Traveling with Asthma
A few simple precautions can make travel with asthma calmer, safer, and more enjoyable.
Traveling with asthma, or spending time in busy public spaces, can feel stressful. With a few precautions, though, it becomes much easier to relax and enjoy the experience.
Before You Travel
A little planning ahead helps the whole trip go smoothly.
- Whether you should carry any extra medication.
- Double-check your medication supply before you leave.
- Check with your medical team about:
- Any travel-related risks for your trip.
- Whether your asthma action plan needs updating for the trip.
- Check whether your health insurance covers trips, or arrange travel insurance. This is often easiest to sort out with a parent or guardian.
- If your asthma is not well controlled, check with your medical team before you book or travel.
Your Asthma Travel Kit
Pack a bit more than you think you’ll need, and always keep these in your carry-on, not checked baggage.
- Your reliever inhaler.
- Your long-term control medication, if you use one.
- A spacer, if you use one with your inhaler.
- Your peak flow meter, if you use one.
- About one extra week’s worth of medication, in case your return is delayed.
- A copy of your asthma action plan.
- A letter from your doctor explaining why you carry your medication, inhalers, and devices.
- Any allergy medication you normally take.
- A mask, to reduce exposure to allergens or irritants when unavoidable.
- It is preventive, not a treatment. Do not use a mask during an asthma attack; use your reliever inhaler and follow your action plan.
While You’re Traveling
Keep your essentials close and stick to your routine.
- Keep your medication close, in your hand luggage, not in checked baggage.
- Take your medication everywhere with you while at your destination.
- Avoid known triggers, follow your allergy precautions below, and follow any allergy advice from your own medical team.
- Drink plenty of water, as the cabin air can be very dry.
- Use the air vent above your seat for better airflow.
- Make sure others in your travel group know about your asthma and have access to your asthma action plan.
Allergy Precautions
If your asthma is allergy related, these small steps can lower your exposure. Which ones matter most depends on your specific allergy, so focus on the triggers that affect you.
- Pack an allergy-proof pillow.
- Ask not to be seated near animals.
- Avoid peak pollen season.
- Request a non-smoking hotel room.
- Use air conditioning in the car.
Keep Your Contacts Handy
Have the important details within easy reach.
- Keep your doctor’s and medical team’s contact details with you at all times: saved on your phone and on paper (for example in your purse or bag), in case your battery dies.
- Keep your health insurance card readily available.
If Something Goes Wrong While Away
Knowing who to call matters even more when you are far from home.
- If you or someone else is struggling to breathe, call your local emergency number (such as 911 in the US, 999 in the UK, or 112 across Europe), or seek immediate medical help right away.
- Save your destination’s emergency number in your phone before you travel, since it may differ from the one at home.
- Always follow the personal asthma action plan created by your own medical team.
- Review Recognizing an Asthma Attack so you know the warning signs.
Everything on this page is also available as a checklist you can tick off before a trip.