Insurance

Chris, just to add that if your team are happy for you to go you must ensure that your notes are marked to show this.

I talked with someone last year who were caught out as they had not had an all clear from his team that he could do the trip and resulted in the insurance company not paying out - fortunately it was in Europe and did not require repatriation.

Many thanks fulhamboy and the highlander.

I will make this trip somehow!

Chris 

Hi Chris, have you check which inoculations you need to have? here is a link to some info if not and whilst its Scottish nhs I assume its the same for all. 

https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations/central-america/costa-rica

If you need inoculations then these will need to be discussed, stating the obvious.

John 

Hi Chris 

My husband is 5 years post stem cell transplant for high risk AML. We have an annual policy which includes cruise cover from AllClear.

We are currently on a cruise crossing the Panama Canal. We stopped at Costa Rica and all the advice we were given and read was to be aware of the mosquitoes. We took Jungle Fever with us but opted for an excursion which took us on a scenic drive, stopping only in built up areas. We would have loved to do some of the wildlife tours but felt the risk was too high. We also only ate and drank on the cruise ship. Beautiful country and lovely to experience but we felt we definitely made the right decision especially as we met a lady on the cruise who used to live in Costa Rica and assured us 'you will get bitten'. Luckily with the precautions we took we didn't get bitten or ill.

Hi johnr and fanilow,

Many thanks for your advice. Both extremely helpful.

I will indeed discuss the required innoculations with my team this week.

Also the matter of mosquitos and malaria. It is reallly helpful to have advice from someone who has been to Costa Rica!  

Perhaps a shame that I didn't make this trip before I got ill.

BW, Chris

hi Chris, never been to Costa Rica but knew the was a good likelihood that some inoculations would be needed. I am sure you will be able to do the trip it may just be a while, I am sure those who have had allo transplants can advise on immune system recovery and how and when inoculations can start, the may even be an old thread about it.

John 

On the back of John’s post, I have found that every team will have their very own view on this and also every person will have individual long term issues that will set out what can or can’t be done.

I am long term immune compromised, hence the many hospital stays over the past 4 winters..... touching wood since I am ok so far this winter.

Based on the treatments I had and my low immune system I can’t have any live vaccines.

24 years back I worked with a charity in Central America way up in the Guatemala mountings and some of the vaccines I had were live - don’t know about now...... an interesting conversation to be bad and very interested in what you are told.

I hope you can make it work.

I also seem to remember the advice about antimalarial med, that there was one which daughter was told to avoid, so a good travel centre would be useful to seek opinions from; ours is staffed by experienced and well qualified travel nurses.

Hugs xxx