Welcome to Travelturtle, the travel health advice site that provides you with country specific medical and vaccination reports usually only available to registered UK healthcare professionals.
Utilise ‘Travel for the elderly’ for up-to-date travel information concerning elderly travel advice, and tip for taking elderly overseas.
- Find generic information in regards to the processes involved in travel for the elderly prior, during, and after travelling.
- Key topics addressed include ensuring you have adequate insurance and how to thoroughly cover the elderly as they travel.
- Comprehensive medical listings are provided that detail, educate and promote all aspects of elderly travel advice. This includes the physiological effects on the elderly whilst travelling and any possible effects that travelling might burden the elderly with long term.
- Crucial contingency information is outlined in regards to safety plans whilst travelling with elderly people including vaccination advice and pro-active procedure.
Elderly travel
Elderly travel
A greater life expectancy, better health in old age and increasing affluence have given elderly people more time and opportunity to travel or visit friends and relatives abroad. But there are some issues that elderly travellers should consider when planning the journey of a lifetime or a world cruise. Follow the elderly travel advice below.
Insurance
Getting adequate travel insurance can be a problem, particularly for those over 75, and especially for those with long-term illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease. However, purchasing full insurance is vital.
Ageing body
Age affects the body’s function, which can increase the risks of travel
- Declining senses can cause accidents or failure to see or hear important announcements.
- Poor balance and slow reaction time can increase the risk of falls and seasickness, and make adventurous walking more perilous.
- Decreased lung capacity means there will be less of a reserve to deal with reduced oxygen at altitude or during chest infections.
- Decreased heart capacity makes it harder to bear stresses on the heart, through dehydration, altitude or exertion.
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Thinning bones from osteoporosis increase the risk of fractures through falls.
- Reduced stomach acid raises the risk of food poisioning or infections through contaminated food.
- Weakened immune system makes infections more likely.
- Deteriorating kidney function raises the risk that dehydration will lead to kidney failure and makes it harder for the kidneys to cope with salt loss through diarrhoea.
- Slowing brain function can put travellers in risky situations by causing confusion.
- Increase in psychologicial pressures can mean some elderly people find it hard to cope with new situations and have a lower threshold for anxiety.
- Poorer circulation leads to slower healing of scratches, bites and injuries.
- There are more tablets to remember or worry about forgetting.
- Diuretics for high blood pressure can increase the risks of dehydration.
- Drugs for Parkinson’s disease and for high blood pressure can cause dizziness, fainting, unsteadiness and falls.
- There is a higher incidence of diabetes, which can be more difficult to control overseas.
- A loss of intellectual function may be exposed – causing someone to struggle to cope with their changed surroundings.
The elderly are more vulnerable to
- high temperatures and heatstroke
- deep vein thrombosis
- hypothermia
- the effects of low oxygen during air travel and at high altitude
- fatigue and exhaustion
Keys to safety when taking elderly overseas
- Travel should be planned carefully. Journeys should not be over-ambitious and there must be plenty of rest stops.
- Contingencies should be planned for.
- Good insurance should be obtained.
- A pre-travel consultation should be booked at the travel clinic.
- Travellers should take their time to ease the risks and stresses of travel.
- Choose destinations with Western medical facilities and infrastructure.
- Medication should be kept in hand luggage, with plenty of spare supplies.
Immunisations and malaria prevention remain as important in the elderly as in people of any other age – if not more so.
