5 Steps to Help Avoid a Medical Emergency During Family Vacation
Medical issues arise whether you are at home or are on vacation, but being away from familiar surroundings can quickly cause a medical situation to turn into a full-blown medical emergency—especially if your kids are involved. Following a few guidelines when you go on vacation can help you relax and enjoy yourself instead of worrying about what could happen.
1. Bring medications with you
Prescription medications should be one of the first things you pack when you are getting ready for a vacation. If possible, make sure you have more than one bottle of medication with you in case one gets lost, or split your pills into two separate containers.
Don’t forget nonprescription medication when you’re travelling. Over the counter pain, allergy and first aid medications are a good idea to take along for any situations that might arise like fevers, injuries or other aches and pains. Sun block is also a great idea if you are heading to a location where you’ll be outdoors to help you avoid serious sun burns. Also plan to include frequently used medications for the kids—baby Tylenol, Immodium, and a few first aid items.
2. Check out your destination
Find out as much information as you can about your destination to help you stave off medical emergencies. Do your kids have terrible pet allergies? It is probably a good idea to avoid hotels that accept pets if you can. If you have breathing problems or difficulty walking long distances, be sure most of your vacation fun will be close to your hotel or there is transportation available to get you where you need to go. Choosing a hotel where your kids can get a great night’s sleep will help everyone’s overall health, as well. A quiet room with enough separate sleeping quarters for everyone involved will be well worth the money.
3. Contact your insurance company
Call your family’s insurance company before leaving on vacation to let them know where you’ll be going and make sure your insurance will follow you. If your company requires precertification or you have an HMO, you will be less likely to run into problems if your company is aware of the change in location ahead of time.
Your insurance company can also let you know which providers, if any, are in your network where you are going so you may have lower out-of-pocket expenses than if you go to a provider in another network.
4. Have phone numbers handy
Carry the phone numbers for your insurance company, your local doctors, and in-network providers at your vacation destination so you will know who to call right away if a medical problem arises. Knowing who to turn to ahead of time will let you relax and enjoy your vacation more than if you don’t know who to call.
5. Keep your phone on you at all times
If you plan on doing activities where you will be away from public phones such as hiking or biking, carry a cell phone with you at all times. If an accident happens you’ll be able to reach someone immediately instead of needing to get back to a phone, and that can mean the difference between simply needing medical attention and a major medical emergency.
Planning for medical situations before you go on vacation doesn’t make you a worrywart, it makes you prepared. Remember to take these few extra steps when you leave home for another location, and you’ll be able to enjoy yourself a lot more while you’re gone!
Guest author Andrew Rios is a freelance blogger for accessrx.com a site where you can order medications online. To learn more you can read Accessrx.com research articles or go to the About Accessrx.com review page on aboutus.org.