Asthma can be quite debilitating, but there’s no reason that you can’t manage the condition to the point that you’re allowed to take a vacation. Below we have a guide to traveling and asthma for parents.
Especially for children, it’s good to know what exact things you might want to pack to eliminate the potential for hazards or asthma attacks that could happen at inconvenient times. Learn more with a visit to Dr. Shukla.
Guide to Traveling and Asthma For Parents
If you have a child with asthma or are an asthma sufferer yourself, here is a quick guide to the kinds of things to expect and bring on your journey to minimize risk.
Things to Pack
There are certain items one can pack that can ensure that you don’t come up empty-handed when an asthma attack strikes. Some of the following items are must-packs for those traveling with asthma:
- Medicine – having quick-reliever medicine and long-term control medicine on hand can help you prevent a worse-case scenario from occurring. If your travel involves changing time zones, try to have your child take their medicine when you believe their normal time would be, regardless of the hour of the day.
- Peak flow meter – Traveling with your peak flow meter is another step to take to avoid asthma mishaps on the go.
- Nebulizer – Many nebulizers come in portable forms as well. These portable nebulizers can be plugged into a car battery or power outlet.
- Key information – Keeping your child’s health insurance plan and other key information on record can help if an emergency strikes. Learning the generic names of your medications can also assist you if you’re in a country that speaks a foreign language.
Avoiding Asthma on The Go
Avoiding asthma has much to do with the individual triggers of a particular case. There are general guidelines that one can follow, however. Some things that can be helpful include the following:
- Car travel: Take stock of whether your child’s triggers have to do with pollen or air pollution – if either of these elements is high during your trip, you may want to travel with the windows closed and run the air conditioning while on the road.
- Travel by plane: Planes can sometimes run high with air pollutants indoors. This has the potential to act as an asthma trigger for children sensitive to indoor air pollution. Drinking plenty of water can help to counteract some of the dry air in an airplane.
Avoiding Asthma at Your Destination
Depending on your child’s triggers and the nature of your destination, there are a number of factors that can impact their health almost immediately upon landing. Take note of the air quality conditions and other things that may inadvertently trigger an asthma attack.
In addition, take note of the kinds of activities you will be engaging in. Strenuous activity can trigger an asthma attack that might not otherwise occur if you are doing it in a heavily polluted area, which might impact your child’s health anyway.
Another step you can take to avoid some kind of unfortunate event is to alert any friends or family you might be visiting about your child’s health conditions. This can expand the number of people who are possibly able to help if an emergency occurs.
If renting a hotel room, make sure to specifically ask whether it has allergy-proofed rooms available. Additionally, always remember to specifically request a non-smoking room and hotel.
Traveling Alone With Asthma
If your child is doing some solo traveling, make sure to reach out to the adults in charge of whatever place they might be headed to. Making sure whatever adult chaperones are in charge of wherever your child is heading has a complete list of their essential literature, which can give you peace of mind that they will be taken care of once they arrive at their destination.
Sitting down with your child prior to the beginning of the trip and making a plan for an attack can also help prepare them for a possible attack. Educating them on the elements of their personal triggers and the like can set them up with more information regarding possible hardships.
The Asthma and Sleep Specialist of New York
Dr. Mayank Shukla and the rest of the team at the Asthma and Sleep Institute are dedicated to giving the residents of Staten Island and abroad the best in asthma care. If you’re concerned about the health of your child or would just like to learn more about general asthma maintenance, contact Dr. Shukla today to set up a consultation.
