BEFORE YOU LEAVE
INSURANCE
Make sure you have full medical insurance covering all activities you are likely to take part in, and make sure it is a repatriation policy. The biggest risks to travellers abroad are theft and road accidents. Make copies of your travel insurance documents, take one with you and leave a copy with a contact in the UK. If you can, scan them and e-mail them back to yourself. Do the same with your passport and tickets etc. Keep a copy of your travel insurance company telephone number and your insurance document number with you at all times.
If you are a UK resident, you can obtain a European Health Insurance Card, this entitles you to medical treatment that becomes necessary, at reduced cost or sometimes free, when temporarily visiting a European Union (EU) country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Look up information, medical and otherwise on the area you will be travelling to and draw up a list of items you need to take (including medical kit). Be aware of the medical conditions you are likely to encounter and read up on them.
IMMUNISATIONS
Make sure you plan these well in advance, please make your first travel clinic appointment at least 8 weeks before you leave Leicester.
See the vaccine preventable diseases section for more detail about immunisations you may require.
You may wish to contact MASTA (Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad). For £3.99 you can obtain a personal travel schedule for every country on your trip, which will advise you about: recommended vaccinations, up to date alerts and warnings for each country including any disease outbreaks, and tailored travel advice for your trip. Bringing this report to your first travel consultation here will save a lot of time.
PERSONAL HEALTH
Make sure you have adequate supplies of any regular or intermittent medications you take. Have a full dental check up a couple of months before you go.
FIRST AID KIT
Put together a medical kit appropriate to the nature of your trip. See our medical kit page.
MEDICAL INDEMNITY
Medical Students need to contact MPS or MDU and arrange an elective study indemnity policy.