Have you ever considered how much planning is needed to travel overseas when you have a serious allergy?

Things to consider when planning a holiday:

Without an allergy

• Book a flight, hotel and transport, or for extra simplicity, book a package holiday.

With an allergy

• ​Airline - what is their policy on food allergy management? What is their policy on cleaning? Would they consider a passenger announcement? Do they have “free from” allergen foods? Have staff been trained to recognise and deal with allergic reactions? You will have to contact them to inform them of your allergy.
• Destination - is there a medical emergency centre close by?
• Will the accommodation cater for my food allergy?
• Carry a letter from your doctor/prescription as proof if medication is in a bottle bigger than 100ml or you are carrying an adrenaline auto-injector (e.g. EpiPen).

Our MedicAlert Ambassador, member and founder of Creative Nature, Julianne Ponan, who suffers from anaphylaxis to all nuts and some seeds and additives, documented her experience on a recent trip to Santorini and found it was much better than expected.

Planning

Julianne’s experience with Easyjet was a good one. She informed the airline of her allergy before her flight and they issued her special assistance seats so they were able to get on board before anyone else and wipe down their seats.

Onboard the aeroplane

Being allowed to get on board the plane before the other passengers may be a policy that varies between airlines, so always check with the airline beforehand.

Julianne found it easy to ask the staff to make a PA announcement when all passengers were on board. The announcement mentioned there will be no nut based products available during the bistro service and for others to not open any nut based products. She said that showing her MedicAlert ID bracelet made this request easy.

At the destination

The language barrier can be a worry for those with medical concerns, or their families and friends, when travelling abroad. What if they fall ill and cannot communicate with the local medical professionals? Julianne didn’t need to worry about not speaking Greek, as the benefit of being a MedicAlert member is that she is supported anywhere in the world with the 24/7 emergency helpline which is available in over 100 languages and dialects. If a foreign emergency worker or healthcare provider is treating you, they will call the emergency number on your medical ID and the translation service will kick in.

Julianne finds travelling challenging at times and has taken a long time to get to a point where she is comfortable with it. Being a MedicAlert member has eased the stress of travel and given her peace of mind that in case of a medical emergency medical professionals have access to the information they need to treat her correctly.

As a MedicAlert member, you can get 10% off Creative Nature's top 14 allergen free foods with code MedicAlert10!

Find out more about the benefits of becoming a MedicAlert member and how we can support you when travelling abroad. As a member of MedicAlert, you will also be entitled to a 20% off Free Spirit travel insurance.

JOIN NOW