Taking Your Psoriasis on Holiday

My last holiday was in a static caravan 3 hours away from my house. It was neither enjoyable and I will not be returning. These kinds of places are not designed for an alone mum with three young and eager offspring. This year my husband is being dragged along, and we're going somewhere sunny. So if your planning on traveling this summer make sure you consider the following things when taking your psoriasis skin away somewhere new.

Preparing for the plane ride

Planes are skin hell. Even celebs talk about how bad their skin is after a flight, waxing lyrical about how they don’t drink alcohol, and how they drink several bottles of mineral water to keep their skin photo-ready at landing. I'm not going to lie. Having an alcoholic beverage is the first thing I'll be doing on my next flight, once all of my darling children have been effectively restrained in their in-craft seatbelt and then promptly connected to some form of screen. But you shouldn’t really, not for the hydration of your skin.

Mitigating the skin challenges of in-flight transportation

Make like a celeb and try these things before, during and after your flight to help mitigate the harsh challenges of flying.

Moisturize

Simple but effective. Realize mid-flight that you have forgotten your moisturizer and your ears have started to crack? Don't panic. Take your seatbelt off and look for the mother you spotted in the queue at security (the one you hoped wasn't going to be sat next to you). Pop over and borrow some nappy (diaper) cream, it's a great stand-in for an emollient and she will be relieved to see someone smiling and being kind.

Drink water

Stay hydrated, but not so much that the guy sitting next to you wants to lock you in the bathroom. Ignore magazine advice and drink until your body tells you it is enough. If you don't trust your body then look at your pee, if it's dark in color you need to keep drinking.

Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks

Alcohol and caffeine dehydrate you, which makes your skin even more thirsty. Even though both make flying much more tolerable in my opinion. If you do want to enjoy either of these, drink some water too.

Travel size containers

Just remember, if you're taking moisturizer, or a skin-freshening spray, it needs to be 100ml or less and in a sealed plastic container as per your airline's flight security restrictions. These tend to change, as I found an out recently, (goodbye Bobby Brown lipstick) so make sure you check before you set off. “You let me take this on last month" doesn’t work. I tried.

Check the patient information leaflets for any medications your taking

Some of them can make you more sensitive to the sun. If you can't find the pamphlet, you can access them online from your drug manufacturer, or you can have a chat with your pharmacist. If your meds do make you sun sensitive, you will need higher factor suncream, hats, and sunglasses and a preference for shady sections of the beach (bar).

Don't leave your sun cream purchase until you get to the airport

Look at some fragrance-free sunscreen options before you start, read the reviews and try the cream out on a small section of your skin to make sure you don’t react. I was fortunate enough to find one I liked as a last-minute purchase at the airport (you remember me losing my lipstick at security control?), and I loved it until I realized on day three that it was stripping off my nail varnish.

The advantage of being on holiday with your best friend, who also happens to be a trained dermatologist, is that she explained why this was happening and actually it was fine (high levels of alcohol). On a regular holiday, it is unlikely that you have this luxury. Research first.

Dealing with mosquitos

Mosquitos love me, but by rare chance, my body doesn’t care. That's right- I get a tiny dot that doesn’t itch, but if you're like most people who react to insect bites, as if they have been bitten by Count Dracula himself, then you may be the kind of person who doesn’t just spray themselves with insect repellent- they bathe in it.

Bug spray considerations

Regardless of whether you liberally apply insect repellent or lightly spritz, you should be aware that the ingredient DEET can worsen psoriasis in some people, so look for products where there is a low concentration.

Malaria medications

Need malaria meds? Make sure you speak to your doctor about this and remind them about your psoriasis. Some anti-antimalarials can trigger severe flares, and you need to plan with your doctor effectively. You take meds that are least likely to trigger this and to leave your doctor's surgery with a contingency plan in case you do flare.

Extra prep for systemic and biologic medications

Systemic and biologic medications suppress the immune system, which you know. Therefore some vaccinations are not suitable. Ideally, book yourself to go somewhere where you don’t need vaccinations. However, if you need to travel to an area where you do need vaccinations, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss your options *don't* turn up and hope for the best.

Research drug stability

Some medications need specific storage instructions, in particular, injected medications such as biologics may need to be stored within a particular temperature range. Also, injectables may need to be transported differently through the airport. You need to contact your doctor, the airline and the drug manufacturer to make sure you have all aspects of this part of the drug transport process covered,

For drugs that don’t require specific storage instruction, but need to be taken on the plane (mainly if they are liquids which are over the airlines liquid limit) make sure you take them in the box with their prescription label so you can evidence that they are prescription medications (and confirm this with your airline).

So while that does make the run-up to your holiday busier, it does mean you can wind down and relax, and enjoy your holiday knowing you have crossed your Ts and dotted your I’s.

Bon Voyage!