I don’t need supplemental oxygen but my lungs can go upside down quickly (severe asthma and CEP) so travel looks different now. But my husband and I love to travel so we have greatly adjusted how we make it happen.

So here is what I’ve learned and I hope it helps you:
- make sure you see your Dr before the trip (a month out is my rule) and he/she feels you are stable to go. This takes a trusted relationship to balance out risks and rewards and get to a decision everyone feels good about. I’ve had my pulmonologist tell me I can’t do two trips in the past two years and the first one I cried all the way home. But she was correct and I got over it.
- pack an emergency container of meds that covers as many scenarios as possible. This is a different bag than you would carry your regular everyday meds. My bag has a bottle of high dose prednisone, extra rescue inhalers (two different kinds), antihistamines for an allergic reaction, a course of antibiotics, stomach meds, and a can of nasal wash. Even a bout of the flu will need to be treated aggressively for those of us that have immune issues.
- mask up. It’s soooo not fun to leave a mask in place for a 10 hour flight. I feel your pain - but don’t take it off except to change to a clean one halfway through the trip.
- before you land at your destination, find the hospital/urgent care/pharmacy near where you are staying and review who is able to give you medical advice. In France I’ve found the pharmacists really knowledgeable and able to help me out of a lung issue really successfully. Italy wasn’t as successful and I ended up at their version of the ER. In Bermuda I did find them all but failed to note the local holiday (fortunately I had what I needed in my emergency bag).
-And I ended up at the ER in Italy because I didn’t listen to my body and I pushed it too hard. So practice the art of JOMO - the joy of missing out. If you feel slightly off one morning - don’t try and keep up with the sightseeing group. Stay in, get coffee in your pjs and rest. This has been the most difficult one for me but I’ve paid dearly when I don’t listen to my body.
-then, most importantly, have fun, take lots of pictures, think about how beautiful the world is around you! Our lives can be so busy with Dr appts and worries about our health and you deserve to be able to go see the world once in awhile.

I hope you get to go and have a wonderful time!

Lisa