What To Do If You Get Sick on Vacation

Getting sick while on vacation is more than just an inconvenience — it can be a confusing and vulnerable experience. Whether you are visiting a theme park in Orlando or traveling abroad, finding yourself hundreds of miles away from your primary doctor makes navigating a medical emergency feel daunting.

Whether it's a sudden fever, sprained ankle, food poisoning or a flare-up of a chronic condition, it’s important to be able to navigate your care options to avoid unnecessary stress, recover quickly and get back to enjoying your vacation.

Navigating Healthcare When You’re Away from Home

If injury or illness strikes, don’t panic. No matter where you are, emergency rooms are designed to handle an incredibly wide range of medication situations, regardless of where you call home. That is particularly true in places like Florida, where millions of tourists from other states and countries visit every year.

There is no reason to grit your teeth and suffer through a miserable vacation just to avoid seeking medical care until you get back home. If you need assistance, walk into an emergency room, and you will find help.

ER vs. Urgent Care: Choosing the Right Option

There are some obvious situations in which you should head to the ER, including if you have chest pain, a deep cut with excessive bleeding or a broken a bone.

But you may be experiencing other symptoms that leave you wondering what to do. Do you go to the emergency room, urgent care or do nothing at all? Urgent care clinics are generally best for minor aches and pains, flu symptoms and minor sprains. This is largely the kind of thing you might take to your regular doctor – if you weren’t away on vacation.

But for anything more serious, your best option is an emergency department, which is staffed 24 hours a day by a team that is trained to handle any medical situation you can imagine. This is also the place to go if you’ve lost or forgotten a prescription.

Symptoms That Require an Immediate ER Visit

• Unexplained shortness of breath
• Numbness or weakness in your legs
• Slurred words or difficulty speaking
• Feeling like you are about to pass out
• Facial drooping or severe headache
• Vision changes
• Loss of balance
• Severe headache
• Intense abdominal pain

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, urgent care will not be your best option. Usually, you will be sent to an ER.

Travel Prep: How To Prevent Illness and Injury on Your Trip

There are so many potential reasons for a trip to the emergency room that it is impossible to prepare for them all. But with some planning and careful consideration of your vacation destination, you can improve your odds of not needing to see a doctor when you’d rather be soaking up some sun, playing a round of golf or visiting a theme park.

Start by considering your own health history. Do you have chronic back issues? Are you prone to migraines? Unfortunately, those health concerns stay with you even when you go on vacation. That means bringing the prescriptions and preventive medications you use at home. If you are flying, be sure to keep those medications in your carry-on bag or backpack. Losing a piece of luggage is bad enough without it also jeopardizing your health.

Also consider the wear and tear your vacation might have on your body. Bring along some basic over-the-counter meds for pain and inflammation. These will help fend off minor aches and pains if you are spending long days in a theme park or other vacation venue.

Be aware of the weather and other conditions at the location where you will be. Visiting a city like Orlando, for example, is going to expose you to a lot of heat and humidity, particularly during the summer months. If you aren’t used to walking thousands of steps a day in that kind of climate, take precautions. Stay hydrated, eat healthy and plan for short cooling breaks to help your body deal with the change.

And finally, remember that you are enjoying your trip along with thousands of other vacationers – all potential carriers of viruses that could wreak havoc on your respiratory or digestive system. Wash your hands frequently and carry a bottle of sanitizer to use any time you touch surfaces (buffet serving utensils, for example) that others have touched.

This content is not AI generated.