How to Protect Your Health & Safety in a Foreign Country

When traveling abroad, you often only have what’s featured in the travel brochures and some overly positive travel websites to guide you. The standards of both health and safety aren’t always as high as they are back home and the opportunity to either get injured or sick while traveling abroad is not to be discounted.

Here are some tips to protect your health in a foreign country, both before you go and while you’re there.

Don’t Forget the Travel Insurance Policy

One of the worst things you can do to yourself is trying to save a few dollars by not taking out a travel insurance policy to cover any medical costs abroad. The second worse thing is to not get enough coverage. The third worse thing is to leave a copy of the document behind and hope you can connect to the internet to prove to the hospital that you have an insurance policy after all.

Buy a policy. Make sure it has sufficient coverage, is suitable for the countries that you plan to visit, and that it covers the activities you need (things like whitewater rafting are often excluded). If you plan on doing some extreme sports, you may need a different category of travel insurance altogether.

Travel Advisories

The regular travel advisory service provided by the US government offers the latest warnings and items of note in countries that are hotspots for trouble or potential trouble. In countries like Mexico and Colombia where they’re mostly safe but you must avoid traveling to certain areas, their country guides cover where it unsafe to visit. The reports are updated regularly, so it’s a good idea to check during your planning stage and then shortly before you travel, to see if anything has changed.

Be Smart

Have a look on the internet for the latest news for the area. When there’s a street festival or carnival,  pickpocketing and street crime is a greater risk. Lock up valuables in the hotel to avoid taking everything out with you and regretting it later. Divide up your money and bank cards to avoid losing everything in one go.

First Aid to Bring

A standard first aid kit is a good idea to bring along. They’re small and pack light. Alternatively, bring some betadine disinfectant, wrap around bandages, plasters, and basic over-the-counter medication like paracetamol.

Be particularly careful when traveling with medication. Even with a doctor’s note, traveling with medication that is illegal to have in the country you’re traveling to could create a diplomatic incident and leave you locked up. A British woman recently suffered this fate when bringing in medication to Egypt that was illegal there, but legal in the UK. She didn’t know and there were no travel advisories at the time (there are now).

Help Getting Back Home When You Need It

When you’re abroad and you’re injured or sick, but okay to travel as a non-emergency case, you can make a booking with the http://www.flyingangels.com/ to assist you. They help with the travel arrangements and provide a travel nurse to support your medical needs during the trip home.

The service is useful for times when having a second person by your side to support you is needed, but your family and friends are unable to assist you. The medical expertise of the nurse puts your mind at ease and ensures you receive any medication required at the appropriate time.

Staying safe and healthy when you’re abroad is an important consideration. Taking some appropriate measures before you go and knowing where the nearest hospital or pharmacy is nearby once you’re there is sensible too.