Travel Tips For Those With Fluoroquinolone Toxicty

Travel Tips For Those With Fluoroquinolone Toxicity

  by: Rachel Brummert

With the holiday season fast approaching, many people will be making travel plans to be with family or friends. Travel can be difficult with chronic illness so it is important to plan ahead if you are able to travel. Quinolone Vigilance Foundation would like to share some traveling tips:

1. Choose your destination carefully. Climate change can negatively affect someone with Fluoroquinolone Toxicity. The altitude in airplane travel can also negatively affect someone who is chronically ill so make sure you get medical clearance.

2. When buying your tickets, make sure the dates are flexible. You never know how you will feel from day to day. Check the Terms and Conditions, and the fine print for travel insurance. Some pre-existing conditions may be excluded.

3. Check with the airline, train station, or bus station to see if they have a Meet & Assist program. Here in New Jersey at Liberty International it is handled through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). A representative of the airline , train station, or bus station will meet your flight, train, or bus, provide a wheelchair, and wheel you where you need to go. You will need to fill out a medical form called a Passenger Medical Information Form (MEDIF). These are available through travel agencies and through the medical department of airlines and transportation stations. Also have your doctor write up a letter for the airline if you require extra fluids and medications on board.

4. Schedule days of rest into your trip. Overdoing it one day can mean feeling poorly the next day and longer.

5. Take the original pill bottles with instructions with you. Airlines generally don't like when pills are in pill boxes. They need to be able to identify the medications or they will have to dispose of them.

6. Keep a list of your medications and doctors, and inquire about what medical services are available at your destination.

7. If you're traveling internationally, Google-translate a brief history of your medical issues into the language of your destination.

8. Pack snacks or prepared meals that suit your dietary restrictions. Many people with Fluoroquinolone Toxicity have food sensitivities. When you are traveling, it can be challenging eating meals on time for your medications.

9. If you require assistance with feeding, lifting, or medication administration, you will need an escort or travel companion. Airline hostesses cannot assist passengers in these matters.

10. If you are visiting an attraction during your travels, check ahead of time to see what is handicapped accessible and whether canes with portable seating is permitted. Keep a copy of the letter from your doctor in case you run into a problem with an employee that may not understand.

Rachel Brummert
President/Executive Director
Quinolone Vigilance Foundation
www.saferpills.org