Stay healthy on the road with multi-lingual medical terms

Your bags are packed (your medical kit is, too), your itinerary is in your back pocket and the taxi is ready to bring you to the airport. You are spending a weekend, a week, a month, or a year somewhere new and one thing scares you more than the rest. You’ve learned to say My name is…, and My age is…, and I would like… in the native language. But if you find yourself in a medical emergency, will you be able to tell anyone what is wrong with you?

In our increasingly globalized world, different medical problems are becoming more prevalent, like food allergies, gluten allergies, and many others. Instead of waiting until a last-minute situation forces you to figure out how to get the medical attention you need, use the travel tip of the day by being proactive and bringing a flashcard with pertinent information to help you avoid your allergen or potential problems.

When you are on holiday or on a business trip, you can never be too careful with what information you have on hand—especially if only a few sentences translated into the native language could save your life.

Nowadays there are a number of websites that provide products that translate allergen and information about specific medical conditions for you, in an easy-to-carry, easy-to-use format. Select Wisely, Allergy Translation and Point It all provide translation cards that cover the gamut of potential travelling problems—food allergies, drug allergies, diabetes, gluten allergies, diet and vegetarian—you name it. You can choose a card that shows phrases in different languages, or a card that communicates via universal pictures. By being prepared to interact with and communicate with cooks and waiters, you are being proactive and preventing a serious medical event.

Another way to stay protected in the case of a medical emergency is by having a travel insurance policy. Cover-More provides 24/7 global support for our clients, with quick and easy assistance. All Cover-More Travel Insurance policies automatically cover some existing medical conditions. Some of them are covered for free, and some may require an extra premium to be paid. Our online medical assessment will help you through the process.

Regardless of where you are going, remember to be proactive about your health. A few key phrases or pictures could help prevent an allergy attack, keeping you on the beach instead of in a hospital bed.