Traveling with Chronic Illness: Q&A with Dr. Bradley Connor
A consultant to the CDC and a gastroenterologist specializing in gastroenterology and tropical medicine, Dr. Bradley A. Connor has been counseling travelers for more than 30 years. Community asked Dr. Connor for his tips on traveling with chronic illness.
What do you think is important for those with chronic illness to know about travel?
The ability of people with chronic illness to travel has probably never been better than it is now. The ease of travel has developed to the point where people are going to more and more exotic places because there are physicians and health professionals who specialize in health issues related to travel. Those with chronic disease can feel confident at least knowing what the risks are and taking steps to prevent them.
What are some general tips for those traveling with chronic illness?
• Before you embark on travel—it could be domestic travel, travel to Europe, or a more adventurous type of trip, like a safari in Africa, or travel to Asia—check with your doctor who takes care of your chronic disease and make sure it’s his or her opinion that you’re fit to travel and that your condition is in a stable place.
• If you’re traveling to an exotic destination, avail yourself of travel medicine specialists who know the specific health risks. In some cases, either your own physician or a travel medicine physician might find a physician at your destination to refer you to should your illness become active when you travel.
• Preplanning is absolutely necessary. Make sure that your medications are up to date, and that you have more than enough medication for the trip. If your trip is for two weeks, take four weeks’ worth of medication. We’ve had patients who were stuck in Europe in 2010 when the clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland delayed flights. Be a little bit over-prepared.
• Take your medication, in the original, labeled container, in your carry-on luggage, never in your checked bags.
• If you need to, consult with a travel medicine specialist if you’re going to a place with a destination-specific illness.
• Have an emergency plan in place. What happens if your illness becomes active? What are you going to do? That could be something as simple as an email to your doctor; it could be having a doctor then referred to you at the destination.
• Post-travel, is there anything likely that you’ve picked up on the trip that may impact your illness? What are your doctor’s assessments?
What should travelers with chronic illness know about health insurance?
Check whether you do have health coverage overseas. In many cases you don’t. It’s a good idea to investigate what types of policies you can obtain for your travel in case you need to access medical care.
Some might want to consider medical evacuation services. It’s not for every traveler, but sometimes it’s less expensive to contract with a company like Global Rescue or International SOS in the eventuality that you have to be evacuated back home, or somewhere you can get good medical care. The cost of a policy for a short trip is usually fairly reasonable.
Some medications that are legal here are illegal in other countries. Do these issues come up for travelers with chronic illness?
Those issues do come up. There are certain countries, where certain medications (in some instance, even non-prescription medications) are not permitted into the country. Now, having said that, I don’t know of any instance where a traveler with a prescription medication with a physician’s letter has been denied entrance to the country, or has had their medication confiscated.
But, I think it’s something you at least need to consider. Bring a letter from your physician in case you’re questioned about your medication.
In some countries, if you have a physician there who is prepared to give you the medication or prescribe it there, that’s another way around it. But that takes a lot of effort.
The other issue, which is very important, is that the world is plagued with counterfeit medications. Beware of counterfeit medications sold in other countries. If you see a drug that sells for $10,000 here selling somewhere else for $400, be careful. People should take more than enough medication and not plan on buying medication overseas.
What are some of the precautions those who are planning to go on cruises should take?
One thing they can do is to check out the medical backup at the various cruise lines. Everyone is interested in keeping passengers healthy. Some do a better job than others. There are a few cruise lines that have put a lot of effort into having excellent physicians onboard, and having excellent medical directors.
With the norovirus outbreaks that you see on cruise ships, it’s not that there’s a lapse of hygiene with the cruise lines, it’s just that you have a lot of people together, and people are coming onboard with illness. Take the usual, frequent precautions for hand hygiene, like washing with soap and hot water and using hand sanitizers, and make sure the medical back up is there. Do the research.
What are some considerations when traveling with oxygen?
• If you plan on flying, ask your doctor whether you can tolerate the reduced air pressure on a plane and if you’ll need an additional oxygen supply during the flight.
• Check with your airline well in advance of travel about regulations and methods for permitting supplemental oxygen, including the need to carry a prescription for your portable oxygen compressor, whether it’s an approved device, and whether the airline charges for providing supplemental oxygen.
• If you’re on supplemental oxygen, make sure you have an adequate supply and that you have extra batteries for your POC in your carry-on luggage.
• If you’re going to a destination with high altitude, it’s important to let your physician know. Discuss with your doctor what effects altitude might have on your illness and on the delivery of oxygen.
What would you say to those with chronic illness who want to travel, but are afraid?
With proper planning, some of the perceived restrictions of traveling don’t have to be. Use your doctor as a partner. Use specialists in travel medicine if need be. Have an escape plan in place if you get sick. Don’t leave anything to chance.
If you’re new to traveling with chronic illness, take an easy trip first. See that you can do it. Then, maybe for your next trip, you can be a little more adventurous.
Done the right way, with a lot of preplanning, you don’t have to fear travel. If you’re suffering with a chronic illness, travel can be very enlightening and it can be uplifting psychologically.
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