Medical Travel Trips

Medical Travel Tips

Nurses in the United States just comepleted yearly celebration of Nurses Week 2009. Its Celebrated each year from May 6-12. The last day of the celebration is the actual birthday of Florence Nightingale. The theme for this year is "Nurses building a Healthy America" which is exactly what we do.

I am no longer in the traditional hospital setting that many people envision most nurses as belong. The nursing profession has branched out in so many ways since Florence was around. I am a Nurse Case manager which involves alot of teaching. I absolutely love it.

What I like even better is combining my nursing expertise with my newest love of travel. For example many people flocked to my blog as they were seeking of information regarding the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) and how it would affect their travel plans. Its remarkable how many misconceptions prevailed about that subject.

Recently I was speaking to one of my patients who I case manage, who was preparing to leave for vacation. I was providing her some medical travel trips. I realized that it’s a good idea to share with my readers. So here we go!



1- If you have a chronic illness or condition ( heart, diabetes, pregnancy etc) make sure you get clearance from your doctor to travel, especially if it’s a long trip or you are traveling by plane.

2- Please do not put your medications in your suitcase. Always Keep them in your carry on bag. If your plane is delayed or if your suitcases take a trip of their own to some exotic island without you, you don’t want your medications going along too. Last summer coming home from Convention my husband decided to pack his medication in one of the suitcases. Our flight kept being delayed and delayed and delayed. Finally it was canceled. For a while our bags were no where to be found. My husband had a fit and said my Medications were in there! Long story short, we were this close to having our bags shipped to Laguardia without us. We finally got our bags after hours and hours of waiting. He learned his lesson!

3- Keep your medications in their original bottles. – In case of emergency, your doctor’s name, dosage and name of pharmacy and is on it.

4- Make sure you have enough medications for the trip and a few extra days over. If your flight is delayed for some reason, or another unforeseen situation occurs you will be covered. I even suggest taking a week's worth.

5- Have a plan if you lose your medications. A friend or family member can ship a new prescription or new supply to you. A few of my patients have actually had to do this.

6- Keep a list of all your medical conditions, doctors’ names and telephone numbers, and list of medications in a small note book. This also stays in your carry on bag.

7- Carry a “First Aid" kit with you- medication for motion sickness, anti-diarrheal medication, antibiotic ointment, band-aids, , pain reliever, cold medicine. Custom tailor this kit to suit you and your family’s needs. Of course this is also in your carry on.

8- Very important! Always purchase Traveler’s insurance. you never know when you may need it. You or a family member may become ill. Or maybe a family emergency calls you home early., You will never regret it!

I'll be providing some more Medical travel tips in future blogs.