{"id":8143,"date":"2021-03-09t12:57:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-09t12:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/?page_id=8143"},"modified":"2025-01-20t12:56:34","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20t12:56:34","slug":"travelling-abroad-with-ph-faqs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/about-ph-2\/living-with-pulmonary-hypertension\/travelling-with-ph\/travelling-abroad-with-ph-faqs\/","title":{"rendered":"travelling abroad with ph: faqs"},"content":{"rendered":"

these are the most common questions we receive about foreign holidays with pulmonary hypertension<\/em>.<\/p>

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<\/h2>

do you recommend any insurance providers who cover people with ph?<\/strong><\/h2>

please see this comprehensive list<\/a> of insurers, some of which come recommended by pha uk members<\/strong><\/p>

the british insurance brokers\u2019 association (biba) can also provide you with a list of insurers who cover people with ph. for more details, visit\u00a0www.biba.org.uk<\/a>\u00a0 or phone the helpline on 0370 950 1790.<\/p>

look at travel insurance before booking your holiday so you don\u2019t have any nasty surprises. quotes very much depend on the individual and where you are travelling to.<\/p>

you must declare that you have pulmonary hypertension, even if it\u2019s very stable. and you must declare any other pre-existing conditions too. it can be tempting not to, in order to keep the costs down, but it\u2019s not worth the gamble. we\u2019ve heard from members who have been unable to claim because they haven\u2019t been honest, and therefore had to pay out thousands. unfortunately, you will need to pay extra for insurance. it seems unfair, and it probably is unfair, but you don\u2019t want to be worrying while you are away.<\/p>

what do i need to think about in terms of oxygen?<\/strong><\/h2>

travelling by air with oxygen will require a fair amount of additional planning and unfortunately, due to tightening regulations and security, it has become more difficult to organise your own oxygen for flights.<\/p>

well before you begin planning your holiday, on your next clinic visit, ask your specialist if you need oxygen to fly. not everyone with ph needs to, but it\u2019s your specialist, not your gp, who should make that decision.<\/p>

as a rule of thumb, the further the flight is, the more likely it is that you will need oxygen.<\/p>

the majority of airlines will charge extra for oxygen. as an organisation we think that\u2019s wrong, but unfortunately that\u2019s the way it is at the moment.  <\/p>

there are uk-based companies that can help by supplying ph patients with portable concentrators for flights that don\u2019t provide oxygen themselves, and for use during the holiday.<\/p>

a hoof (home oxygen order form) may be required; please check this with whoever prescribes your oxygen. although more expensive, a cruising holiday could be an alternative if flying presents too many obstacles. if you do decide to fly, then our ultimate advice is to check requirements directly with the airline before booking a flight to avoid wasting money.<\/p>

when should i ask about a fit to fly letter?<\/strong><\/h2>

it used to be that fit to fly letters lasted six months or a year, but things have changed. now, we advise phoning your specialist centre at least six weeks before you fly, as you\u2019ll need a letter dated as close to departure date as possible. airlines are becoming much more exacting and will vary in terms of what they require, so again, be sure to check with them in good time \u2013 regardless of what they said last time you flew.<\/p>

fit to fly letters must be obtained from your specialist centre, not from your gp.<\/p>

what happens if i get ill abroad?<\/strong> <\/h2>

a uk global health insurance card (ghic) gives you the right to access state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in the european union (eu).<\/p>

following brexit, it has replaced the old european health insurance card (ehic).<\/p>

find out more about the ghic and apply for it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

the ghic does not replace insurance, so you will still need to organise this before you travel.<\/p>

it\u2019s common to get a stomach upset when abroad, so we advise visiting your local pharmacy before you travel to stock up on over-the-counter medication and rehydration sachets, just in case. it\u2019s also a good idea to take a first aid kit away with you. if you fall ill and can\u2019t find anyone who speaks english, having a smartphone allows you to use \u2018google translate\u2019 to communicate \u2013 simply type in the words in english and select the language you need to convert it to. always keep a list of your medications on you too.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

these are the most common questions we receive about foreign holidays with pulmonary hypertension. do you recommend any insurance providers who cover people with ph? please see this comprehensive list of insurers, some of which come recommended by pha uk members the british insurance brokers\u2019 association (biba) can also provide you with a list of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":114,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8143","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8143","targethints":{"allow":["get"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8143"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122575,"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8143\/revisions\/122575"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.aselpijama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}