Nanny to Mommy

If you or a family member get sick while on vacation, this can be a worrying time, especially if you’re travelling to an unknown country or one without a well-structured healthcare system. For your kids, it can also be nerve-racking to see a parent having health difficulties, as they might not always be able to identify how serious an illness is. Depending on the severity of your sickness, you might even need to return home, so it’s best to plan ahead before you go on vacation to prevent any nasty surprises. In this article, we’ll be giving you our top tips for what to do if you get sick while on vacation, so that you and your family can be prepared for any eventuality.

The first thing to do when preparing to go on vacation is to make sure that you’ve taken out comprehensive travel insurance that can support you if you or a family member falls ill. This is crucial to ensuring that you have a plan in place in case things go wrong, like if you require medical repatriation, which involves getting you back to your home country if you fall ill and need to return for specialist treatment. It is important that you have the appropriate insurance in place for this, as if not, costs can rack up into the tens of thousands depending on the severity of your condition, as some journeys may even involve having medical staff from your vacation country traveling with you.

The people working at Group Medical Service can explain to you the difference between medical repatriation and evacuation, so you know exactly what your insurance can cover. Furthermore, having comprehensive travel insurance can also cover other medical costs such as consultations, medication, and hospital stays.

In order to confidently travel to another country on vacation while being confident that you can get the support you need if you get sick, it’s important to plan your finances sensibly before you leave. Putting some money aside for an emergency and keeping it on a separate card can make sure that you have a backup plan in case the worst happens. You should also speak to your close friends and family members before leaving to discuss what will happen with finances if you aren’t able to make those decisions yourself due to illness.

If at any point on your vacation you find yourself or a family member is sick, and you don’t have the insurance or direct finances to get the right medical assistance, then you can reach out to the USEmbassy or Consulate for the country that you’ve traveled to. The Embassy will have dedicated employees to help you during this difficult period, and they can reach out to support networks for you. Consuls can also facilitate contact with your friends and family back in the States to help you organize funds to return home.

Finding out that a family member is sick or getting ill yourself while on vacation is a frustrating and, at times, scary event. You might be worried about getting home or staying safe in a foreign country and being ill can heighten your emotions and make things difficult to deal with. By following this guide and planning your finances ahead of time, while sorting out travel insurance in advance, you can be sure that even if the worst does happen, you’ll be prepared and able to get in touch with the right people.