Online doctor, Thailand
A Rash or Bite in Thailand? This one, a doctor can see.
Heat rash on day two, a bite that has turned angry, a rash you cannot account for. Skin is the one thing a camera genuinely carries, which makes it the one problem video is properly good at rather than merely convenient for. Pomodoc connects you by video with an English-speaking doctor licensed to treat you in Thailand, for a fixed €40 — you show them, they tell you. Two Thai particulars change the ladder: a fever alongside bites matters, because TravelHealthPro says there is a risk of dengue here; and a bite or scratch from any animal needs care in person the same day, because rabies is a risk in Thailand. In an emergency call 1669.
Most holiday skin in Thailand is heat, humidity and mosquitoes, and most of it settles. The three exceptions on this page are the reason it is worth showing someone rather than guessing.
- €40
- per consultation
- Show it
- on the video call
English-speaking doctors, licensed to treat you in Thailand.
The One Thing You Can Actually Show a Doctor
Almost everything else a traveller worries about needs a room: a swab, an otoscope, a hand on the abdomen. Skin does not. A rash, a bite or a spreading redness is visible, and a doctor looking at it over a decent connection is looking at the same thing they would look at in a clinic.
That matters more in Thailand than in most places, because the alternative is expensive to sample. FCDO says private hospitals here are of a high standard but can be expensive, and that all hospitals require a guarantee of payment before treating patients. Walking in to have someone glance at a bite is a costly way to ask a small question.
With Pomodoc you can speak with an English-speaking doctor by video from wherever you are — a Bangkok hotel, a bungalow, an island. Show them the skin, describe what it has done since it started, and finish knowing whether this is a pharmacy problem, a wait-and-watch problem, or a hospital today.
- Consult securely by video
- Avoid unnecessary travel and waiting rooms
- Get clear guidance about your symptoms and treatment
- Access care while travelling or living in Thailand
Pharmacy, Hospital, or Show a Doctor?
For a lot of Thai holiday skin the pharmacy is genuinely the right first stop. It is worth knowing which situations it is not, and which one is neither.
What a pharmacy can usually help with
- heat rash, where NHS says a pharmacist may suggest calamine lotion, antihistamine tablets or hydrocortisone cream
- an ordinary insect bite, which NHS says should get better in a few days
- itching, where NHS lists antihistamines and hydrocortisone cream as self-care
- everyday sun and dryness, and what a week outdoors does to skin
NHS notes hydrocortisone cream is not for children under ten without a doctor's advice. FCDO says Thai pharmacies usually accept UK prescriptions and warns against buying medication on the street, because it may not be genuine or may have been stolen. Getting a cream in Thailand is easy; knowing whether a cream is the right answer is the part that is hard abroad.
When it is worth showing a doctor instead
- a bite or rash where the skin is hot to touch, looks red, is swollen, or has pus or fluid coming out
- skin that is painful, hot and swollen, for which NHS says to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111
- a rash or bites with a fever — in Thailand that raises dengue, which is confirmed on a blood test
- a rash you cannot account for, especially one appearing over hours rather than days
- anything on a young child that you would not ignore at home
Pomodoc connects you with an English-speaking doctor by video, licensed to treat you in Thailand, for €40 per consultation. Fixed price, no surprises.
Being told this is prickly heat and to buy calamine is a good outcome. So is being told to stop reading and get to a hospital. The point is not guessing which — and neither answer needed you to leave the room to find out.
Your consultation runs on Air Doctor's ISO‑certified platform (ISO/IEC 27001 & ISO 27799 for health data). See our security & certifications.
How It Works
Medical advice by video in three simple steps
Start online
Tell us where you are in Thailand and what is going on. It is a short form, not an appointment request.
Join by video
See your English-speaking doctor using your phone, tablet or computer — and show them the skin.
Get clear guidance
Discuss your symptoms and receive advice about your next steps.
Why Use Pomodoc?
You can show them the actual skin
This is the one presentation a camera carries properly. A doctor looking at your arm on a video call is looking at the same thing they would look at in a room.
Know what to do next
A cream, a wait-and-watch with the signs to look for, or in-person care — and which of the three it is, with a reason you can act on.
It reaches the islands and the bungalows
Where the nearest clinic may be one room with limited hours, or a boat. What a consultation needs is a connection, not a road.
Know whether it is the bite or the fever
In Thailand those are two different problems, and telling them apart is a history and an examination — most of which travels down a video call.
Travellers who needed a doctor abroad
I was very happy to find this service
I was very happy to find this service! I was able to get a video visit with a physician promptly and get care.
Easy, competent, nice
Doctor was very nice and adequately thorough, explained everything very well. The whole process was far easier than expected.
Reliable and efficient
Reliable and efficient, able to provide medical support while you're away from home.
Reviews of Air Doctor, our medical partner, published on Trustpilot.
More About Skin, Bites and Rashes in Thailand
Heat rash is the most common thing, and the least worrying
NHS describes heat rash as small raised spots, an itchy prickly feeling and mild swelling, appearing red on light skin and possibly grey or white on darker skin. It says it is uncomfortable but usually harmless and usually gets better on its own after a few days.
Its self-care advice is loose cotton clothing, lightweight bedding, cool baths or showers, plenty of fluids, something cold against the skin, and patting rather than scratching. That list is written for a British summer and is genuinely harder to follow in Thai humidity, which is the honest difference: same rash, same advice, more effort. NHS says see a doctor if it does not improve after a few days.
Bites, and the fever that changes what they mean
TravelHealthPro says there is a risk of dengue in Thailand and a risk of Zika virus, and that all travellers should avoid insect and tick bites day and night. The day-and-night part is the practical instruction: the mosquitoes that carry dengue bite mainly in daylight, so an evening-only routine is half a routine.
The escalation this creates is simple to state and worth stating. Bites on their own are usually just bites. Bites with a fever, a headache and aching are a reason to be assessed rather than to wait, because dengue is confirmed on a blood test rather than by eye and the useful output of a consultation may be being sent for one with a reason.
When a bite stops being a bite
NHS says a bite or sting should get better in a few days, and lists the self-care: a wrapped ice pack or a cloth soaked in cold water on it for at least twenty minutes if it is swollen, painkillers if it is painful, antihistamines for itching, hydrocortisone cream for itching and swelling — and do not scratch it, because it could get infected.
The infection signs are the ones to watch in a hot, humid country where nobody manages not to scratch: skin around it that feels hot to touch or looks red, pain, swelling, and pus or fluid coming out. NHS notes redness can be harder to see on brown and black skin, so heat and pain count for as much as colour. Skin that is painful, hot and swollen is NHS's threshold for an urgent GP appointment or help from NHS 111 — that is the point to show someone rather than wait another night.
Animals: the one thing on this page that is a clock
TravelHealthPro says rabies is considered a risk in Thailand and has been reported in domestic animals, that most cases follow a bite or scratch from an infected dog, that travellers should avoid contact with all animals, and that once symptoms develop the condition is almost always fatal.
So a bite, a scratch, or a lick to broken skin — from a dog, a cat, a monkey, anything — is not a video question and it is not a tomorrow question. Wash the wound thoroughly and get medical care in person the same day, wherever on the map you are. This page would rather lose the consultation than soften that sentence.
Photograph it, and photograph it again tomorrow
The single most useful thing you can do before a consultation about skin is take a clear photograph in daylight, without a filter, with something for scale beside it. Then take another the next day from the same angle. Whether a rash is spreading, fading or staying put is often the whole diagnosis, and it is the one thing a single glance cannot tell anyone.
Bring both to the call, and be ready to describe what it felt like at the start, what you had been doing, and whether anything new touched the skin — sun cream, a plant, a mattress, seawater. A history plus a good look is most of what dermatology is.
Sun, sea and the everyday causes worth ruling in first
A great deal of Thai holiday skin is not exotic at all: too much sun, a new sunscreen, chlorine, saltwater, sweat under a strap, or an insect that got there first. Those are worth naming to a doctor early, because ruling them in is quicker than ruling out anything else.
The reason to ask at all is that the harmless and the urgent can look alike to a non-clinician, which is the whole argument of the parent page. Getting a look and being told it is prickly heat is not a wasted €40; it is the answer you wanted.
Good things to know.
Can a doctor really diagnose a rash over video?
Skin is the presentation a camera carries best, so a doctor looking at it on a good connection is looking at much the same thing they would look at in a room. It is still not everything: some conditions need touch, a swab or a blood test, and a doctor will say so. Take a clear daylight photograph without a filter, with something for scale, and take another the next day so you can show whether it is spreading or settling.
What is the itchy rash I get in Thai heat?
Most often heat rash, also called prickly heat. NHS describes small raised spots, an itchy prickly feeling and mild swelling, appearing red on light skin and possibly grey or white on darker skin, and says it is usually harmless and usually gets better on its own after a few days. Loose cotton, cool showers, plenty of fluids, something cold against the skin, and patting rather than scratching. NHS says see a doctor if it does not improve after a few days.
I have mosquito bites and a fever in Thailand. What should I do?
Get assessed rather than wait. TravelHealthPro says there is a risk of dengue in Thailand, and dengue is confirmed on a blood test rather than by eye, so a fever with headache and aching alongside bites is a reason to be seen rather than to watch. TravelHealthPro also says all travellers here should avoid insect and tick bites day and night, because the mosquitoes that carry dengue bite mainly in daylight. Dengue is not the only possibility: TravelHealthPro gives a low risk of malaria in the rural, forested borders with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, a very low risk in the rest of the country, and no risk in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui and Pattaya; it says a fever of 38°C or more starting more than a week after being in a malaria risk area needs immediate medical care. A consultation can take the history and tell you whether and how urgently to be tested in person.
A dog scratched me in Thailand. Do I need to do anything?
Yes, the same day, and in person. TravelHealthPro says rabies is considered a risk in Thailand and has been reported in domestic animals, that most cases follow a bite or scratch from an infected dog, and that once symptoms develop the condition is almost always fatal. Wash the wound thoroughly and get medical care in person straight away — this is not something to bring to a video consultation, and it applies to any animal, not only dogs.
How do I know if an insect bite is infected?
NHS lists the signs: the skin around it feels hot when you touch it or looks red, there is pain and swelling, or there is pus or fluid coming out. It notes redness can be harder to see on brown and black skin, so how it feels matters as much as how it looks. Skin that is painful, hot and swollen is NHS's threshold for an urgent GP appointment or help from NHS 111. NHS also says not to scratch a bite, because that is how it gets infected — which is the hard part in Thai heat.
When is a rash an emergency?
Call the emergency services — 1669 in Thailand — for sudden swelling of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue, difficulty breathing or a tight throat, which NHS says can be anaphylaxis; for a rash that does not fade when you press the side of a clear glass firmly against it; for a rash with a very high or very low temperature, a very painful headache, or a stiff neck with an inability to look at bright lights; or for purple patches, a fast heartbeat or breathing, dizziness, confusion or cold clammy skin. NHS's own instruction is the one to hold onto: get immediate help if you think something is seriously wrong, even if not all the symptoms are present.
How much does a Pomodoc video consultation cost?
€40 is the fixed price of the video consultation with a doctor. It includes the consultation and, where clinically appropriate and local rules permit, a prescription. Medication you buy at a pharmacy, and any in-person care you go on to need, are separate. There is no subscription and no booking fee.
When is a video consultation not the right call?
Not for any of the emergency signs above, and not for an animal bite or scratch, which needs in-person care the same day in Thailand. It is also not the right tool when skin needs to be touched, swabbed, sampled or tested, or when a fever needs a blood test — dengue is diagnosed that way. If that is what your symptoms need, the useful outcome of the call is being told so early, with a reason you can take to a hospital.
Sources
- Heat rash (prickly heat)NHSThat heat rash is uncomfortable but usually harmless and usually gets better on its own after a few days; the description of small raised spots, an itchy prickly feeling and mild swelling, and that it appears red on light skin and may look grey or white on darker skin; the self-care list including loose cotton clothing, lightweight bedding, cool baths or showers, fluids, something cold and patting rather than scratching; that a pharmacist may suggest calamine lotion, antihistamine tablets or hydrocortisone cream, and that hydrocortisone cream is not for children under ten without a doctor's advice; and seeing a doctor if it does not improve after a few days.
- Insect bites and stingsNHSThat a bite or sting should get better in a few days; the self-care advice on a wrapped ice pack or a cloth soaked in cold water for at least twenty minutes, painkillers, antihistamines and hydrocortisone cream; not scratching because it could get infected; the signs of infection including skin that feels hot to touch or looks red, pain, swelling, and pus or fluid, with the note that redness can be harder to see on brown and black skin; and the anaphylaxis emergency signs including sudden swelling of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue and breathing difficulty.
- CellulitisNHSThat cellulitis is a skin infection treated with antibiotics and can be serious if it is not treated quickly; that it makes skin painful, hot and swollen, usually looking red though this may be less obvious on brown or black skin; the instruction to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if skin is painful, hot and swollen (re-checked 2026-10-01: the page does not say 'spreading' or 'same day'); and the emergency signs including a very high temperature, fast heartbeat or breathing, purple patches, dizziness, confusion and cold clammy skin.
- MeningitisNHSThat the rash does not fade if you press the side of a clear glass firmly against the skin and can be harder to see on brown or black skin; the accompanying symptoms including a high temperature, a severe headache that is getting worse, a stiff neck and eye pain when looking at bright lights; and the instruction to get immediate medical help if you think something is seriously wrong even if not all symptoms are present.
- Thailand: country informationTravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC)That there is a risk of dengue and a risk of Zika virus in Thailand; that all travellers should avoid insect and tick bites day and night; and that rabies is considered a risk and has been reported in domestic animals, that most cases follow a bite or scratch from an infected dog, that travellers should avoid contact with all animals, and that the condition is almost always fatal once symptoms develop; that there is a low risk of malaria in the rural, forested borders with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, a very low risk in the remaining areas, and no risk in the cities of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui and Pattaya; and that travellers who develop a fever of 38°C or more more than one week after being in a malaria risk area should seek immediate medical care (re-checked 2026-10-01).
- Thailand travel advice: HealthForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeThat private hospitals are of a high standard but can be expensive; that all hospitals require a guarantee of payment before treating patients; that Thai pharmacies and hospitals usually accept UK prescriptions; the advice not to buy medication on the street because it may not be genuine or may have been stolen; and FCDO's emergency medical advice to dial 191 and ask for an ambulance, with 1669 as the local ambulance number (re-checked 2026-10-01).
Sources last checked: . General information, not a diagnosis.
Something on Your Skin in Thailand?
Show an English-speaking doctor by video and get guidance from wherever you are.
- €40, fixed price
- Licensed in Thailand
- English-speaking doctors
- Prescriptions where available
Video consultations are for suitable non-emergency medical concerns. In a life-threatening emergency in Thailand, call 1669 and ask for an ambulance. An animal bite or scratch needs medical care in person the same day. This page is general information, not medical advice about your own situation.