When I was 18 years old, I was diagnosed with my first chronic illness. Then, last year, at 30, a second. Psoriasis and polycystic ovarian syndrome both run in my family. My life, consequently, has been peppered for over a decade with periods of flare-ups, and day to day, I am more aware of my body and its pain levels than I would like to be.
A Reality Check
A reality of my life, one I have had to work hard to accept, is that sometimes my body has different plans than I do. This is never more prevalent than when traveling. Changes in climate, the toll of long-haul flights, even something as small as how the water affects my skin or the shift in time zones can make a marked difference. Sometimes this simply requires me to manage my fatigue and give way to rest; other times it has resulted in hospitalization and longer-term complications.
Traveling with Chronic Illness
At 25, I was canoeing in New Zealand off the Bay of Islands, glass-like water shimmering for miles around me as we scanned the horizon for wild dolphins. My best friend and I spent almost a month hopping from hostel to hostel, drinking rosĂ© on remote idyllic islands, eating poke bowls in surf towns, and sightseeing across the lush landscapes. It was the kind of trip that felt like a glorious bubble, where I was cocooned away from my life outside of it. Living with a chronic health condition, though, meant this wasn’t my reality.
Quite suddenly, I noticed my psoriasis—which at the time covered both my arms entirely—beginning to react to the sun. Within a week, as I boarded a flight home that would last more than 20 hours, my skin had begun to transform. By the time I landed back in England, I had developed erythrodermic psoriasis, a rare and severe form of the condition that can be triggered by extreme heat.
My dermatologist had only ever seen it once in her 40-year career. During the final stretch of the trip, I lived in a constant low level of pain that crescendoed, upon returning home, into searing agony. Clothes could barely touch my skin. It felt as if I were shedding, like a snake, and burning all at once.
Experiences Like That
On another trip, to the south of France, I spent the entire time in bed. My stomach cramping and pain were too sharp to even walk, and the four-day trip was lost to a flare-up.
Experiences like that inevitably shape the way you travel. There have been countless vacations paused, or itineraries rearranged. Diving trips canceled. Days spent in bed rather than on the beach. Hikes postponed or abandoned altogether. Travel, for me, is rarely spontaneous in the way it once was.
A Support Network
What makes all the difference is a support network. I used to love solo traveling, but in recent years, that has become harder to sustain. My partner, my friends, and my family have become pillars of the way I travel now, quietly making sure that on the days when I have an active flare-up, I’m cared for. Often it’s simple things: carrying my bag when my body is exhausted, or running to a pharmacy when I need something I didn’t anticipate.
Working Around Requirements
Ultimately, people with chronic health conditions deserve to see the world. While I can’t confidently say I won’t let it “hold me back,” as the phrase goes, because sometimes it simply will, I certainly won’t let it stop me, and I can, at least, work around my requirements. Sometimes it changes the types of vacations I take. But I’m still out there, and I’m still having the time of my life.
Nuggets of Advice
Whilst there are many chronic health conditions, all with their own specific needs and treatments, there are a few nuggets of advice I think we can all take heed of, many of which I have learnt the hard way.
- Don’t push yourself beyond your limits one day. It will only take away from the rest of the trip.
- Prioritize your comfort and needs when traveling. It’s worth the extra suitcase.
- Pack every medication you might need. Carry extra prescriptions in case of delays. Split essential medication between cabin and hold luggage. Adjust medication timing for new time zones.
- Do stretches you do every day at home on holiday too. Prioritize sleep if it helps manage pain. Be mindful of foods that trigger your condition.
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