Pathologies and disabilities

Diabetes

Don't spend your time calculating and recalculating your schedule. The easiest way is to have two watches! One will keep track of the time at your point of departure (France), while the other will indicate the time at your destination: this way, you'll keep strict track of your control and injection intervals. Don't forget to keep your medication and prescription in your hand luggage.

Immunodepression

It's not easy to travel when you're immunocompromised. An assessment must be carried out before departure. To organize your trip, you'll need to prepare your medical file, think about how to respect the cold chain required to preserve certain medications, and take into account the infectious environment. In this case too, it is advisable to travel with your medicines in your hand luggage, accompanied by your prescriptions signed by your doctor, to justify their passage through airport controls, for example.

Heart disease

Cardiovascular risk is inherent to the conditions of travel and stay (stress, changes in environment, variations in diet and treatment), but also to the traveler's heart condition (heart disease sometimes unrecognized in subjects over 65). So take the time to find out about the technical nature of the medical facilities at your destination. Similarly, before you leave, consult your cardiologist, and make an appointment with your GP to review your treatments and vaccinations. Make sure you take sufficient medication. It's also important to allow yourself plenty of rest on arrival.
Organizing your trip means testing your exercise tolerance. During your trip and your stay, you should keep control of your activities (above all, don't depend on a group with imposed activities), and consult us if you notice any change in your symptoms. If you have a pacemaker, take your complete medical file with you, and draw up a list of centers authorized to check your pacemaker's settings at your vacation destination. Make sure the device is working properly before you leave, and beware of magnetic fields. For patients fitted with a defibrillator, staying in a medical zone is essential, and driving is left to the doctor's discretion. However, driving is contraindicated in the month following implantation.

Renal failure and dialysis

People with renal insufficiency face different types of problems during a trip: impaired renal function, risk of dehydration (watch your weight), metabolic disorders and infection. Before departure, renal function should be assessed. Travel is more complicated at the stage of extra-renal purification. A dialysis patient with an arteriovenous fistula may experience thrombosis in the event of dehydration, necessitating the insertion of a central catheter. Hygiene must be rigorous, otherwise the vascular anastomosis may become infected. Renal transplant patients are both renal failure patients and immunocompromised.

Epilepsy

There is no contraindication to travel unless the epilepsy is poorly controlled (the risk of seizures increases with jet lag, fatigue, stress and lack of sleep). The following recommendations apply to people with epilepsy: consult your neurologist before embarking on a long trip; avoid traveling alone; take a prescription with your treatment and the names of your medications in INN; take more treatment than you need and keep it close at hand. In the event of minor jet lag, do not modify your treatment. If the trip lasts more than 12 hours, schedule a dose on the plane and adjust to the local time immediately on arrival, even if this means slightly overdosing. Sun protection is imperative (anti-epileptics are photo-sensitizing). Diving is contraindicated.

Multiple sclerosis

Disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis are generally administered by injection. Patients should carry an isothermal case (certain drugs must be kept at a temperature not exceeding 8°C). You should also ensure that a nurse is available to provide treatment at your vacation destination, or to train you in self-injection. Recommendations: specify when booking that the patient will be traveling with injectable equipment. Medication should be carried in the hand luggage, accompanied by a prescription and a certificate for all injectable material. A medical certificate may be requested, specifying the absence of viral or bacterial toxic syndrome.

Parkinson's disease

There is no contraindication to travel; you just need to follow common sense rules and bring a companion. For patients with cerebral stimulation, travel should only be considered if the patient is well-balanced, and equipment should be checked before departure. If the stay is longer than 6 months, arrange contact with a local team capable of checking the equipment (usually every 4 to 6 months). Finally, avoid using the security gates (carry your pacemaker card with you).

Visual impairment

80% of environmental information is visual. Visual impairment therefore alters perception and cognition. Travelling is a way of refusing to let your activities be curtailed, and your image and confidence undermined. For the visually impaired, the constraints of travel involve orientation: difficulties with signage, dangers from unidentified obstacles, difficulties in accessing information provided by visual signs. Light: the visually impaired need more light than a person with good vision, but they are also more sensitive to it (take account of sunlight, reverberation on sand, sea or snow). Depending on the pathology, it may be necessary to bring along a treatment. Beware of storage problems (at high temperatures, eye drops have a shorter shelf life, and there's a risk of infection). Reminder: guide dogs can travel with their master on board aircraft, regardless of size, as long as they are vaccinated. The handler must be able to produce a training certificate. Also remember to pack light hand luggage. One hand should remain free for the cane, if necessary.

Hearing impairment

For people with external hearing aids, it is important to keep your hearing aid dry during the journey (using a drying tablet or heating kit). In the evening, it's imperative to put it to dry so that it works properly the next day. You can also take along special wipes for cleaning your hearing aids. If you're flying, there's no particular risk. However, many people prefer to switch them off at take-off and landing. If you're at the seaside, avoid sand and seawater splashes. In this case, it's best not to wear them. Cochlear implants: both the sound processor and the speech processor are sensitive to moisture (perspiration, rain, showers, etc.). Carry a case or bag containing a dehumidifying capsule. On planes, there are no general rules (the best thing to do is call your hearing aid specialist before you travel). As for portals, the magnetic field is too weak to damage the internal components of the processor and implant. However, you should carry your implant certificate with you if you prefer to ask to pass through the portal (not always easy in safe, feverish weather). And don't forget to buy your button batteries before you leave.

Care on vacation

If you're used to receiving care at home (home care worker, nurse or masseur-physiotherapist), don't wait until you've arrived at your vacation destination to look for replacements. Find out as early as possible to make sure you'll find one close to your holiday destination, and to see how you can organize yourself between two visits! It's also up to you to check with your GP before you leave: are you fit enough for a holiday in the mountains, by the sea or in the countryside? Take part in sporting activities? Travel over long distances? Never forget that, whatever the destination, travel needs to be organized.

MUTUELLE INTÉGRANCE

51, rue Paul Meurice
75970 Paris ^20e
www.integrance.fr
Mutuelle Intégrance is an expert in helping people cope with frailty and maintain their independence. The mutual offers innovative health, provident, assistance and savings products and services to provide concrete, long-term solutions to improve the day-to-day lives of its members, whether they are individuals, companies or associations involved in the Social and Solidarity Economy. A member of the APICIL group, France's^4th largest social protection group, it is the first national mutual recognized as an Entreprise Solidaire d'Utilité Sociale (ESUS).

ADHAP SERVICES
Agencies throughout France
www.adhap.fr/
[email protected]
Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm. An Adhap Services manager can be contacted by beneficiaries 24 hours a day in case of emergency. Assistance 7 days a week, including public holidays.
ADHAP offers its services through centers located throughout France. Qualified, trained staff are on hand to meet a wide range of support needs: assistance with washing, getting up, going to bed, meals, housework, day and night care are just some of the services on offer. Certified by the Qualicert network, ADHAP insists on the quality, proximity and responsiveness of its teams. A benchmark in the field.

Have an emergency kit ready

When traveling, remember to take your usual medication with you. In the case of renewable treatments, take your prescriptions with you.

A first-aid kit is always necessary: bring an anti-diarrheal, anti-emetics for nausea and vomiting, paracetamol tablets for fever or pain, bandages, disinfectant, hydro-alcoholic solution for hand hygiene (important if you need to probe yourself), sterile compresses, adhesive bandages, compression bandages and anti-inflammatory ointment. A cooler will be indispensable if you need to carry treatments that cannot withstand temperature variations or require cold storage (anti-TNF). Don't forget your sun cream, essential for any summer trip (maximum factor and purchase from a pharmacy recommended). Mosquito repellent cream is also a must, not forgetting your regular contraceptive treatment and condoms. Distinguish between the "secondary" kit that all travelers take with them and the "main" kit, which is your personalized kit. Carry your medication in its original packaging, and make sure you have a supply to cover any transport delays.

Take care of your wheelchair

Even if France has sufficient infrastructure, you won't necessarily find a Küschall or Otto Bock dealer in the village where you've decided to spend your vacation! A good tip: before you leave, ask your dealer for the address of the nearest contact. Don't forget to bring all you need to repair your tires (set of patches, dissolver, inner tube, inflator and, if necessary, puncture-proof spray), as well as one or two spare axles.

PARAVAN
Straße 5 - 10
D-72539 Pfronstetten - Aichelau
GERMANY
03 72 88 05 47
www.paravan.com

[email protected]
Paravan moves the world with revolutionary mobility solutions. Discover world-renowned cutting-edge technology and let yourself be fascinated by the technologies of the future. No. 1 in the market for vehicles for the disabled, this German company has developed the world's most innovative and modern wheelchair.

BENOÎT SYSTÈMES
7, rue du Pont
BILLY-LÈS-CHANCEAUX
03 80 96 51 25
www.benoitsystemes.com
[email protected]
Benoit Systèmes manufactures several types of products that can be adapted to a wheelchair. The company offers lightweight, removable motorizations such as the Kitcool, which can be installed in a matter of seconds and allows the wheelchair to assume a relaxing position without affecting its functions.

INVACARE
Route de Saint-Roch
FONDETTES
02 47 62 64 66
www.invacare.fr
[email protected]
Ouvert du lundi au vendredi de 8h30 à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h30.
With a range mainly comprising manual and electric wheelchairs, home support products, patient lifts, propulsion aids, 4-wheel and 3-wheel scooters for seniors, the company also supplies medical beds, bedsore prevention mattresses, lift chairs, rollators, canes, walkers, etc. Invacare is a partner of the French Handisport Federation.

4POWER4

55, rue Marceau (^16e)
PARIS
0 811 70 04 40
4power4-powerstand.com/en/
The 4power4 is an all-terrain electric wheelchair: narrow, it has been designed to take you over terrain not easily accessible to conventional wheelchairs. Originally designed for use in the countryside and in gardens, on pebbles or grass, it is now equally at home on the sea, sand and snow, as well as in the city on cobblestones. The ideal wheelchair for all types of travel!