Health

In the box on the right are steps that will help you arrange a trip overseas. Last month I elaborated on the first four. I continue.

The competitive world of travel insurance just got more competitive. Two more travel insurance providers switched their medical benefits to primary-payer coverage.

by Philip Wagenaar (Part 1 of 4)

As I was busy preparing yet another journey, my 14-year-old grandson asked me if I followed a certain routine when researching a trip.

In the Caribbean islands of Aruba, the Bahamas and Santa Lucia, 2011 saw a higher-than-usual increase in the number of clinical cases of dengue fever as well as the more deadly form, Severe Dengue, during July and August

The Bahamas’ Ministry of Health said that outbreaks occur every five to eight years (336 in 1998, 180 in 2003 and 10 in 2010) but that in summer 2011 there were about 6,000 clinical cases in the Bahamas. By early November 2011, the total number of cases reported in the Caribbean was 12,856 (31 of those Severe Dengue), with 10 deaths.

Compiled by the Centers for Disease Control, “The Yellow Book,” aka “CDC Health Information for International Travel 2012” (Oxford University Press, 620 pp., 7"x10", $45 paperback), covers about 70 infectious diseases, discussing their risks to travelers.

With maps and charts, the book also outlines medical issues in specific regions and countries, tells what vaccines might be needed, has tips for travelers with special medical needs and gives pre- and post-travel tips.

I read the subscriber’s advice regarding carrying medical records while traveling (Sept. ’11, pg. 35).

My husband, Ed, and I traveled to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia for a month in the fall of 2009. We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed every moment of our travels.

Recently, I visited one of my doctors and was asked to update the list of all medications that I currently take. This information was entered into the PPO’s (preferred provider organization’s) databank of reports that each of my doctors consult in their management of my case. (All of my doctors belong to the same PPO.)

I asked for, and was given, a copy of the updated list, which shows the medications by prescription name, dosage instructions, etc., and the name of the medical provider. (My wife received a copy of her medications too.)

Will I have a medical emergency overseas? The short answer is ‘Probably not.’

I read the letters on “coping with medical needs overseas” in the March, April and May ’11 issues. I am 81 and, after my having prostate cancer for 20 years, in May 2010 the cancer became active, causing both inability to urinate and then incontinence, mainly during daytime hours.