Holiday camp

Question

Hello,

Our 13-year-old son would like to spend his next summer holiday in a camp, or at least have a bit of an “adventure.” He is chronically colonized with PSA (encapsulated as well) and has to inhale Pulmozyme® and colistin on a daily basis. FEV = ca 95% and quite resilient.

We cannot get accustomed to the idea of hygiene conditions in a camp (sanitation and cooling for the Pulmo…). We would prefer accommodation in a youth hostel as an alternative, or a language holiday abroad where he would stay with a host family. However, our son is not very thrilled about these options.

Could you give us some ideas for a vacation and/or addresses of facilities (excluding medical rehabs) for an adolescent that would consider his “germ situation” as well as his drive for independence?

Many thanks in advance.

Answer

Hello,

your thirteen-year-old son would like to spend his next summer vacation in a camp. He has beencolonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and “has to” (?) inhale colistin and Pulmozyme® on a regular basis. You are worried about the hygiene conditions at such a camp and about how he could follow his therapy routine because of that. Thefore, you are looking for an alternative that does not entirely leave out the “adventure character” of the desired trip.

First of all, you should clarify with the treating doctor whether your son unavoidably has to inhale with colistin and Pulmozyme® throughout the whole planned trip (two or three weeks?). With great certainty, pulverized colistin will be approved for inhalation by next summer. Tobi®, after all, is already available today as a pulverized inhalation. This would also be an alternative, if his Pseudomonas is not resistant to tobramycin. In return, he would not need a humid inhalator. For secretolysis, comparative studies have shown hypertonic saline solution to be identically effective compared to Pulmozyme®. Saline solution does not have to bee stored in a cool place and would therefore be a good alternative. If your son would consider a camp by the sea (North Sea, Baltic Sea, or Channel coast in the Netherlands), he might even be able to do without a secretolysis completely for the duration of the holiday due to the aerosol in the sea climate. This has to be checked with the treating doctor, though.

Many clubs and organizations plan youth camps in various regions and with varying accommodation types (alpine clubs, parishes, political parties, Boy Scouts, etc.). I think your son should first decide in which direction his dream is aimed. Even most camping grounds are quite well-equipped these days and offer power and hot and cold running water. “Tent camps” are usually held close to a “base” that features sanitation and electricity.

If the destination is known, you could also get in touch with the local support group via a (national) patient organization in order to see whether there are certain support structures close to the planned location.

Since your son has already been colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, you should actually not worry too much. Talk to the CF doctors about the medical issues and with the organizers and chaperones in charge about your son’s particular situation. Trust your son and allow him to realize his dream.

I wish you much courage and your son a pleasant summer vacation.

Kind regards
Dr. H.-G. Posselt

23.12.2011