Travel healthy, wherever you are going.

Before you go

• Insurance: get cover with strong medical limits and repatriation, and declare every pre-existing condition honestly - non-disclosure can void the policy. Buy it when you book.
• GHIC or EHIC: free state-care entitlement in the EU, but not insurance and not valid everywhere. Carry both.
• Vaccinations: see a travel-health professional ideally 4 to 6 weeks ahead; some vaccines need multiple doses, and immunosuppressed travellers need 8 weeks.
• First-aid kit: plasters, dressings, antiseptic, paracetamol and ibuprofen, anti-diarrhoea medicine and rehydration salts, antihistamine, bite cream, high-SPF suncream, insect repellent, plus your regular medicines and doctor’s letter.

Fit to travel

Most airlines stop flying single pregnancies after about 36 weeks (around 32 for twins) and want a letter from about 28 weeks. After surgery, allow roughly 10 days for major chest or abdominal operations and get clearance after a recent heart or lung event. If unsure, ask the airline’s medical clearance team.

Taking enough medication

• Take enough for the whole trip plus a generous spare; for insulin and similar, two to three times your usual amount. Split supplies between bags.
• Keep medicines in hand luggage (the hold can freeze them) in their original labelled packaging, with a copy of your prescription.
• Insulin and biologics break down if they freeze or overheat - use a cool wallet, never let frozen blocks touch them, and do not use insulin that has changed colour.
• Time zones: travelling east shortens your day, west lengthens it. Keep the total 24-hour dose roughly constant, use phone alarms, and plan insulin and the pill with your own team before you go.

Carrying medicines across borders

Many ordinary UK medicines are controlled or banned elsewhere, and a valid home prescription does not protect you - what matters is the active ingredient, not the brand. Carry a prescriber’s letter on headed paper listing the active-substance name, dose, quantity, your travel dates and the prescriber’s registration number. For UK controlled drugs you may carry up to three months’ supply with documentation; more than that needs a Home Office licence, which only helps at UK customs.

Countries to check carefully

Check the embassy, the destination’s health ministry, FCDO travel advice and the TravelHealthPro medicines factsheet several weeks before you travel.

Sun and heat

Use at least SPF 30 broad-spectrum with a high UVA rating. Most people apply far too little: about 6 to 8 teaspoons for the whole body, 15 to 30 minutes before going out, reapplied every two hours and straight after swimming or sweating. Keep babies under six months out of strong sun.

Heat exhaustion vs heatstroke

Heat exhaustion - heavy sweating, headache, dizziness, but still mentally with it - usually settles if you cool the person within 30 minutes: shade, fluids, and active cooling of the skin. Heatstroke is an emergency: a temperature of 40C or above with confusion, seizures or collapse. Call the emergency number, cool aggressively, and do not give paracetamol to bring the temperature down.

Long-term conditions

The golden rule is a pre-travel review with your own doctor. Brief background only here.

Asthma and COPD

Keep reliever and preventer inhalers in hand luggage with spares. Many people are prescribed a combination inhaler used as MART or AIR, and some carry a short course of oral steroids, or a COPD rescue pack of steroids and standby antibiotics - only ever started on your clinician’s clear instructions. Significant lung disease may need a fit-to-fly (hypoxic challenge) test 4 to 6 weeks ahead, and oxygen must be arranged with the airline. Heat, poor air quality and altitude can all trigger a flare.

Diabetes, heart and epilepsy

• Diabetes: insulin in hand luggage, two to three times your usual supplies, a sharps plan, and note that insulin strength differs in some countries. Devices should be hand-screened, not X-rayed.
• Heart: medicines in hand luggage; follow fit-to-fly timings after an event; carry your device card for pacemakers or defibrillators.
• Epilepsy: missed doses and lost sleep are powerful triggers, so keep the daily dose constant, use alarms, and carry any rescue medication with a doctor’s letter.

Flight health

• Clots (DVT): on flights over about four hours, move regularly, stay hydrated, and consider correctly fitted below-knee compression stockings, which substantially cut the risk. Aspirin does not prevent flight clots; higher-risk travellers need specialist advice.
• Ears: swallow, yawn or gently do the Valsalva manoeuvre, and stay awake on descent. With a heavy cold, a decongestant beforehand can help.
• Jet lag: daylight is the strongest reset - morning light after flying east, evening light after flying west. Melatonin is prescription-only in the UK.
• Travel sickness: look at the horizon, get fresh air, try ginger. Medicines work best taken before symptoms start; non-drowsy antihistamines do not work for this.

Common holiday illnesses

• Traveller’s diarrhoea: the main risk is dehydration. Use oral rehydration salts (one sachet per litre of safe water). Anti-diarrhoea medicine can help a journey but not if there is blood or fever, and not for young children. Seek help for blood, high fever, severe dehydration or symptoms lasting more than a few days.
• Insect bites: use 50% DEET on exposed skin (after suncream), cover up at dawn and dusk, and sleep under a treated net where needed. A fever after a malaria area can appear days to months later - always mention recent travel.
• Food and water: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it. Avoid tap water and ice, unpasteurised dairy and undercooked meat or seafood.
• Wounds and swimmer’s ear: clean wounds promptly and keep tetanus up to date; dry ears after swimming and use medicated drops if the ear becomes sore.

When to get help

Self-manage mild, short-lived problems with no red flags. Get urgent help for: difficulty breathing, chest pain, confusion or a seizure, signs of heatstroke, a stiff neck with a non-fading rash, blood in stool or vomit, severe dehydration, a rapidly spreading skin infection, sudden one-sided weakness or slurred speech, a severe allergic reaction, or a fever after a malaria area.

Common questions