How Travelers Can Prepare For Medical Emergencies Outside Their Country?

The itinerary of a vacation is the key to its success. However, even the perfect planning cannot anticipate any accidents or medical emergencies that may arise all of a sudden.

It is critical to review your healthcare and other medical policies before departing the country for a vacation abroad. Travelers should be prepared for any medical needs that might arise and know the resources they can count on in a foreign country. They should be ready to negotiate in the local language or else know whom to contact. In case the traveler is unable to return on his booked tickets he or she should know how to make alternate arrangements and most importantly how to pay for them.

1. Points To Consider

When the planning for a trip begins, the traveler should consider the following points. Where will he get the right care, how will he communicate to a medical team, will he be able to pay for the medical bill, are things that need to be thought of in advance. The medical insurance should be studied carefully and it should be determined if it will be able to cover all medical emergencies or not.

2. Do Not Compromise On Health Care

When faced with a medical emergency aboard, do not compromise on the standard of care. Carry medical travel insurance or plan hat offers around the clock assistance, by just making a call. The helpline with its extensive resources should be able to line up the best medical team on your beck and call. If the local facilities are not up to the mark they can also make arrangements of an air ambulance.

3. Make The Right Financial Arrangements

When selecting a travel insurance go through the features carefully. Some hospitals might require a deposit at the time of admitting others might not. Choose a policy that has 24 hours phone support and logistics support in order to transfer the required amount to the hospital directly on your behalf.

Read More

Air Travel For The Elderly – Psychological and Physiological Aspects

The fear of travel in the elderly may lead to anxiety and other medical problems.

The anxiety that the elderly feel before boarding a flight is seen in situations like delayed check-ins, reclaim of baggage and at the time of takeoff and landing. The thought of going to the airport and assembling all necessary documents adds to the stress levels. There have been cases that the shooting stress levels lead to a medical condition in which an immediate medical evacuation was required. Let’s read a little more about these two aspects of travelling in the elderly.

1. At The Airport

Imagine an elderly person trying to navigate through a sea of people, trying to reach the right departure or check in counter. He may have poor hearing and eyesight too. The stress levels are bound to rise in such a noisy place. It has been seen that most medical emergencies take place at the terminal and not inside the aircraft.

2. Problems in the Sinus and Ears

The pressure inside the cabin can cause harm to the middle ear and the ear drum. In the elderly sometimes the body fails to balance the pressure on the outside and the inside, leading to the rupture of the ear drum.

3. Motion Sickness

The change in the pressure inside the cabin combined with other psychological factors can leads to motion sickness. These conditions get out of control if the elderly has consumed alcohol in excessive amounts. In most cases this condition is pretty harmless. But in a few it may lead to other serious conditions like dehydration and an imbalance of the electrolytes. Anti histamines are known to be helpful in such cases, but no drug should be administered without consulting a doctor.

4. Risk of Infection

Since elderly are already in a frail state of health the closed cabin cab expose them to a risk of infection from fellow passengers. The most common infections that he may catch are influenza, measles and other respiratory diseases. If possible an elderly should be seated away from other unwell travelers.

Read More