EU citizens resident in the UK or Ireland
are covered by reciprocal health agreements
for free or reduced-cost emergency treatment
in many of the countries in
The Rough
Guide to Europe (main exceptions are the
Baltic states, Switzerland, Slovenia,
Morocco and Turkey). To claim this, you will
often need only your passport, but you may
also be asked for your NHS card or proof of
residence. In EU countries and Norway, far
from it being simpler, you'll also need form
?111, available from post offices, DSS
offices and travel agents, which you must
get before you leave. Without an ?111 you
won't be turned away from hospitals but you
will almost certainly have to pay for any
treatment or medicines. Also, in practice,
some countries' doctors and hospitals charge
anyway and it's up to you to claim
reimbursement when you return home. Make
sure you are insured for potential medical
expenses, and keep copies of receipts and
prescriptions.
There aren't many particular health
problems you'll encounter travelling in
most parts of Europe. You don't need to have
any inoculations for any of the countries
covered in The Rough Guide to Europe
, although for Morocco and Turkey typhoid
jabs are advised, and for some parts of
Turkey, even malaria pills are a good idea
for much of the year. When travelling,
remember to be up to date with your polio
and tetanus boosters.
Tap water in most countries is drinkable,
though you may prefer bottled mineral water,
either for the taste (mains supply in some
places can be very hard or heavily
chlorinated), or to be on the safe side,
though you only need to avoid tap water
altogether in southern Morocco and parts of
Turkey. Diarrhoea and sickness from tap
water or - in southern Europe - food, are
reasonably likely, if only in a mild form.
The best thing to do is carry anti-diarrhoea
tablets with you at all times. One of the
biggest problems you may face if travelling
in southern Europe is the sun: don't spend
too much time in direct sunlight if you're
not used to it, and certainly not without
any kind of sun block cream; just half an
hour on your first day's sunbathing is
probably the limit - more than this can
leave you beetroot-red and nauseated.
Mosquitoes, too, are a problem Europe-wide,
especially in the south and places where
there's a lot of water around; the
Netherlands, for example, harbours
particularly virulent species. It's hard to
know what to do about them: most people
develop an immunity to bites after a few
days' exposure; until then an antihistamine
cream like Phenergan can ease the itching.
As for repellants, citronella oil is
excellent, though not long-lasting, and some
people swear by Avon Skin So Soft bath oil
too. Finally, AIDS is as much of a problem
in Europe as it is in the rest of the world,
and it hardly needs saying that unprotected
casual sex is highly inadvisable.
For minor health problems it's easiest to
go to the local pharmacy. You'll find these
pretty much everywhere and we've detailed
out-of-hours ones in the text. In more
serious cases your nearest consulate will
have a list of English-speaking doctors, as
will the local tourist office, and in the
larger cities we've listed the most
convenient casualty departments (emergency
rooms).
