Travel

Travelling abroad, whether it’s for a holiday, to visit friends and family or for work, can take a lot of planning. Vaccinations, travel insurance and tropical diseases are issues for everyone, but for people living with HIV these issues require more careful thought. There are also extra challenges which an HIV-positive traveller faces, such as taking medications while away from home and understanding which countries may refuse their entry or visa applications.

Despite these concerns, HIV-positive people travel without problems every day.  Understanding potential travel issues means that practical steps can be taken. This can help to make sure that a trip doesn’t impact negatively on the health of someone with HIV, and that HIV doesn’t impact negatively on their trip.

This chapter provides some general information on issues that may affect the travel plans of someone living with HIV and how these issues can be dealt with.

For those advising HIV-positive people planning to travel, there are some important considerations to discuss. The following gives a general overview of concerns which may arise:

• How is the general health of the person wanting to travel and is HIV under stable control? Becoming ill during a trip can be inconvenient and even dangerous if appropriate care cannot be obtained.

• Will medications for HIV interfere with any of the drugs needed for travel, such as the drugs used for malaria and the management of travellers’ diarrhoea?

• Do any of the disease-prevention measures (such as immunisations) recommended for the proposed trip present a risk to the health of someone with HIV?

• Are there specific health hazards at the destination that would increase the severity of HIV, such as malaria?

• Are there any restrictions which prevent someone with HIV entering a country or carrying their medications with them?

• How will health care be accessed if needed and will it be covered by insurance?

Understanding these issues can help to make sure that any travel plans for people with HIV run smoothly. All these issues are discussed in detail later.