Traveling with Chronic Illness
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We love to travel and having family members with chronic illness hasn’t put a stop to it. Sure, it sometimes takes extra planning and packing more supplies, but it is completely doable.
Tips for Traveling
Individual Backpack - Each person has their own small backpack or daypack. It is filled with all the medicine and tools that they need for the day. Our daughter keeps hers filled with her asthma inhalers, epipens, benadryl (pills and spray) as well as an additional antihistamine and prescriptions. She usually keeps a salty snack in hers for when she needs an energy boost. Our son has his insulin pens, Baqsimi (emergency glucose), glucose snacks (like a pack of gummies), and usually a drink. If we need to get something for our son or daughter, we immediately know which bag to grab without searching through all of our other bags and luggage.
Research - Before you leave for your trip, research your destination and know where the nearest pharmacy, walk in clinic, and emergency room are located.
Pack Extra - It probably goes without saying, always pack extra. Even though most travel would still have us close to a pharmacy, it is nice to know we don’t have to go through that hassle if we need an extra asthma inhaler, pod for our insulin pump, or supplies.
Bring paperwork - Be sure to bring copies of the prescription information and the contact info for the prescribing doctor. Also, bring a contact list in case of emergency.
Medical alert bracelets - When away from the house, have everyone wear a personalized bracelet clearly stating their medical concerns, medicine needed, and a phone number. Also, be sure to set up an emergency contact or ICE (in case of emergency) in each persons phone.
Talk to your doctor - Before one of our large trips, we talked with our son’s doctor and created an alternate insulin strategy for part of our trip. Use the information your doctors and nurses have.
Have a first aid kit & a medicine bag - When we travel, we have a large first aid kid in every vehicle. We also pack a well-stocked medicine bag. Having a chronic illness means that your immune system may not be as strong or you may have side effects from your medicines. Here is a list of what we stock in our bag to keep everyone healthy and happy during our trips.
Allergy medicine - Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, Flonase, or Benadryl
Pain medicine - Tylenol, Advil, or Aleve
Cold medicine - Mucinex, Sudafed, or Nyquil
Stomach medicine - Imodium, Nauzene, or antacids,
Cuts - Bandaids, first aid cream, and butterfly bandages
Other - Elastic wraps for ankles or elbows
Tweezers, small scissors, fingernail clippers
Thermometer
Rubber Gloves
Skin cream - Anti-itch cream, insect repellent, burn cream, sunscreen
Electrolyte tablets
Tools for Traveling
Having the right tools and equipment can make things easier.
We really like these PracMedic cases. We like that they are marked with the first aid symbol, and that they are insulated. While they were designed for epipens, they also work great for insulin pens. They come in different size and colors and we have one for each of our kids. The slightly larger size is great for holding asthma inhalers and medicine.
When we know we will be outside hiking or kayaking or spending lots of time away from the house, we add one of these ice packs to the PracMedic bags to keep things cold longer. Because they are smaller and reusable, they are also great for icing spots before injections, using for pain relief, for sprains or accidents, or just keeping snacks cool.
We have quite a few of these Pelican cases in different sizes. They are great for keeping pump controllers and receivers waterproof when you are near the water. We also use them to pack medicine when traveling so that vials and syringes don’t get crushed.
Glucose gel is great for traveling because it is in small single serve sizes, is pre-dosed, and convenient. We have also found that energy gel used by runners and athletes is a great option and a little cheaper. However, the carbs can be a little higher depending on the brand. The sports gels come in a wide range of flavors which is really nice. The waffle is a great portable snack when you will be on the road.
First Aid/Medicine Kit
Here are some of our favorite items that we use regularly.
Hypafix Tape - This tape is great for sensitive skin, and we can use it for securing CGMs and insulin pumps. Used with gauze it can also be used for bandaging.
Nauzene - This is chewable pill is great for an upset stomach or if you’ve eaten too much food.
Electrolytes - Drops or tablets are great for helping when someone needs a pick me up or is recovering from an upset stomach or too much time in the heat.