Shownotes
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In this episode, I'm sharing the upsetting experience of my Mom's fall on a rainy bridge in Spain, and what that taught us about preparing for medical emergencies while traveling.
According to the International Society of Travel Medicine, up to 50% of travelers experience a health issue while traveling, and many of those risks can be prevented through preparation before departure.
Preparation doesn't prevent accidents or illness, but it gives you clarity and confidence. And when you're far from home, that really does mean a lot.
If you're planning international travel and want to know how to advocate for your health abroad, you're traveling with medications or chronic conditions, you want to reduce anxiety about medical emergencies while traveling, or you're traveling with family and want to be prepared for health emergencies, then this episode is for you.
Timestamps:
[00:01:20] The Hairy Chin Advocacy Abroad Toolkit Download
[00:01:40] When My Mom Got Hurt Abroad
[00:03:36] Preparation Eliminates Panic
[00:03:50] Know Country Emergency Numbers
[00:04:16] Understanding Health Insurance Coverage
[00:04:38] Paying Medical Bills Upfront and Reimbursements
[00:05:17] International Travel Insurance
[00:06:01] Resources, the Embassy, Consulates, and the STEP Program
[00:06:49] The Emergency Information Sheet
[00:07:22] Traveling with Medications
[00:08:03] Allergies
[00:08:47] Translation Apps and Offline Language Packs
More From The Hairy Chin:
Disclaimer: The Hairy Chin does not provide medical advice. All content is for informational purposes only. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for personal medical concerns.
Transcripts
Welcome back to the podcast. So I have been living in Barcelona for over 10 years and I travel internationally often. We're heading into the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, where kids are out of school and a lot of families are going to be traveling, many internationally. Now let’s be honest here, Most people spend more time researching restaurants than they do thinking about what they’d do if they got sick or injured while traveling.
And I get it, but according to the International Society of Travel Medicine, up to 50% of travelers experience a health issue while traveling and many those risks can be reduced through preparation before departure.
By the end of this episode, you're going to understand three key things:
Why does preparation matter?
What information and resources do you need to gather before traveling?
How can that preparation reduce your stress and increase your confidence?
ADVOCACY ABROAD TOOLKIT FOR DOWNLOAD
Just to mention, as I have with so many of these advocacy episodes, I will have a downloadable toolkit available for this episode. It will have resources and more detailed information as well as a place for you to store (both on and offline) the information we’re getting into in this episode. Ok, let’s get into it.
WHEN MY MOM GOT HURT ABROAD
Let me take you back about a year. My parents were visiting Barcelona from the United States in the spring, and we decided to take a day trip by train to a beautiful town called Girona, where they have this incredible flower festival every spring. We went to a restaurant to eat, and when we left, it was pouring down rain.
We'd already bought our return tickets back to Barcelona on the train, and we knew there were limited seats left for that day. Instead of waiting out the storm, we decided to just make a run for it to the train station. We had to cross this famous bridge in Girona called the Ponte de Pedra — the stone bridge. It was definitely stone and it was definitely slippery.
My husband and I made it across and entered a store. As we were waiting for my parents, I looked up and saw them entering the store, and through the glass door, I could see my mom was bleeding from her face. It was terrifying.
Now look, I knew that town. I know this country. I speak the language. Even with all of that knowledge and in that moment I was panicked. We had to call an ambulance to get more medical attention. The whole situation was chaotic, scary and overwhelming.
And to skip to the good part here, my Mom was OK. She had some stitches and thankfully no broken bones. She spent a day on the sofa watching movies and cuddling with Zelda, our French Bulldog. We were so fortunate that she did not have more extensive injuries but it really did teach us a lot.
PREPARATION ELIMINATES PANIC AND OVERWHELM
What struck me most was that even though I was overwhelmed, I could communicate with the paramedics. I could answer questions and help my dad with insurance issues. I knew more of less how the system at that hospital functioned. And I realized how much harder this experience would have been if I hadn’t been able to do those things.
From that experience, I’ve really been wanting to do an episode like this. In the lens of advocacy I do talk a lot about preparation and clarity. So let’s get into some of the ways you can advocate for yourself and your loved ones abroad.
KNOW THE COUNTRY EMERGENCY NUMBER
First and foremost, Know the emergency number of the country you're traveling to. In the United States, 911 is our emergency number. From any phone, you dial 911 and you get emergency services. But those numbers are different for each country.
For example, in Spain and most of Europe it is 112. In the U.K. it is 999.
You really don't want to be Googling emergency numbers during an emergency. The toolkit will give you a place to store all of this information.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
You can call your insurance company before you leave and ask them:
Am I covered internationally? What emergencies are covered? Is medical evacuation covered? These last two are important.
Do I have to pay upfront, and how does reimbursement work?
PAYING MEDICAL BILLS UPFRONT
The truth is, assume nothing is covered until you've confirmed it. You really don't want to be sitting in a hospital finding out that your insurance doesn't cover the emergency you're there for.
This leads to another important thing: know your credit card limits. Know that you have emergency funds available. Even if your health insurance will reimburse you, you may have to pay upfront. It's just important to have that information in these moments and to know that if you do need to pay upfront, you can, or to know where your credit card limit is. And also, many places abroad don’t take AMEX, so have a range of payment options available.
And here's another thing: save every receipt. Hospitals, pharmacies, labs, imaging — save everything, that way you can submit these expenses for reimbursement when you get home.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
If your insurance isn't covered internationally, then you can look into buying travel insurance for the dates you're traveling.
And here's the thing about travel insurance: It isn't just about reimbursing you for medical expenses abroad. Many policies also include 24-hour medical assistance. They can call and help find doctors who speak your language and locate hospitals. There's care coordination, there's medical evacuation assistance. There are a lot of options that many people don't know travel insurance can offer. So I would suggest looking into that.
If you're not sure where to start about looking for travel insurance, I will have resources in the downloadable that can give you guidance on where to look and what type of options you may want to have if you're going to choose travel health insurance.
RESOURCES, EMBASSY AND CONSULATE
Now if you do have travel insurance, then they can help you locate doctors and medical care but if you don't have travel insurance there are still options. You can ask your hotel and the concierge, you can speak to your host where you may be staying. You can do some online research before you leave. As well, you can use your country’s embassy or consulate as a resource. Many embassies provide resources for travelers, including information about local healthcare providers, emergency assistance, and important travel updates.
If you're a U.S. citizen, you can also enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, often called STEP. Similar programs exist in some other countries as well.
These services allow you to receive alerts and updates while you're traveling, including information about natural disasters, transportation disruptions, civil unrest, security concerns, or other situations that could affect your trip.
THE EMERGENCY INFORMATION SHEET
Earlier in this season we learned about the OnePage Health Summary, and it would really suggest That you create an emergency information sheet for your international travels. This will be included in the toolkit associated with this episode. Some of the things that you can include on that page would be
Passport information
Your insurance information
Emergency contacts
Medications and dosages
Emergency numbers
Allergies
We’ve learned that our memory is not a medical record and when abroad in a foreign place, that is even more relevant.
TRAVELING WITH MEDICATIONS
Many travelers don't know this but some medications that are routinely prescribed in the United States (or other countries) may be restricted elsewhere.
Common categories that can cause this problem are:
ADHD medications, anxiety medications, sleep medications, opioids
You really want to verify the medication rules for the countries you'll be visiting. You also want to carry your prescriptions that have your names on the bottles. You really don't want to discover that your medication is restricted at customs especially if it is one that you rely on.
ALLERGIES
In the emergency information sheet I mention allergies, which are also mentioned in the one-page health summary. This is so important when you're traveling internationally, especially when there is a language barrier involved. You really do want to know how to say that you have a specific allergy in that language, especially if we're talking about food allergies and really big reactions like anaphylaxis. I'm going to talk about translation apps in just a minute and they are very useful but if you're not used to using them you don't want to be fumbling around. If you're having an allergic reaction, that's not the moment you want to be fumbling around trying to translate important medical information. My suggestion is to have that information that says I am allergic to this in your toolkit so that you can communicate this important information clearly.
In this situation a little bit of preparation here will go a very long way.
TRANSLATION APPS & OFFLINE PACKS
And I do want to talk about translation apps because they are incredibly useful. There are a lot of options available that allow you to have live conversations, translate written information, or type messages back and forth.
The one thing I want to mention is that some of these apps require Wi-Fi, mobile data, or cell service. In some places you travel, you may not have access to that. That's why I recommend downloading offline language packs before you leave home. I'll include step-by-step instructions and recommendations in the downloadable resource because a little preparation here can go a very long way.
CLOSING
Preparing for medical emergencies doesn't have to be dramatic or drawn out. It can actually be pretty quick and straightforward if you have it organized and you have a system—which is exactly why I created the Advocacy Abroad Toolkit resource that you can download from the show notes.
And while preparation can give you something to lean on, It doesn't guarantee that nothing will go wrong. It doesn't prevent accidents. It doesn't prevent illness. And it certainly doesn't mean you can control everything that happens when you're far away from home. But it does give you a plan.
And when you have a plan, you feel more confident. You feel more capable. You feel less helpless if something unexpected happens. If an emergency does arise, you can focus on the problem in front of you instead of scrambling for information and trying to make decisions in a stressed-out state.
I really do believe that clarity and preparation are powerful health advocacy skills, and there's no reason those skills shouldn't travel with you.
Whether you're advocating for yourself, your spouse, your child, or another family member, a little preparation can go a long way toward creating peace of mind before you leave and confidence if you ever need it.
I hope this episode has been helpful.
The Advocacy Abroad Toolkit will be available in the show notes. If it's not available yet, it will be soon, so please check back or sign up for The Hairy Chin newsletter for updates.
Happy travels, and I'll see you soon.
