Expert advice on travelling with MS
Nearly everyone needs to travel at sometime, whether it is for holiday, business or to see relatives and friends. How straightforward that is obviously depends upon your degree of disability, but for most people special arrangements can be made to allow travel to be relatively stress-free.
The following pieces of advice should help with this:
Book early if possible - the supply of special accomodation may be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. There are agents that specialise in arranging holidays for disabled travellers. You might try those below.
Arrange travel insurance - this often needs to be arranged at the time of booking the holiday and you will need to tell the insurers of your condition. If you have problems with them, there are companies that specialise in arranging insurance for people with chronic medical conditions. You can try the one below.
Tell your travel agent/airline of your needs in advance - airlines can arrange a wheelchair or special transport for use in the airport. Aircraft will carry standard size wheelchairs free of charge. Battery-powered chairs may need to be dismantled for carriage and assembly instructions should be with the chair. Ferry and train operators also make special arrangements for disabled passengers.
Check in early - airlines like to pre-embark disabled passengers.
Make special arrangements for your medication.
Check that you have enough medication to last for the duration of your trip.
If you carry your medication in your hand luggage, have relevant medical certification with it.
Certain medication, such as Betaferon®, needs to be stored in a refrigerator. Arrange with the hotel for this while you are staying there.
Consider renting a wheelchair to take with you - even if you do not normally use a wheelchair but have some difficulty with walking or easily tire, it can be a good idea to take one with you. It will give you much greater flexibility while away.
Check that your hotel is suitable -
Does it have wheelchair access if you need it?
Is your room on the ground floor if you have difficulty with stairs and there is no lift?
Does it have specially accessible rooms and can you book one of these?
