Tips for traveling with advanced Parkinson’s
Any travel is inherently unpredictable, but when traveling with advanced Parkinson’s disease, those disruptions hit differently. The stress of navigating sprawling terminals, transit delays, and unfamiliar environments can quickly destabilize carefully managed Parkinson’s, opening the door to symptom flares.
Safely reclaiming your itinerary requires moving past standard travel advice to look closely at accessibility infrastructure, digital planning tools, and mobile safety nets.
How advanced Parkinson’s affects travel
Travel can affect the body in many ways, regardless of Parkinson’s disease — with issues from jet lag to dehydration. It’s important to be mindful of your physical activity, sleep quality, and diet while traveling, as these may affect Parkinson’s symptoms and vice versa. You may need to adjust your plans based on how you’re feeling.
When traveling, you’re out of your usual routine, which can cause stress. Stress can worsen Parkinson’s symptoms such as tremor, fatigue, slowness, or balance issues, according to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Build in plenty of time to rest and don’t overschedule yourself to prevent exacerbating symptoms such as fatigue and freezing of gait.
When researching vacation spots, you may want to consider temperature, altitude, distance to your destination, and how you’ll get there, as these factors can affect traveling with Parkinson’s.
Planning ahead for a smoother trip
A little planning can go a long way, so here are some helpful strategies:
- Keep your itinerary flexible: Give yourself extra time to get from one destination to another, or a day to simply relax, to fight fatigue and minimize stress.
- Research accessible accommodations: Resources like Hidden Disabilities Sunflower or TSA Cares can help. TSA Cares provides modified screening services for those with disabilities. Hidden Disabilities Sunflower has partnered with businesses worldwide to help those with “nonapparent disabilities,” including Parkinson’s disease, get what they need.
- Consult with your doctor: Make sure you’ve discussed your plans with your healthcare team so they can advise you. You can also request an extra refill of prescription medications for emergencies.
- Prepare necessary documentation for traveling: If you’re bringing medication or assistive devices, have documentation for all prescriptions and specialty aides, either as hard copies or stored in a health app such as Medisafe or MyTherapy.
When planning each day, apps like Wheelmap and the accessible places feature on Google Maps can help you find wheelchair accessible restaurants, restrooms, transportation options, and more. Finding facilities with helpful accommodations can ease strain and help you maintain independence as you travel.
Managing medications while traveling
Parkinson’s medication management while traveling can get tricky. Here are some practical tips to manage your medications while you’re away from home:
- Keep your prescription medications in your carry-on luggage in case you’re separated from your checked baggage.
- Bring a week’s worth of extra medication in case of emergencies.
- Do not store medications in areas of extreme cold or heat.
Medication scheduling
If possible, stick to your medication schedule even as you cross time zones, maintaining the same intervals between doses. To help stay on track, the Parkinson’s Foundation recommends wearing two watches: one set to your current time zone and one still on your home time zone.
If maintaining the same intervals becomes too difficult due to crossing multiple time zones, the American Parkinson’s Disease Foundation suggests possibly adjusting your schedule: adding a dose of medication for each three- to five-hour gain in time and taking away a dose of medication for each three- to five-hour loss in time.
Transportation tips
When using transportation modes that were familiar before Parkinson’s, you may not think to question what services each provides for people with disabilities, nor what new precautions you should take. It’s important to check in advance that accessible travel for Parkinson’s patients is possible with the strategy you have planned. The following are tips for each type of transportation, which may help:
Airports
Use TSA Cares to plan for screening checkpoints. You can register for TSA PreCheck to avoid long lines and having to remove your jacket or other accessories.
You can also call your airline ahead of time to get priority boarding or other assistance.
If you don’t typically use an assistive device, you may want to consider using one to navigate the airport as there are often long distances between security screening and gates.
Public transportation
Use Wheelmap, Google Maps, and Hidden Disabilities Sunflower to find transportation options that can accommodate assistive devices or run at a frequency that works best for your schedule.
Rideshares
Both Uber and Lyft offer wheelchair accessible and assistive transportation options. Be sure to select either WAV (wheelchair-assistive vehicle) or Assist (for drivers who are trained to help to assist passengers in and out of vehicles) in the app.
If traveling to a different country, research rideshare services prior to your travels so you know your options.
Long drives
Be sure to build in plenty of stops along your journey so you’re able to stretch and rest.
While you may still be legally cleared to drive with Parkinson’s, your reaction time, vision, and multitasking abilities may be affected. If you’re looking to do a multiday drive, consider a firm cap on the number of hours you’ll drive per day, regardless of how you feel.
Safety and emergency preparedness
Here are some ways to prepare for worst-case scenarios while traveling:
- Get travel insurance: Travel insurance protects you if you have to cancel or modify your trip. You should also ensure your flights, hotels, and events or tours offer refunds or alterations.
- Wear a medical alert: Medical alert systems can be used to detect falls or allow a caregiver or family member to track your location. For traveling, most systems need to be connected to your cell phone and equipped with a GPS.
- Carry emergency contacts: Keep a list of your medications and contact information for your doctor, people you’re traveling with, and people at home in case you or emergency providers need to get in touch with anyone.
- Plan for unexpected symptom flare-ups: Having extra medication with you and contact information for local healthcare professionals in the area you’re traveling to can help with unexpected symptom flare-ups. Speak with your doctor ahead of your vacation to discuss this and other concerns.
Returning home and recovery
Once you come home, it’s a good idea to give yourself time to recover.
If you’re still working a full-time job, build in a day off before and after your trip to give yourself plenty of time to rest. You’ll want to return to your dietary, exercise, and sleep routines as well.
Before you know it, it will be time to plan another vacation. Assess what did and didn’t work on this trip so you can better prepare for next time. It may help to create a document so you can reference it in the future.
Parkinson's News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
