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Travel Outside The U.S.: Choosing Destinations And Hotels

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With respect to your destination, consider the following: 

  • Entry: Does the country you hope to visit prohibit entry to people with your condition?
  • Immunizations: Will your body tolerate the immunizations you will need to receive, if any? If you have a compromised immune system, discuss the risks of live virus vaccines with your doctor.
  • Access to health care: Investigate the health care system of the country to which you want to travel. For example, what's their equivalent of 911? Find the answer at www.ambulance.ie offsite link.
  • Safe Blood Resources: If you are subject to anemia or otherwise likely to need a transfusion, does the country have resources to safely screen blood and provide sterile needles?

With respect to hotels: 

  • Choose with care.
  • A hotel with an English-speaking staff will be better able to direct you to medical assistance than one whose staff speaks only the local language.
    • If your medications require refrigeration or other special handling, find out whether the hotel has the necessary facilities.
    • If you have other special needs, when determining whether the hotel can meet them, consider whether any electrical gear you need is compatible with their electrical system. If not, purchase the appropriate converter/adapter.
  • Provide for ongoing and emergency Medical care.
  • Make sure to have health insurance that covers outside the U.S.
  • Medicines
    • Carry a surplus of medication in their original containers. Also carry  a paper copy of each prescription in case you are asked about them. 
    • Learn the generic name of each drug in case you need to obtain it outside the U.S. Some drugs are known by different names in different countries.
  • Update your passport.
  • Pack for your new normal.
  • Make special arrangements if you are traveling with a guide or service dog, or if you are HIV positive.

NOTE: Doctors in one country cannot necessarily prescribe a medicine in another country - even from the United States to one its commonwealths. It is also not easy to find out the policy in any given country. It may also be that some pharmacies, such as those in a large city, will fill a prescription faxed from a doctor in the U.S, while other pharmacies in the same city won't.

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