Check with your treating clinician before you book

Traveling with a wound is easier when the person treating it hears about your plans early. Tell your treating clinician where you are going, how you will get there and how long you will be away, ideally before you pay for anything you cannot change.

Your clinician’s instructions come first. This guide is general preparation for that conversation.

Questions to ask about the trip

  • Is this trip reasonable now, or would a later date be safer?
  • Will I miss a visit or a dressing change, and how should that be handled?
  • Who will change the dressing while I am away, and what should that person be shown?
  • How long can I sit, and how often should I move or raise my legs?
  • What are the travel-day rules for my compression, offloading boot or wound VAC?
  • Which changes mean I should call, and what number do I use after hours?

If you have diabetes, heart disease or another long-term condition, ask your primary care clinician too. Time zones and long days can affect blood sugar, swelling and medication timing, and a medication review before the trip brings your list up to date.

Pack wound supplies for the whole trip, plus extra

Many wound products come through a medical supplier and are not sold on pharmacy shelves, so do not count on buying them on the road.

  • Dressings, tape and wraps for every planned change, with extras for delays
  • A written copy of your dressing instructions and the other items they name
  • Hand sanitizer and sealable bags for used dressings
  • Chargers and batteries for any device

Keep supplies and medications in your carry-on or within reach in the car, not in checked luggage or a hot trunk. Heat and cold can damage some products, as our guide to storing wound supplies at home notes. If you fly, ask the airline and airport security ahead of time about medical liquids, scissors and devices.

If Gateway coordinates your supplies, call 314-325-0126 well before you leave so we can check timing with the treating clinician and the supplier. Early refills are not always possible. Our page on wound supplies and equipment coordination explains how orders work.

Build a one-page travel contact sheet

Put these on paper, not only in your phone.

  • Your treating clinician’s office number and after-hours instructions
  • Your primary care office and pharmacy
  • Your insurance cards and the member services number
  • A short wound summary: location, cause, current dressing and the date it was last changed
  • Your medication list and allergies
  • The nearest urgent care and hospital at your destination

If you already keep a wound care contact list, copy from it. Ask your health plan how care away from home works.

Protect the wound on travel days

Long stretches of sitting let fluid pool in the legs and put steady pressure on the tailbone and hips. Swelling can make a venous leg ulcer drain more and wraps feel tight.

Plan stops on road trips, pick an aisle seat, and follow the movement and leg elevation instructions you were given. Wear compression and offloading devices as ordered, and clean your hands before touching a dressing.

Pools, hot tubs, lakes and the ocean are generally off limits with an open wound, so ask before any swimming. Review your instructions for showering and bathing with a wound before you go.

If the wound changes while you are away

Call your treating clinician’s office if you notice:

  • More redness, warmth, swelling or pain around the wound
  • Drainage that increases, thickens or smells different
  • Fever or chills
  • A dressing that will not stay on or keeps soaking through
  • A wound that looks larger, deeper or darker

Do not wait until you are home to report possible signs of wound infection. New pain and swelling in one calf after a long trip also needs prompt medical attention.

Call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, sudden confusion or bleeding that does not stop with firm pressure.

Plan visits around your travel dates

If Gateway arranges your visits in Greater St. Louis or the Metro East, tell us your dates early. We can ask the treating clinician about moving a visit to just before or after the trip. Availability depends on your location and care setting.

Partner clinicians see patients in this region only. For in-person care at your destination, ask your clinician’s office or health plan where to turn. To ask about arranging wound care here, send the request care form or call us.

Common questions

Can I fly with a wound VAC?

Sometimes, with planning. Ask your treating clinician and the equipment supplier whether travel fits your therapy, and about battery life, spare canisters and dressings, and whom to call if the seal fails away from home. Ask the airline about its rules for medical devices, and keep the device with you.

What if I run out of dressings while I am away?

Call your treating clinician’s office before using a substitute. Describe what you have left and what a nearby pharmacy carries, and ask what is acceptable until you get home. Do not leave a wound uncovered or keep one dressing on well past its change date without asking.

Is it better to leave right after a wound care visit?

Often, yes. Leaving shortly after a visit means the wound was just assessed, the dressing is fresh and your instructions are current. Ask your clinician whether the timing works for your wound. Some wounds need attention too often for a longer trip.

Do I need a note from my clinician to carry wound supplies?

Rules vary, and a note is often not required, but it is worth having. Ask the office for a short letter or a copy of your dressing orders that lists your supplies and any device. It can answer questions at security and help an urgent care clinician if you need care away from home.

Related pages

General information to help you talk with your own clinician. It is not medical advice, and the treating clinician makes every clinical decision. For a medical emergency, call 911.

Updated October 2026