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Holiday

Question
Is it a good idea to take a child with CF to the Turkish seaside? I would also like to know if flying is dangerous to him even if he doesn´t have any serious problems.
Answer
Hello,

This question has been answered on this forum several times. Please check the archive, where you can find the answers.

In summary – a stay by the sea is definitely beneficial to every child. The question remains whether Turkey is more or less suitable than other European destinations. At the moment there is no list of recommended destinations for CF patients. Each specific case needs to be considered individually – the type of destination is important and it is also important to get as much infromation as possible from the travel agent about the accomodation and services. Guidelines for travelling with CF are available in English and they have been published in Journal of Cystic Fibrosis (see reference below).

Air travel can be recommended to a child with CF only by his doctor, who is familiar with the level of the child´s lung damage. When flying, a CF patient risks especially pneumothorax and desaturation. The air on a plane is similar to an altitude of about 2400m height, which can be compared to an 15% oxygen concentration at sea level, while normally it is 21%. Therefore there is the possibility of a child with CF experiencing oxygen deficit. It is very important for your son to be thoroughly tested before the flight. This way you will learn if he can manage the journey. You should arrange for a lung performance test (a spirometry test) and possibly also for a hypoxamia test. Your son´s condition must be stabilised at the time of the flight, without acute exacerbation of the uderlying disease. You also need to consider the length of the flight – short, direct flights are more advisable. Your son needs to carry a report on his illness and taken medication with him and you need to inform the airline staff on the plane that he might need to inhale oxygen during the flight.

You can get practical information from parents of CF children who already went to the sea with their children by plane by contacting CF patients organisation (more at www.cfklub.cz).

Literature: "Travelling with Cystic Fibrosis: Recommendations for Patients and Care Team Members," prepared by the ECORN-CF group (T.O. Hirche et al.), and published in the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis (JoCF 9) (2010) pp. 385 – 399.

A Czech translation of this document is now available on the webpage of the CF patients organisation at www.cfklub.cz.

Dr. Jitka Brázová
16.11.2011