We want to make it easy for you to prepare for a trip abroad so you can enjoy your holiday and stay safe.

Look at our checklist before you go:

 

  • Get you GHIC/EHIC card for travel within the EU
  • Take out travel insurance
  • Don’t forget to take with you enough of your anti-seizure medication
  • Check if you need a vaccination
  • Carry medical identification
  • Be mindful of potential seizure triggers
  • Find out how to get more medication abroad
  • Check if you can legally drive abroad

Travel insurance

Always take out private travel insurance even if the country you are travelling to is covered by your GHIC or EHIC card.  Some travel insurance companies require you to have a GHIC/EHIC card, always check the small print before you sign up to travel insurance.

You may have to approach some specialist travel insurance companies who specialise in covering pre-existing conditions such as epilepsy.  Always shop around for quotes to get the best deal possible.

Insurance companies will assess the risk and will base their premiums on how well your seizures are controlled, how long you have had epilepsy and whether you have recently been hospitalised for your epilepsy.

Epilepsy Scotland have teamed up with Medical Travel Compared – a travel insurance comparison site which brings together many travel insurance companies that specialise in pre-existing medical conditions on one independent site.  For every policy sold via our dedicated link, the company will make a donation to our charity.  Simply follow this link to make sure the donation comes to us.  You can also access this link from our website here.

Our Travelling abroad factsheet provides more detailed information on all of the above.
You may also be interested in our Epilepsy and Leisure publication, covering sporting and other leisure activities.

Publications

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With very little statutory funding, we rely on donations to enable us to continue our vital work. Every donation helps to ensure our services continue.