Finding Medical Care on the Road and in a Hurry

t’s been estimated that around 20 percent of all travelers get sick each year, and out of that 20 percent, over 5 percent require emergency care while traveling abroad. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that travelers have a plan for how they will obtain medical help should they need it while traveling. While this is important for families traveling with children, it’s also important for solo travelers and even business travelers.

In addition to the possibility of not understanding the local language or having a pre-existing medical condition, let’s go over the common medical risks travelers face:

• The quality of drugs and other pharmaceuticals in other countries may not meet U.S. standards or they may go by different names. Travelers should bring with them all the drugs and medicines they will need, including pain relievers, anti-diarrhea drugs, and even anti-malaria drugs (if appropriate). Travelers who require injections should bring their own supplies.
• The safety of blood products in many countries cannot be guaranteed. Not all countries have accurate systems for screening blood for infectious agents, therefore risking the transmission of disease through blood. Travelers in developing countries should receive a blood transfusion only in a life-or-death situation and they should make every effort to ascertain whether the blood they are receiving is safe from transmissible diseases including HIV.

Even if a traveler does everything they can to prevent illnesses and injuries on their trip, stuff happens.