Journeys abroad

Question

Hello
we are planning to leave to Kenya and Ireland next year (one week for every place) with our five-year-old CF girl. Are these places problematic? Thank you!

Answer

Hello,

These two destinations pose not all the same problems.

Ireland is an European country, close to France, the transport is easy and fast by plane, there are listed hospitals and doctors perfectly trained to take care of CF patients and possible complications in case of emergency. If needed, communication between your CF doctor in charge and the center which would welcome your child in case of emergency is relatively easy to establish and it is something that you can prepare with your doctor.

For Kenya, it is something else: Africa, distance, climate sometimes difficult to bear especially for a child and especially for a CF child (heat, humidity), food possibly more difficult to control, general more uncertain conditions of hygiene (even in a "voucher" hotel), and especially, in case of emergency, lack of reliable structures, lack of trained doctors, physicians, nurses, uncertainty on the availability of such or such medicine in case of emergency, uncertainty on the quality of the care which could be brought while waiting for a possible repatriation on medical grounds.

Naturally, these answers are "general" without knowing the situation of your child, and they are questions to approach with your pediatrician in your CF center.

Very cordially,
Virginia Colomb

25.11.2014

25.11.14
Please find an interesting document about travelling and CF under the following link:

https://www.ecfs.eu/files/webfm/webfiles/File/documents/JCF%20Articles/JCF_619.pdf

D. d'Alquen