Bone marrow is mainly a soft as well as spongy tissue present in your bones. It is responsible for making blood-forming cells in your body. These cells are also found in the umbilical cord that connects a baby to the mother. Later on, the blood-forming cells change into blood cells like white blood cells for fighting infections, red blood cells for carrying oxygen within your body, and platelets for blood clotting.
Bone marrow transplant is vital and is preceded by chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy since it helps in removing the damaged blood-forming cells. After that, the doctors inject the healthy cells inside the bloodstream using an intravenous injection. When opting for a bone marrow transplant in India, it is important to know about the procedures, especially if you are coming from outside.
The entire process of bone marrow transplant is quite sensitive and requires proper care. Hence, if you are planning to travel, you have to be too careful about everything. Here are some of the things that you need to know about the transplant and if you can travel after the surgery.
After how many days you can travel post bone marrow transplant?
Normally, it is absolutely safe to travel after you went through blood cancer treatment in India. But, make sure you are taking a rest before getting back to your normal lifestyle. Human bodies are different and react differently. As a result, you might face deep vein thrombosis.
Any other health issues like changes in the pressure while you are traveling on the plane can actually bring various internal problems.
Therefore, you must follow a few recommendations that your doctor is providing.
- Follow proper health advice- It is one of the most important things that you need to keep in mind when visiting the best blood cancer hospital in India for a bone marrow transplant. Discuss things with your oncologist along with another expert who knows about travel medicine for checking if you are fit to travel. Based on your condition, you might be asked to stay back. Also, you must choose a developed country for traveling. Alternatively, you can fly to any domestic destination so that you can get medical provisions.
- Plan your trip in advance- If you are planning to get a bone marrow transplant, then it is best if you plan your trip in advance. The reason behind this is after the transplantation you might face complications. Besides, post-surgery you might have to take vaccinations.
- Know about the vaccinations- Before you are traveling outstation; make sure you are taking all the vaccinations. It will help you to avoid any major infections. The vaccinations depend completely on the medical condition you are suffering. For example, many patients are given live vaccines and if you have a weak immune system, your doctor will never recommend such vaccines.
There are other measures that you need to follow post-surgery. Only then, you will be able to travel.
Here are some of the measures, which are compulsory to follow.
- Hygiene maintenance- If you are opting for a bone marrow transplant in India, you have to be careful about maintaining hygiene. Maintaining hygiene not only prevents infection from further spreading but also helps in quick healing.
- Try to avoid direct contact- Make sure that you are washing your hands frequently initially for six months post bone marrow transplant. Besides, since you will be on immunosuppressive medications, you have to keep your hands sanitized. In this way, you will be able to prevent stomach infections.
- Prevent respiratory infection- Once you go through a bone marrow transplant, you have to refrain from gardening, raking, mowing, etc. Exposing yourself to soil particles will make you susceptible to harmful pathogens, which might cause serious infections. Some of the best blood cancer hospitals in India recommend taking complete bed rest. Try to stay away from the people who are a victim of respiratory diseases like cough and cold. Do not visit any construction sites as it can increase the threat of exposure to molds.
Therefore, these are some of the things that you need to know about bone marrow transplants and whether you can travel post-surgery.