I’m a travel writer, and my rose was a recent trip: six glorious days sipping rosé and playing with free-range pigs at Spier Wine Farm in South Africa. The thorn? I had a swollen ankle when I arrived.

If you fly often, chances are you've heard about wearing compression socks on planes. The knee-high, ultra-constricting socks are often worn to support blood flow when sitting on long flights, which ...