go through a body scanner that uses advanced imaging technology. The scanners use “backscatter x-ray” or “millimeter wave” radiation to see through your clothes and create an electronic image of your naked body.
Although TSA says that the capability to store and transmit images of passengers’ bodies will not normally be activated, the agency requires this functionality in all the airport scanners it purchases.
A TSA agent in another room will see an image of your body that could include a revealing look at your entire body, including breasts, genitals, buttocks, and external medical devices.
The ACLU and many Americans object to these machines as an excessive invasion of privacy.
New software being installed in some millimeter wave body scanners allows agents to see only a generic outline of your body with potential “anomalies” highlighted. This is a definite improvement in privacy. The machine will, however, still highlight some medical conditions or other bodily “anomalies,” leading to pat-downs.
Health questions have been raised concerning radiation emitted by the backscatter x-ray machines (which look like a wall that you stand against, as opposed to the millimeter wave machines which are a glass booth you step inside).
Option: Ask not to go through this scanner.
You can tell the TSA agent that you do not wish to go through the scanner. TSA agents are required under TSA policy to honor your request, but might try to encourage or pressure you to go through anyway. To be as clear as possible, say, “I opt out.” However, you should know that if you opt out, you will be subject to a pat down that many people find as or more troubling than the body scanner. You also have the right to opt your children out of the scan.
THE “STANDARD PAT-DOWN”
The TSA’s “standard pat-down procedure” is now a more invasive form of the pat-down search that you might have experienced in the past. During the new standard pat-down, a screener of the same sex will examine your head, shirt collar area, and waistband, and may use either the front or back of his or her hands to feel your body, including buttocks, around breasts, and between the legs, feeling up to the top of the thigh. Women in tight skirts that don’t allow an agent to feel the thigh area may be asked to remove the skirt in a private screening area and will be given a gown or towel to put on.
Option: Let TSA know about sensitive areas.
Tell TSA agents about things such as injuries or conditions that could cause you pain if certain parts of your body are touched or pressed, as well as any medical devices that could be dislodged by a search, or any other reason that TSA agents should be careful when touching your body.
Option: Ask to be patted down in a private location.
If you are uncomfortable being patted down in front of other passengers, you can request that TSA agents take you to a private area.
THE “RESOLUTION PAT-DOWN”
If an “anomaly” is detected during the pat-down–or when you go through the AIT scanner– you will be subjected to a “resolution pat-down.” TSA agents will take you to a private area and do a more intense pat-down, which includes using the front of the agent’s hands for a more thorough search, including the groin area.
Option: Ask to take a witness with you.
If you are taken to a private area for a “resolution pat-down” search, you can ask to bring a witness with you, or ask TSA to provide a witness for you. This search should also be conducted by a person of the same gender.
CONCLUSION
Travel is such as hazard today, with little to gain from it, that it is a major stumbling block to spiritual and even physical development for many people. Most of the benefits claimed for travel can be far better gained by staying near home, traveling short distances by car or longer trips by recreational vehicles, and forgetting about long-distance air travel, in particular.
Sources: Lawrence Wilson, MD and Nicki Moses
- When To Travel. Short trips to visit friends and family, or for short vacations, are best. Travel is also sometimes needed for medical emergencies, events and other reasons, but, in general, it is a bad idea today. This will shock many who dream of visiting exotic lands or gathering with friends for a “getaway”, a ski vacation or other reasons. I must tell the truth about it, however, for those who will listen.
- Traveling For Cultural Or Spiritual Enrichment. Travel has traditionally been used for widen one’s cultural and spiritual perspective and for spiritual development. Millions have made pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Mecca, India and elsewhere. However, having spoken with and worked with hundreds of people who have journeyed all over the world, I cannot recommend travel for these reasons.
Today, spiritual development, which is the crowning achievement of mankind, is much easier to do at home, away from the hustle and bustle of most cities and travel areas. Video such as television, movies and DVDs can bring the most exotic places to your living room. I know it sounds boring, but this is more helpful in almost all cases than spending money and time traveling to faraway places.
- Why not travel? Here are reasons not to travel:
- It slows mental and spiritual development. This is discussed below. The main reasons have to do with not getting enough rest, not eating well, mixing with lots of other people, and picking up infections, increasing x-ray exposure and the like.
- It is not healthful, in general. This is also discussed below in more detail.
- Safety. Travel at this time in history, especially out of the country, is just not as safe as it once was.
- Cost. Travel is an expensive hobby, although it can be done more cheaply, but one must research carefully, and even then it is not an inexpensive hobby.
- It makes one much more yin if done frequently. This is an unusual reason that is explained below in more detail.
Supplements to Bring While Traveling
Ideally stay on your full, normal supplement program while gone. Sometimes you will need to take fewer doses of your supplements if you are going through too many healing reactions. If you are experiencing a lot of symptoms of healing that you don’t want to suffer with while gone, cut back the amount of supplements you are taking two days before traveling so as to slow any healing reactions, and you would stay on reduced doses while gone. This will act as more of a maintenance program so that you aren’t having strong symptoms while away.
• If you are on Limcomin, bring extra, because Limcomin supports the immune system, and you can take more if you wind up with an infection while gone.
• Bring extra GB-3 to help with digestion and/or constipation. Constipation is very common while traveling.
• Bring extra Paramin in case you need it to help you sleep or in case you get a calcium or magnesium-deficiency symptom such as muscle cramps. Emergency/First-Aid Supplements
I always travel with Live Silver, Activated Charcoal, a strong probiotic, and Endo-AC. These four work with all sorts of events or trouble that can arise while traveling. We carry all of these in our office, but any probiotic will do. Sea salt is also good to bring along.
Live Silver: good for any infection. For use on intestinal infections (like stomach flu or food poisoning), take it straight between meals, up to 3 Tbs. per day for adults, less for children. You can break this up into 2 or 3 doses. For infection anywhere else in the body, add up to 3 Tbs. of the silver to 8-16 ounces of water and sip throughout the day. Live Silver may also be put in the eyes and ears and can be sniffed up into the nose to reach the sinuses. For this, you simply put some silver in the palm of your hand and hold it up to your nose and breathe in. Do this on both nostrils.
Activated Charcoal: good for any orally ingested poisons/toxins and diarrhea. If you suspect you just consumed something slightly toxic, such as a lot of MSG in your meal, you can take a few charcoal capsules to help absorb the poisons. It is also very helpful to stop up diarrhea. For diarrhea, take 3 or 4 charcoal on an empty stomach up to 3 times per day. This usually works quickly. Please note that your feces will turn black from the charcoal, and this is normal. Too much charcoal can constipate, so use more GB-3 if this happens.
Probiotics: good for any intestinal infection and especially helpful for food poisoning. Ideally get one that maintains potency unrefrigerated.
If you get food poisoning, immediately take a Tbs. of Live Silver, even if you are throwing up. You can always take more if you throw it up. Then get a probiotic and open the capsules up into some water and start sipping on it. Use 65 billion organisms or more per day until all food poisoning symptoms are gone. Start the silver and probiotic as soon as you notice food poisoning symptoms. Continue the Live Silver at 3 Tbs. per day between meals until all food poisoning symptoms are gone. Taking a few charcoal capsules is also a good idea, but take it away from probiotics and silver by at least 20 minutes. The charcoal can help absorb some of the toxicity from the food poisoning infection and helps prevent diarrhea. If you get diarrhea, follow the charcoal instructions above for diarrhea.
Endo-AC: This is an Endo-met product which contains vitamins A and C and bioflavonoids. Good for all infections, allergies, and for any toxic exposure. Adults may take up to 15 per day for these purposes. For example, if you are exposed to a toxic chemical like an air freshener or toxic cleaner, take a few Endo-AC. If you are sneezing a lot, take up to 15 that day. Due to the vitamin A content, if you have known liver disease, be cautious in use of this product.
Sea Salt: Bring a small baggy or other container of sea salt. Generally, if you want to add salt to your food in restaurants, it is best to use your own sea salt. Most restaurant salt has aluminum in it. Also, sea salt can be a good remedy for nausea and dehydration. You would simply sprinkle a little on your tongue and sip down with water. For example, in some cases of uncontrollable vomiting, sea salt taken down slowly with water can stop the vomiting. Do not consume large amounts of salt; you should only need a small amount (a teaspoon or less) for these purposes.
Bring Your Enema Bag!
Coffee enemas can be a lifesaver while traveling, so even if you don’t plan on doing your enemas while gone, bring your enema bag in case you need to do one. As mentioned earlier, constipation is common during travel, and a coffee enema or even a plain water enema can bring huge relief. Also, if you happen to get a headache or some other symptom, coffee enemas will usually help. You never know what you will encounter while traveling, so be prepared. Enema bags are easier to travel with than enema buckets. You may use any coffee, including Starbucks.
Sleep
Eye covers and ear plugs for sleeping: a simple eye mask designed for blocking out light can be extremely helpful while traveling to keep external light from disturbing your sleep. We carry these here, and you can also find them in most grocery and drug stores. Ear plugs can also be helpful. While it is normally not a good idea to sleep with ear plugs in, when traveling they may be needed to get a good night’s sleep. Ear plugs are available at most drug stores. I find the disposable foam ear plugs are most comfortable for sleeping.
Melatonin at 4 or 5 mg. per night can be useful for forcing one’s sleep schedule earlier. Do not continue high doses like this for more than a week. For long-term use of Melatonin, one should take 2 mg. or less. Of course, bring any other sleep aids you find you respond well to.
Grounding or Earthing
When you get to your destination, if weather permits, stand barefoot outside on grass, dirt, or un-painted concrete (regular sidewalks are perfect) for about 20 minutes or more. You can do this several times while you are there. This will “ground” you to the energy that is in the earth and will help relieve jet lag and other energetic stress from the travel. It will also help to set your body’s internal clock to the new time zone. There are small mats and bed sheets designed for grounding a person. These come with a cord that plugs into the grounding port of normal wall outlets (the small round hole under the normal two holes for the plug). When you have bare skin in contact with the mat or sheet, you are grounded just as if you were standing barefoot outside. We carry this equipment here, and it can be helpful to use at home and to travel with. But usually this isn’t necessary if you can stand barefoot somewhere.
Staying in Hotels
Hotel rooms are increasingly toxic these days. Hotel staff are spraying pesticides for bed bugs, disinfectants for other pathogens, and air fresheners so that everything smells nice. They use toxic cleaning products on surfaces and bedding. In addition, most of the furniture and carpeting is off-gassing toxic substances such as formaldehyde.
• Ask if there are windows in the room that open so that you can get fresh air in the room.
• Many hotels have air purifiers available upon request.
• Try to avoid hotels that have been recently remodeled, because the furniture off-gasses much more so when new.
• Request that room service not spray with chemicals in the room every day. They can make the bed and provide new towels, but you are better off avoiding the chemicals they use to clean.
• Bring your own pillow.
• Some people bring their own sheets, which is a good idea.
• If driving to the hotel from your home, bring an air purifier in your car and run it on high in the hotel room. Open all windows when you first arrive. When weather permits, try to leave windows open as much as possible during your stay. Some cities make hotels block how far the windows can open (such as Las Vegas due to suicide risks), but one can bring a screw-driver and often can remove the rubber stoppers that block the windows from opening. Just be sure to put them back on when leaving the hotel.
• It can help to get a room with a usable mini-refrigerator. Make sure it is a fridge you can use, not just a mini-bar with no room for your own items. This way you can stock some healthy snacks in your room such as yogurt.
• Bring your own soap and shampoo. Do not use those provided by the hotel, as they are almost always toxic products. Traveling in Cars (road trips)
Car trips are great, because you can bring all of your goodies with you, such as an air purifier, heat lamp, pillows, food, etc. A few tips for road trips:
• Be sure to hydrate even if it means stopping more often to use a bathroom.
• Try to pull over and walk around every hour. Sitting for long periods of time is very bad for the spine.
• Wear natural sunblock or long sleeves to protect arms from sunburn through the car windows, especially when traveling in summer months.
• Fair-eyed individuals should use sunglasses to protect the eyes.
• Try not to sit in heavy traffic, as the exhaust fumes from other cars are very toxic. I have not been able to find a good car air purifier. None are powerful enough. But most new cars have built-in filtration in the car air system. You may need to put the air on recycle if you are near cars with smelly exhaust.
Flying in Planes
When you travel by plane, you are exposed to a lot of radiation at that altitude. To help with this, it is best to sit on the aisle, not the window seat. Sit at least 5 seats from the back or front of the plane. It is best to choose a seat on the North side or East side of the plane. For example:
• Traveling west to east: Sit on the left side of the plane, aisle seat
• Traveling east to west: Sit on the right side of the plane, aisle seat
• Traveling south to north: Sit on the right side of the plane, aisle seat
• Traveling north to south: Sit on the left side of the plane, aisle seat
Make sure to buy a lot of water at the airport (spring is best) and drink this on the flight, as you can get very dehydrated. Also, bring some green tea bags with you and drink green tea on the flight and afterwards. Drink green tea for a couple of days before and after the flight, too, because it protects against radiation and radiation damage. (Skip the green tea if you are sensitive to caffeine.)
Airplane air is recycled, and therefore you are exposed to many pathogens and other toxins while flying. Moisture inside the nose is protective against airborne particulates, since it can trap these as you breathe in through your nose. Since airplane air is often very dry, it can be a good idea to use a mild chapstick, vaseline or other oil to coat the inside of your nose while flying. This way, as you breathe in through your nose, this moist environment can better trap any particles.
Also, it is best not to go through the imaging scanner at security checkpoints. This is a new technology being employed in many airports that will expose you to radiation and other forms of cellular energetic disturbance, and may otherwise violate your privacy. You can read more about this on the ACLU website here: https://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/know-your-rights-when-traveling
The following is an excerpt from the ACLU website as of January 2014. Please refer to the actual ACLU website for the most up-to-date information. There is additional information on the site regarding electronics, children, religious coverings, etc.:
BODY SCANNERS
Many airports now require passengers to go through a body scanner that uses advanced imaging technology. The scanners use “backscatter x-ray” or “millimeter wave” radiation to see through your clothes and create an electronic image of your naked body.
Although TSA says that the capability to store and transmit images of passengers’ bodies will not normally be activated, the agency requires this functionality in all the airport scanners it purchases.
A TSA agent in another room will see an image of your body that could include a revealing look at your entire body, including breasts, genitals, buttocks, and external medical devices.
The ACLU and many Americans object to these machines as an excessive invasion of privacy.
New software being installed in some millimeter wave body scanners allows agents to see only a generic outline of your body with potential “anomalies” highlighted. This is a definite improvement in privacy. The machine will, however, still highlight some medical conditions or other bodily “anomalies,” leading to pat-downs.
Health questions have been raised concerning radiation emitted by the backscatter x-ray machines (which look like a wall that you stand against, as opposed to the millimeter wave machines which are a glass booth you step inside).
Option: Ask not to go through this scanner.
You can tell the TSA agent that you do not wish to go through the scanner. TSA agents are required under TSA policy to honor your request, but might try to encourage or pressure you to go through anyway. To be as clear as possible, say, “I opt out.” However, you should know that if you opt out, you will be subject to a pat down that many people find as or more troubling than the body scanner. You also have the right to opt your children out of the scan.
THE “STANDARD PAT-DOWN”
The TSA’s “standard pat-down procedure” is now a more invasive form of the pat-down search that you might have experienced in the past. During the new standard pat-down, a screener of the same sex will examine your head, shirt collar area, and waistband, and may use either the front or back of his or her hands to feel your body, including buttocks, around breasts, and between the legs, feeling up to the top of the thigh. Women in tight skirts that don’t allow an agent to feel the thigh area may be asked to remove the skirt in a private screening area and will be given a gown or towel to put on.
Option: Let TSA know about sensitive areas.
Tell TSA agents about things such as injuries or conditions that could cause you pain if certain parts of your body are touched or pressed, as well as any medical devices that could be dislodged by a search, or any other reason that TSA agents should be careful when touching your body.
Option: Ask to be patted down in a private location.
If you are uncomfortable being patted down in front of other passengers, you can request that TSA agents take you to a private area.
THE “RESOLUTION PAT-DOWN”
If an “anomaly” is detected during the pat-down–or when you go through the AIT scanner– you will be subjected to a “resolution pat-down.” TSA agents will take you to a private area and do a more intense pat-down, which includes using the front of the agent’s hands for a more thorough search, including the groin area.
Option: Ask to take a witness with you.
If you are taken to a private area for a “resolution pat-down” search, you can ask to bring a witness with you, or ask TSA to provide a witness for you. This search should also be conducted by a person of the same gender.
CONCLUSION
Travel is such as hazard today, with little to gain from it, that it is a major stumbling block to spiritual and even physical development for many people. Most of the benefits claimed for travel can be far better gained by staying near home, traveling short distances by car or longer trips by recreational vehicles, and forgetting about long-distance air travel, in particular.
Sources: Lawrence Wilson, MD and Nicki Moses