Traveling with Dialysis - Essential Tips and Planning

Being on dialysis does not mean giving up travel. With good planning, people on dialysis visit family, attend celebrations and discover new places. The keys are preparing early, talking with your care team and understanding how treatment works away from your home centre.

Plan early

• Start planning 2 to 3 months ahead, especially for summer and school holidays.
• Ask your nephrologist whether your health is stable enough to travel.
• Ask your home centre for a recent dialysis report: diagnosis, medicines, allergies, dry weight, dialysis prescription and recent blood tests.
• Your host centre will also ask for recent hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV serology.

Choosing a centre abroad

Check that the centre accepts visiting patients, its session times, its equipment and water treatment, the languages spoken and how payment works. A coordinator such as Dialysis Turkey handles these questions for you and confirms everything in writing.

Insurance and payment

Rules depend on your country and your insurer:

• The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and the UK GHIC are not valid in Turkey.
• Some countries have social security agreements with Turkey (for example Germany and Austria). Ask your health insurer before you leave which forms you need and what they reimburse.
• Many patients pay for holiday dialysis themselves and ask for reimbursement afterwards. Keep all invoices.
• Travel insurance that covers medical care abroad is strongly recommended.

What to pack

• All your medicines in their original packaging, plus extra supplies, in your hand luggage
• Your medical documents and dialysis prescription
• Your insurance documents and emergency contacts
• The booking confirmation from the dialysis centre
• Your recent blood results

During your trip

• Arrive at least a day before your first session if you can, to rest after the journey.
• Bring your documents to your first session.
• Keep to your diet and fluid allowance, especially in hot weather when thirst increases.
• Protect your access when swimming or doing activities (no swimming with a catheter).
• Plan sessions so you have time to recover before flights or long excursions.

Peritoneal dialysis and travel

If you are on peritoneal dialysis, your supplier can often deliver supplies to your destination. Organise this early, check storage space at your accommodation and keep strict hygiene for every exchange.

Travel brings real benefits for mental well-being. With the right preparation, most destinations are within reach.

Sources

• National Kidney Foundation – Travel tips (PDF)

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