Pomodoc guides
What to do when you feel unwell abroad, how to get medical help, and which problems need a doctor. Written to be useful before you need it.
34 guides
Travel health
Most heat illness on holiday is heat exhaustion and settles with shade, rest and salty fluids. The part worth knowing is the line where it stops being that.
Read too Hot on Holiday? Heat Exhaustion, Heat Stroke and What to Do
SymptomsAllergic reaction abroad? How to tell if it is an emergencyMost allergic reactions on a trip are mild and stay in one place. A few are anaphylaxis, which needs emergency care in minutes. This is how to tell them apart, and what to do with each.
Travel healthTravelling with kids: how to handle common illnesses abroadMost of what makes children ill on a trip is ordinary and manageable. The useful part is knowing which is which, having the right things in the bag, and knowing the few signs that change everything.
Getting careHow to explain your symptoms to a doctor abroad when you do not speak the languageDoctors everywhere ask the same six questions. Answer them in order, write them down, and a language barrier becomes a much smaller problem.
SymptomsLingering cough abroad? When to worry and what to do nextMost coughs that hang on after a cold are the tail end of a virus. Here is how to tell, what helps, and the signs that mean a doctor should hear about it.
Getting careA traveller's checklist for seeing a doctor abroadFive things to have ready before the appointment starts, whether it happens on your phone or in a clinic. It takes ten minutes and it changes the conversation.
Getting careVideo doctor or walk-in clinic: which one do you need?One means getting dressed, finding a clinic and queueing in a language you may not speak. The other does not. Here is how to tell which your symptoms actually need.
Getting careCan video consultations diagnose ear infections?It depends where the infection is. An outer ear infection can often be recognised on a call. A middle ear infection cannot, and knowing which you have is the useful part.
Getting careCan video consultations diagnose strep throat?Not on its own, because confirming it takes a swab. What a doctor can judge from your throat and your symptoms, and why a likelihood plus a plan is the useful outcome.
Getting careHow to see a doctor online in Egypt, in EnglishSeeing a doctor online in Egypt turns less on language than on where you are when you need one, and whether the doctor the hotel offers to send up is the right first move.
Getting careHow to see a doctor online in India, in EnglishPlenty of doctors in India speak excellent English. The difficulty is choosing one from a very large market while you feel awful, and knowing what a chemist will actually hand over.
Getting careHow to see a doctor online in Belgium, in EnglishThree official languages, a system built around a family doctor you do not have, and a waiting list you are not on. What to do when you feel unwell in Belgium and want to be understood.
Getting careHow to see a doctor online in Thailand, in EnglishThailand gives you two obvious options when you fall ill, and neither is quite right for a minor problem. Here is the third one, and how to know when only a hospital will do.
Travel healthStung at the Beach? Jellyfish and Sea Creature Injuries: First Aid That WorksMost stings at the beach are painful and settle. The useful knowledge is what to rinse with, what never to rinse with, and which symptoms mean the beach day is over.
Travel healthBurnt on Day One? Sunburn Abroad: What Helps, What Doesn'tThe burn you got by lunchtime shows up at dinner. What settles it, the blister rule most people break, and the two common medicines that made it worse than it should have been.
Travel healthSinus Infection on Holiday: Do You Actually Need Antibiotics?The stuffed head that will not clear is usually a virus doing its slow work. The useful question is not how to get antibiotics, but how to know whether you are the exception who needs them.
Travel healthPink Eye on Holiday: Contagious, Common, and Mostly ManageableOne pink eye in a family room tends to become four. What decides everything is which of the three kinds you are looking at, and that is a question a doctor can usually answer by looking.
Travel healthBitten or Scratched by an Animal Abroad? What to Do in the First 24 HoursRabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, and almost always preventable if you act in the hours after a bite. The order of actions matters more than anything else on this page.
Travel healthFever a Few Days After Mosquito Bites Abroad? Dengue, and the Warning Signs That Change EverythingMost dengue is a rotten week of fever that passes. The dangerous part comes, counterintuitively, as the fever breaks, which is why the warning signs matter more than the thermometer.
Travel healthHeadache and Nausea the First Night at Altitude? Altitude Sickness, and the Three Rules That Keep It MildAltitude sickness is common, predictable and slow enough to act on. CDC's view is that nobody should die of it unless they are trapped; the three rules below are why.
Travel healthSeasick on the Boat Trip, Carsick on the Mountain Road: What Actually Works for Motion SicknessAlmost everyone with a working inner ear can be made sick by enough motion. The useful facts are about timing, position, and which remedies are placebo.
Getting careHow to see a doctor online while you are abroadSeeing a doctor by video is one of five realistic options. What each one costs you in time, and how to pick without losing the afternoon.
Getting careHow to see a doctor by video abroad, and be understoodBeing ill abroad is two problems at once, and the language barrier is the one nobody plans for. Six ways to be understood by a doctor, starting with a video consultation, ranked by how fast they work.
MedicationCan you get a prescription online without seeing a doctor?For a new problem the honest answer is no, and the reason is worth two minutes of your time when you are ill and in a hurry.
Getting careWhat cannot be treated with telemedicine?Knowing what a video consultation cannot do is what makes it safe to use. The three kinds of problem that need a clinic, and the grey area where a call still helps.
MedicationCan video consultations prescribe antibiotics?The honest answer is sometimes. Which infections can be judged over video, which cannot, and why a consultation that ends without a prescription has still done its job.
Getting careWhen to book a follow-up consultationYou had the call and you left with a plan. A day later you are not sure whether your recovery is on track. Here is how to decide what to do next.
Symptoms5 common travel illnesses a video doctor can help withNot every travel illness needs a clinic. Five complaints an English-speaking doctor can assess by video, and the signs that mean you should be seen in person.
Getting careWhat is a video consultation?A doctor's appointment that happens over a video call. What to expect, when it helps, and when it is the wrong tool.
Getting careHow to prepare for a video consultation: what to have readyYour technology, your space and your information. A few minutes of preparation is the difference between a good consultation and a frustrating one.
Getting careTelemedicine without insurancePaying directly is often faster than a claim, and your insurance is not irrelevant afterwards. How self pay works when you are unwell abroad.
Getting careVideo or in person: which care do you actually need?What each one can and cannot do, the signs that rule video out entirely, and how to prepare for either.
SymptomsFood poisoning on holiday: what to do firstThe first few hours, what actually helps, and the symptoms that mean it is time to involve a doctor.
MedicationPrescriptions abroad: what travellers need to knowWhat carries across borders, what does not, and what to do when your medication is 3,000 miles from your bathroom cabinet.You do not have to work it out from an article. Speak with an English-speaking doctor licensed to treat you where you are.
