Travelling abroad
When travelling abroad, a person with Parkinson’s disease (PD) has to take into account 
various extra factors regarding medication, insurance, etc. Some helpful hints and tips related to foreign travel are listed below.
- It may be useful to learn the phrase “I have Parkinson’s disease. Please allow me time,” in the language of the country that you are visiting, or have it written down on a piece of card. The EPDA has developed a pocket-sized ‘PD doc’ that includes this phrase (in a choice of 25 languages), and which is available online to customise with individual details – see www.epda.eu.com/projects/PDdoc for more information. This, along with other phrases describing any particular difficulties you have, e.g., slowness or quiet speech, can help explain to others why you have special requirements.
- Keep your medication with you in your hand luggage at all times.
- Check with your doctor or insurer about your health insurance and what it covers at your destination.
- Contact the embassy of the country you are visiting to ask about their regulations for bringing prescription medications into the country – this can prevent any problems at customs, and is another reason for asking your doctor to prepare a signed letter describing your medication needs. Some countries also require prescription medications to be in their original labelled containers.
- Medications are sometimes known by different brand names in different countries, therefore it can be helpful to find out the name used in your destination country before you travel. Information about these different names can be found on the EPDA website (www.parkinsonsdecisionaid.eu.com/medInfo).
- If you need a syringe to deliver your medication, you will also need to check on regulations in individual countries. If you are travelling by air, explain your situation to the airline – especially if you will need to use a syringe during the flight.
- If you need vaccinations to travel to your destination country, ask your doctor if these are safe to have in combination with your PD medication.
- If you are travelling to a different time zone, think about how you are going to plan your medication schedule.
- It may be helpful to make contact with a PD organisation in the country to which you are travelling before you go. Details of many local and national organisations are held by the EPDA, who can be contacted by telephone/fax: +44 (0) 1732 457683; by e-mail: info@epda.eu.com; or by visiting the website (www.epda.eu.com).
