Talking to your doctor

Talking to your HIV doctor well before taking your trip is an important part of careful planning. It is a good idea to meet with your doctor three months before travelling so you can plan any vaccinations you may need.

Treatments

Starting a new treatment regimen within a month of your trip is not recommended, in case of side effects or allergic reactions.

Treatment breaks

You should definitely talk to your doctor first if you are considering taking a break from treatments while travelling. While the idea of not having to worry about taking pills with you on holidays may seem appealing, this is an important decision which needs to be made with advice from your HIV doctor. If you are considering the pros and cons of this, you should definitely discuss it with your doctor. This is especially important as there are some concerns about safely ceasing some HIV medications.

Dosing

It is a good idea to talk to your doctor, nurse or treatments officer about some tips on how you can take your medication when travelling through different time zones.

Other medications (besides your HIV treatments)

You can discuss any other medications such as anti-diarrhoea or anti-nausea medications with your doctor before your trip. This is advisable as travellers’ diarrhoea is very common.

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The article you are viewing is part of the larger (multi-page) resource Up, up and away: tips for the positive traveller. View the introductory page.

This article was first published in October 2005 - more than three years ago.

While the content of this article was checked for accuracy at the time of publication, NAPWA recommends checking to determine whether the information is the most up-to-date available, especially when making decisions which may affect your health.

Last updated: 10 Oct 05.