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Birth Control Tips While You Plan Your Travel
Birth control travel tips that you can use while you plan to go for vacation. These helpful tips will ensure that your vacation is most enjoyable and do not play spoilsport.

Traveling always force women to think about their monthly menstrual cycle. It sometimes becomes very difficult and frustrating if you know that your periods are coming close to your traveling dates and you can not change or postpone your travel dates. Due to long hours of journey, hectic traveling schedule and limited time at the disposal could cause exhaustion, frustration, which may cause menstrual period to come early or even occur irregular bleeding.

What you will do then?

Well, you do not need to panic as you have solution in the form of birth control pills, condoms and other birth control products, which will help you to enjoy your vacation or travel. First, you will need to know when your "days" are coming in. If you do not wish to have period, you can avoid it by continuing the birth control pills once you have consulted with your doctor.

If you plan for long vacation (more than two weeks), you will need to take personal hygiene products, specially birth control pills, condoms, spermicidal creams, sponges, patch etc., which may not be easily available at all places whenever you need them in short period of time. If you encounter with unprotected sex, you will need emergency contraceptive pill like Plan B ready with you to avoid unwanted pregnancy, but Plan B might not easily available in the area where you stay.

Following list of birth control products you may consider taking with you always whenever you travel or go for vacation.

1. Emergency contraception
As said earlier, this is very important to have emergency contraception with you if you are sexually active during your travel or you are going out with your new partner on travel. Emergency contraception like Plan B, will protect you immediately against unwanted pregnancy. It will also help you when your contraception plans have failed. Please remember that emergency contraceptive pills like Plan B, may not be available everywhere and it has to be taken immediately as soon as unprotected sex has occurred or contraceptive measures have failed. It must be included in your birth control plans and specially, when you are traveling.

2. Condoms
Condoms are the most convenient way of birth control method. Perhaps, this is the only method which can protect against STDs/HIV to the greater extent. Please insist your partner to use condoms no matter how intimate relationship you are having. Condoms will also help you to protect you and your partner from urinal and vaginal infections, which might occur during intercourse. It is very necessary to be adamant in the beginning than regretting for this "irreversible" mistake later in the life. Condoms are cheap and easily available but if you use any particular brand then it is advisable that you must include them.

3. Birth control patch
Some women prefer to use birth control patches like Ortho Evra. If you are using patch, please remember the due date for the change. If it is coming near to your travel dates, you can have additional patches in stock. It might be possible that you don't find them near you will be residing. You must also need to take care of birth control patch and ensure that it is properly stick to the skin as prescribed, specially when you are going out for sight-seeing, swimming, bathing, doing exercise etc.

It also implies to birth control ring, like NuvaRing, if that's your birth control choice. Such birth control methods may not be easily available everywhere.

4. Birth control injection like Depo Provera
If you are using contraceptive injection then you must check the due date for next shot. Depo Provera shots are usually taken every 11-13 weeks. It is generally prescribed for 12 weeks maximum. If your travel dates coincide with your next due shot date, please consult your doctor or medical practitioner and get your shot immediately. Pfizer, the manufacturer of Depo Provera do not recommend to wait longer than one week than your due shot. It would be fine if you could take your next shot one week earlier than due date if you going on travel or may take one week later maximum than due date. In case of failure of shots, you will need to take help of other birth control methods like contraceptive pills, condoms, patches, spermicides etc

5. Barrier birth control methods
Some of the barrier birth control methods like diaphragm, cervical cap and contraceptive sponges are also recommended to be included in your travel list, in case if you are more comfortable using them. According to your traveling plans, you can keep enough stock of spermicidal creams, jellies, diaphragm, sponges etc. It might be possible that your choice of barrier birth control method could not be available where you will reside. If you are planning to visit foreign countries then you may need to take good stock of them as barrier form of birth control might not be so popular and available there.

6. Additional birth control tips on travel
Besides taking birth control pills, patches and other barrier birth control methods with you while traveling, you may also need to take precautions like
- if you are going for long hours travel journey and have been taking contraceptive pills or dependent upon hormonal contraception methods, you may be at high risk of contraception failure. Do not remain in sitting position for long, keep moving around and stand if possible, stretch your legs and keep changing your position many times.
- Drink enough water rather than coffee, soda or soft drinks
- Do not go for physical relationship without discussing before contraception, STDs etc. Insist your partner to use condom as unprotected sex may not only increase your chances of becoming pregnancy, it may also put your life in danger by getting infected from life-threatening STDs or even HIV viruses.
- Keep the contraceptive pills, condoms and other products in cool and dry place. Do not expose them in heat, bright sunlight or air for longer time. Some people of the habit of keeping condoms in the pocket or wallet in the back-pocket. Do no keep the condom so unless you are going to use it shortly.
- Surveys have revealed that 20% birth control pills users have found to be irregular in taking pills while they are on travel and 25% of them reported to have negative impact on their health and even got pregnant afterwards. So, if you are regular contraceptive pill user then please continue to take on time as you have been. It will not only protect you from unwanted pregnancy but also make you confident and make your vacation or travel happy and memorable.

The above article is for general information on birth control pills and birth control measures you can take while on travel and should not be taken as medical advice. If it is so, please consult your doctor or healthcare provider for treatment purpose.