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Travel

Being on dialysis doesn't mean you can't continue to enjoy worldwide travel.  Careful planning will ensure you have a successful trip.  While I wouldn't recommend it (and my doctor had a heart attack when I told him I was going!), I've done manual peritoneal dialysis exchanges in a canoe in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  I washed my hands and then used an anti-bacterial surgical foam to sterilize them.  A paddle held up on end substituted for an IV pole!  Of course I had no heating pad to warm the bags (no electricity).  As long as the sun was out I could warm my two daytime exchanges on a rock.  I tried to convince myself that sleeping with a bag in the bottom of sleeping bag took the chill off the morning's exchange but it really didn't.   The worst was the night-time exchanges.  The fluid was cold and caused severe cramping and the chills.  Slowing down the flow helped.  No matter how bad it was I must say that a bad day of canoeing is better than a good day on dialysis. 

I recommend you use the internet to find other dialysis patients who have traveled to the destination(s) you are interested in.  Join a few different mail lists and submit your questions.  You'll find many people who have traveled the U.S. and abroad.  You can also contact companies that specialize in dialysis cruises such as Dialysis-at-Sea.  These are regular ships that have a hospital/dialysis unit on board.  They usually support up to 12 dialysis patients so it's important to book ahead.  The rest of the passengers are, of course, not on dialysis... so again, it's a regular cruise that happens to have a little dialysis unit onboard.  The units are staffed by a nephrologist, rns and techs.  You can search for units in the area you'll be traveling at dialysisfinder.

Peritoneal dialysis patients can arrange to have their supplies shipped to each stop along their destination.  It's therefore imperative that you plan you itinerary and stick to it as well as carrying a day's worth of supplies with you in case of an emergency. 

With either hemo or pd, you will need to talk to your social worker.  They will make the arrangements with the dialysis units and, in the case of pd, your supplier.  They will need to fax a copy of your records and Rx to each center.  Pd patients will need to have the location of  a hospital that supports pd along each leg of the trip in case of an emergency.

Further information can be found by searching on 'dialysis travel', 'dialysis units', 'dialysis cruises' ect.  Please send me your travel experiences and suggestions and I will post them on this site.