The holiday season is now upon us, be prepared!
Travel Tips for those of you going abroad
Don’t stress over your treatment whilst on holiday, taking treatment abroad is simple as long as you take care to follow the guidelines set out below.
- Take your treatment on board as hand luggage. You should not have any trouble with this if you carry a letter from your haemophilia centre and let the airline know in advance.
- If the treatment does end up in the hold, we've been told the temperature does not drop below 4C, so barring any breakages, it should be useable.
- Carry a green card or wear a medic alert bracelet or talisman at all times. You can order different medic alert tags from www.medicalert.org.uk, a registered charity.
- If travelling in Europe, get an EHIC card to entitle you to healthcare in the EEA and Switzerland. Apply online, by phone, or through your local post office (allow 21 days). Each member of the travelling party should have their own EH1C www.ehic.org.uk/Internet . The old E111 form is no longer valid
- Organise your travel insurance (see link below). The whole family or group should be on the same policy where possible in case you need to be flown home.
- Plan ahead: you can get a list of worldwide haemophilia centres from The Passport.You can access the Passport via the link below.
- Carry a letter from your haemophilia centre with information about your bleeding condition and any viruses you may have. If possible this letter should be in the language of the country you are visiting, this is especially important if you cannot treat yourself. If you think you may need to explain your condition abroad, you can access factsheets in different languages at www.travelfactor.co.uk.
- Visa requirements should be checked prior your visit to the country.
- If you have a bleeding disorder and plan to do any sports whilst on holiday, make sure you will be covered for this on your insurance policy. Taking part in Scuba Diving or Skiing for example could invalidate your policy.
- Check your medical insurance before well in advance of your visit to another country and that it covers you for all pre existing conditions.
- Finally, check your vaccinations are up to date, if you are not sure what vaccinations you might need, please visit
www.masta-travel-health.com or speak to the nurse at your local health centre.
Accessing Treatment Abroad
For those of you who do not self treat, it is important to find out your nearest treatment centre is located.
Visit Passport (see below) which is an up to date link to all treatment centres worldwide.
There is no longer any need for people living with HIV to gain a waiver to enter the USA.In addition to this, travel and residence regulations for people with HIV and AIDS wishing to embark on international travel are available at
www.aidsmap.com/en/news/
In view of the latest ‘volcano cloud’ situation, it is highly recommended to pack more medication to cover you in the eventuality of delays. Furthermore, we also advise antiretrovirals and related medications should be packed in your hand luggage.
