Travel health advice: disabilities and travel

Travelling with a disability is now commonplace and there is no reason why this should pose serious problems if good preparations are made. Adapting to unexpected situations is a part of the challenge of travelling but advance knowledge of facilities available, during travel and at your holiday destination, can be very important. Enquiries should be made about facilities available at your hotel although accurate information may be difficult to obtain. Some organisations and tour companies arrange trips for the disabled to hotels that have been visited and it is known that mobility problems are taken into account.

A useful contact is The Royal Society for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR), 12 City Forum, 250 City Road, London, EC1V 8AF. Tel: 0171 250 3222.

General advice

• Check hotel and medical facilities likely to be available before booking trips.
• A medical check-up before booking a holiday and before departure may be important.
• A doctor's letter to take abroad can be helpful if illness occurs - it should include details of current medications.
• Adequate medical insurance cover including repatriation is important and insurance companies must be told of any serious existing health problem.
• Take ample supplies of your own medications. Medical facilities en route and at the traveller's destination may be poor or different to those at home. Familiar medications may not be available and trade names may be different. Drug review by your doctor before departure should pay special attention to diuretics, insulin, hypnotics, H2 antagonists, anti-epileptics, corticosteroids and possible interactions with anti-malaria medication or vaccines.
• Consider vaccination against influenza in addition to others recommended for your destination.
• Airlines are usually helpful and provide assistance at airports and offer special facilities on aircraft if advised in advance. However, this may not be the case with some airlines and at small airports especially in African, Asian and South American countries.
• Advise airlines and airport authorities of special medical, dietary and mobility requirements. They can often arrange transport around airports if notified in advance. Consider whether the special form should be completed to advise transport agents of disability before departure. Those with serious respiratory problems should consider asking for supplemental oxygen before undertaking air flights.
• Essential medication should always be carried on the traveller's person or in hand luggage.
• Low dose aspirin should be considered by the elderly and those with mobility problems to reduce the risk of venous thrombosis during air flights. A subcutaneous injection of heparin as 'MiniHep' is probably more effective and should be considered to be very prone to thrombosis - it is effective for about 24 hours.

The above advice is appropriate for the majority of travellers. If you are at all unsure as to what measures are suitable for you, (eg if you are pregnant, or are suffering from a condition requiring special medication), it is recommended that you talk to your health advisor. This page is produced by the Scottish Centre for infection and Environmental Health.