All start well you and your family finally made it to that great vacation to Paris (or Italy, or Rome, or Greece, or somewhere in Europe). All well, until the baby daughters’ nose start to drip, a light cough appears and her temperature tries to hit an Olympic Games score (this means high).

Health is not a game and more than ruining your vacations it can create serious problems to persons that are not able to serve themselves (children or other).

The Alpha and Omega of every trip is to get informed and get prepared. Here you can find a good list from the World Health Organization (WHO). From this site we also located the Global Health Atlas (Interactive Map) and Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response. Finally from here you can find all countries member of WHO. We advice to travel in countries that can serve you in an emergency case. As it concerns US citizens here is a directory of toll free phones for many diseases. For Europe you can call the 112 (Helpline).

A good thing to do and if we are talking about a simple headache or other minor illness previously had/known is to go back in your portable medicine kit that TSA allows to have. Notice that not all are allowed and sometimes when it comes to children things are flexible. Here is a good list to check and be aware of when you want to travel.

Beside this you have to be informed of national or international organizations that can help you during a health crisis, that usually will speak your language in a very good and understandable manner. For example in Europe you can call Helpline. Also, it seems that Young travelers from UK can get extra help while in Europe if they acquire European Health Insurance Cards. This is not, also, a replacement for complete health help (like from an Insurance company) but it can be very useful and handy in an emergency.

Do you have a quick access to the web? Usually you will stay at a hotel and they will (usually) provide any medical assistance through associated doctors or local health authorities. Check also this Online Symptoms Diagnostic Tool might be useful (if you are calm). This is not a replacement for proper medical care or diagnosis. Perhaps it can help you pinpoint some symptoms to explain to the doctor through phone.

If things are like that you must get into a hospital for treatment keep in mind this. Private sector clinics indeed (in many countries) offer a lot of care and treatment. Yet, most difficult cases are cured in public hospitals. This because in public hospitals doctors have a lot more experience because the vast majority of patients go to public hospitals. In some countries and as it concerns difficult cases of health treatment private hospitals sent patients (finally) to public ones for the additional reason of not having the many times very specialized and expensive equipment that public ones have. I found out that this happens many times to Mediterranean countries.

Of course a very good travel/health insurance programme will cover all cases of health misfortune while you travel. Yet is good to know that your are not alone and you can find help in different ways.

I hope this article helps. Travel happy!