Online doctor, rashes and bites
A Rash or Bite on Holiday? This one, a doctor can see.
Show it to an English-speaking doctor by video and talk through what it is likely to be, what to do about it now, and whether it needs someone in the room.
Skin is the one thing a camera carries properly. You cannot show a doctor a sore throat or an eardrum down a phone. You can show them this.
- €40
- per consultation
- No insurance
- or local registration needed
English-speaking doctors, licensed to treat you where you are.
The Illness You Can Actually Show Someone
Heat, sun, insects, unfamiliar plants, new soap, a hotel pool, damp clothes and a fortnight of sweating are a lot of new inputs for one skin. Most of what they produce is uncomfortable and harmless, and NHS describes heat rash in exactly those terms: uncomfortable but usually harmless, and usually better on its own after a few days.
The problem is that a small number of skin problems are serious, and abroad you have nobody to ask which sort you are looking at. That is the specific gap a video consultation closes here, because for once the doctor can see the thing you are worried about rather than take your word for it.
- Show the rash on camera instead of describing it
- Consult securely from wherever you are staying
- Get clear guidance about your symptoms and treatment
- Talk it through in English, with no local registration needed
Pharmacy Counter, or a Doctor Who Can See It?
For a lot of holiday skin the pharmacy is genuinely the right first stop. It is worth knowing which situations it is not.
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
- sunburn and dry skin, and the everyday things a holiday does to skin
NHS notes hydrocortisone cream is not for children under ten without a doctor's advice. Getting a cream is easy almost everywhere; 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
- redness that is spreading, which NHS treats as a reason for urgent advice
- 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 for €40 per consultation. Fixed price, no surprises, and no subscription.
Being told this is a heat rash and to buy calamine is a good outcome. So is being told to stop reading and go to a hospital. The point is not guessing which.
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How It Works
Medical advice by video in three simple steps
Start online
Tell us which country you are in and what your skin is doing. It is a short form, not an appointment request.
Join by video
Show the rash to your English-speaking doctor using your phone, tablet or computer.
Get clear guidance
Discuss what you are both looking at and receive advice about your next steps.
Why Use Pomodoc?
You can show it, not describe it
Skin is the one presentation where a camera does the clinical work. Good daylight, a steady hand and a close shot, and a doctor is looking at what you are looking at.
Ask about the thing you are worried about
Most people arriving here have already decided the rash is probably nothing and are not certain. Saying that out loud to a doctor in English is the fastest way to stop circling it.
No taxi, no waiting room
A rash rarely feels worth crossing a city for, which is exactly why people leave them. A consultation from your room removes that trade-off.
One fixed price
€40 per consultation, whichever country you are in, with no insurance and no local registration needed.
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 While Travelling
Heat rash, the commonest thing a hot holiday does to skin
NHS describes heat rash as small raised spots with an itchy, prickly feeling and mild swelling, appearing red on light skin and possibly grey or white on darker skin. It calls it uncomfortable but usually harmless, and says it usually gets better on its own after a few days.
The self-care list is all things a hotel room allows: loose cotton clothing, lightweight bedding, cool baths or showers, plenty of fluid to avoid dehydration, something cold such as a damp cloth or ice pack, and tapping or patting the rash instead of scratching it. NHS says to avoid perfumed shower gels and creams, and to see a GP if it does not improve after a few days.
How to tell an ordinary bite from one that is infected
NHS says a bite or sting should get better in a few days, and describes the usual picture as pain where you were bitten and a small swollen lump, which may appear red or be harder to see on darker skin. The self-care is an ice pack wrapped in a cloth or a cloth soaked in cold water for at least twenty minutes, keeping the area raised where possible, painkillers, antihistamines for itching and hydrocortisone cream.
The line to watch for is infection, and NHS is specific about it: the skin around the bite feeling hot to touch or looking red, the area becoming painful or swollen, or pus or fluid coming out. NHS also says not to scratch a bite, because it could get infected, which is the advice everybody breaks on a hot night.
One bite carries its own rule. NHS says to see a GP if you think you have been bitten by a tick and you have flu-like symptoms, or a round or oval rash that may look like a bullseye. That shape is specific and recognisable, which makes it something to report rather than something to interpret, so if it turns up after time in grass, forest or scrub, say where you have been at the start of a consultation.
Cellulitis, and why spreading redness is not a wait-and-see
NHS describes cellulitis as a skin infection treated with antibiotics that can be serious if it is not treated quickly. It makes skin painful, hot and swollen; the area usually looks red, though NHS notes this may be less obvious on brown or black skin, and the skin may be blistered. Flu-like symptoms and swollen, painful glands can come with it.
NHS says to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if skin is painful, hot and swollen, and it treats a very high temperature, fast heartbeat or breathing, purple patches, dizziness, confusion or cold clammy skin as a reason for emergency care. Abroad, the equivalent of that urgent appointment is not next week: it is today, and a consultation can tell you whether that is where you are.
Getting a photograph a doctor can actually use
Daylight, not a bathroom bulb. Fill the frame with the affected skin, then take a second shot from further back so the doctor can see where it is on the body. Take them now even if the consultation is later, because rashes move and fade.
Bring the history as well as the image: when it started, whether it is spreading, whether it itches or hurts, what is new on the trip, and whether anyone travelling with you has the same thing.
Good things to know.
Can a doctor really diagnose a rash over video?
Skin is the presentation video suits best, because the doctor can see the thing you are describing rather than take your word for it. That is not the same as a guarantee: some skin problems need touching, scraping or a biopsy, and a doctor will tell you plainly if yours is one of them rather than guess. Good daylight and a close shot plus a shot from further back is what makes the difference.
Is this heat rash or something worse?
NHS describes heat rash as small, raised spots with an itchy, prickly feeling and mild swelling, usually harmless and usually better on its own after a few days. What moves a rash out of that category is a fever, feeling generally unwell, skin that is hot to touch or spreading redness, or a rash that does not fade when you press a clear glass against it. Those are reasons to get help rather than reasons to buy a cream.
My insect bite has got bigger and hotter. What now?
NHS lists exactly that as the point to get advice: the skin around the bite feeling hot to touch or looking red, the area becoming painful or swollen, or pus or fluid coming out. A spreading, hot, painful area may be cellulitis, which NHS says is treated with antibiotics and can be serious if it is not treated quickly, and it treats painful, hot, swollen skin as needing urgent advice.
What if the rash is on my child?
Use the same red flags and lower your threshold for asking. NHS says to get immediate medical help if your child is unwell and you think there is something seriously wrong, even if not all the symptoms are present, and it notes hydrocortisone cream is not for children under ten without a doctor's advice. We make no claim about which ages Pomodoc can consult.
Can I get a cream or antihistamines prescribed?
A doctor may issue a prescription where it is clinically appropriate and local rules allow it, and NHS notes that a pharmacist can often supply what a mild rash or bite needs without one. It is not guaranteed, some things cannot be prescribed remotely at all, and anything you buy at a pharmacy is not included in the €40.
I got a rash abroad and it has followed me home. Is this still the right page?
This page is written for someone who is away now, and Pomodoc is for travellers abroad. A rash that appears or persists after you get back deserves your own GP, who can examine it and knows your history. Mention where you travelled and when, because it changes what a doctor considers.
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; avoiding perfumed shower gels and creams; 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 GP 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 description of pain and a small swollen lump which may be harder to see on darker skin; the self-care advice on a wrapped ice pack or cold cloth for at least twenty minutes, raising the area, painkillers, antihistamines and hydrocortisone cream; not scratching because it could get infected; the signs of infection including skin hot to touch or looking red, pain, swelling, and pus or fluid; the advice to see a GP after a suspected tick bite with flu-like symptoms or a round or oval bullseye rash; the urgent-advice criteria of being stung in the mouth, throat or near the eyes, being stung more than once, a previous serious allergic reaction to a bite or sting, dizziness or lightheadedness, tummy pain with vomiting, and a high temperature with swollen glands; that a child under 1 with a bite or sting should see a GP; and the serious allergic reaction emergency signs: sudden swelling of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue, breathing very fast or struggling to breathe, a tight throat or struggling to swallow, blue, grey or pale skin, tongue or lips, sudden confusion, drowsiness or dizziness, fainting, and a child who is limp, floppy or not responding normally.
- 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, and possibly blistered; the flu-like symptoms and swollen painful glands; the instruction to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for painful, hot and swollen skin; 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; the instruction to get emergency help for a very high or very low temperature, a very painful headache, a stiff neck with inability to look at bright lights, or a rash that does not fade when pressed; and the instruction to get immediate medical help if you think something is seriously wrong even if not all symptoms are present.
Sources last checked: . General information, not a diagnosis.
Show It to a Doctor Today.
Speak to an English-speaking doctor by video and get guidance from wherever you are staying.
- €40, fixed price
- English-speaking doctors
- No subscription
- Prescriptions where available
Video consultations are for suitable non-emergency medical concerns, and some skin problems need examining in person. If a rash does not fade when pressed with a glass, or comes with a high temperature, a stiff neck, confusion, breathing difficulty or swelling of the lips, mouth or throat, call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency department. This page is general information, not medical advice about your own situation.