What do you do if you are ill abroad?

Having spent the last week ill whilst on holiday got me thinking.  What would I have done had I not been in the North of Scotland and unable to access a GP as a temporary resident? Although vaccines are important to protect your health whilst abroad it is easy to forget that  accidents, injuries and common illness (in my case tonsillitis) are frequently the reason travellers need to see a doctor whilst abroad.

Travel insurance is vital. Shop around for your policy and declare all pre-existing conditions as this could be the very thing that you require treatment for.  There is little point having a policy that has excluded an existing illness.  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has some great information of travel insurance and some scary statistics on what you might have to pay should you have no insurance and end up requiring an air ambulance bring you home.  Remember that the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) if you are visiting Europe only entitles you to state medical treatment and a separate travel insurance policy is a must.  You don't need to pay a fee through an third party company for an EHIC card as it can be done for free via the NHS. 

If you are on a package holiday, hotels and tour reps can help you find a local doctor.  For those that are travelling independently contact your travel insurance medical help line and ask them for help in sourcing a doctor at your location.  For our travellers that are spending lengthy periods of time abroad on a work contract for example or have or have an exisiting condition, we suggest registering with a family doctor and be prepared in advance.  It is likely you will need to see a doctor at some point and if you do become ill you already know where you need to go for medical attention.  The last thing you want is to end up in an under resourced clinic where equipment may be re-used or not sterilised effectivley.  Many travellers choose to take with them sterile needle kits to ensure that any injections are clean and safe. 

Finally, I have put below a few resources that hopefully, you will never need but will be very glad of should you become ill abroad.

International Assistance for Medical Travellers Abroad (IAMAT) is a great resource.  Being a member provides access to their affiliated, licensed English speaking doctors throughout the world.  The

International Society of Travel Medicine also has a clinic directory where members can list their clinics.

The Blood Care Foundation is a charitable, not for profit organisation, registered in the United Kingdom in 1991. The Foundation operates a Blood Care Programme, which is designed to provide screened blood, in an emergency, to its members in any part of the world.