Travel Tips for People Living With HIV

Adjust your Dosing Schedule

Adjust your dosing schedule according to the number of time zones you cross. This sounds tricky, but it is actually quite simple.

West to East

As you travel from west to east, take the next dose of your HIV drugs one hour earlier than you usually do. If you fly from Los Angeles to New York, for example, you cross three time zones and after three slightly shorter dosing cycles you will be back on your normal schedule.

East to West

When you travel from east to west, you reverse this process -- adding an hour between dosing cycles. If you fly from London to Boston, for example, you cross five time zones and after five slightly longer dosing cycles you will be back on your normal schedule.

Taking your doses an hour earlier, or an hour later than usual falls well within the approved range for adherence to any dosing regimen.

North to South or South to North

When you travel north to south (or vice versa), there is no need to make any adjustments. Just stick to your regular dosing schedule, even on an 11-hour flight from the U.S. to Argentina.

Traveling Outside the Country

Do a little research about your destination. If you are going to another country, check if there are restrictions about HIV+ visitors or traveling with medications. You may also want to take a set of written prescriptions.

If you travel to developing countries, you may be at a greater risk of getting cryptosporidiosis (an infection caused by a parasite; also an opportunistic infection) from contaminated food and water. The following are more likely to be contaminated in developing countries:

• raw fruits and vegetables
• tap water or ice made from tap water (it is best to drink filtered or boiled water)
• unpasteurized milk or dairy products
• items purchased from street vendors

It is important that you talk with your health care provider about other precautions you may want to take when you travel abroad, especially in developing countries (i.e. getting vaccines, bringing antibiotics). You may also want to check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel website for useful information.

Reminders

It can be relatively easy to stick to your daily schedule of pill-taking when you are at home. You are in your usual place, your pills are in their usual place, and your routine is a familiar one. It is not so easy to stick to your daily schedule of HIV drugs when you travel, especially when you travel to an unfamiliar destination.

To make sure you do not miss any of your doses or leave your HIV drugs behind, it helps to travel with brightly colored Post-It or sticky notes. Put them on the bathroom mirror, on the dresser top, on your suitcase, on your car keys, on your hotel or motel room key. Those flashes of bright color will remind you to take every dose of every one of your medications every day and they will remind you to take your pills with you when you leave.

Taking Care of Yourself

While planning ahead how you will stick to your regimen may seem like a hassle, it will make it easier when you are on the road. Even if you are on vacation, your HIV drugs still need to keep working! So, do not leave home without them!