Advice on Medication / Medical help

[thebadger]

Looking for a bit of advice from you wonderful folk re: health issuses whilst on holiday.

Our DD has tonsillitis again!! We are starting to get concerned for our little pups health but also god forbid she fell ill on holiday. Our G.P has said it needs to be 6 times in a year before they even contemplate taking the tonsils out and this would be done through our local hospital which has a 6-9 month waiting list.

This is the 3rd time in 5 months she has had this, first time was mis-diagnosed and we are starting to worry if she falls sick before we go (not until October) or if she falls unwell while away.

We have travel insurance, but whats the standard procedure for this? would we contact Disney and they would assist or how does it work? Would I need to upgrade my insurance plan? according to the document we are on the highest cover (premier)

Any advice / info greatly appreciated as starting to worry now

 

[Elise79]

If she falls ill while away you will have a contact number for the insurance - you would call them and they will get you sorted

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I would suggest you ring your travel insurance company and discuss this as prior medical conditions should be disclosed (and it is best to be on the safe side). They will also get able to tell you the procedure for making a claim ( for example if you need authorisation etc).

I have read on here that WDW have been helpful in getting them to the emergency care centre or even for a GP to visit the hotel room.

 

[EmilieK]

We were offered a GP to visit our room once when I said I had a mild cold ( I declined of course, it was just a cold for heavens sake ) The people I met were wery helpfull. I would ask her GP if he had any addvice and if she gets any medication for the tonncilitis I would ask if he would be comferatable giving you some of that to take with you for a just in case scenario.

 

[thebadger]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

@mrsdoubtfire - we thought about this re: prior medical condition but it only goes on about heart , lung and brain conditions.

Think ill phone them tomorrow and see what they say.

@EmilieK - again something we discussed but the medication is penicillin which needs to kept refrigerated and we couldn't take it on the plane on our hand luggage but i suppose it wouldn't hurt to have it in our case. Would this need to be declared at customs?

@Elise79 - I suppose that makes the most sense and common sense!

 

[mackay_j]

You may (we have ) be able to get a prescription for antibiotics to take with you. But I know of others who have not been given this when they have asked -

My DD also suffered from the same thing - but twice it went into septicemia - the first time it happened we were in tenerife and she became gravely ill-and was in intensive care. Our doc now gives us the antibiotics to take with us - just in case. Even with the septicemia she did not get them removed as she only took it about 3 times a year strangely always at the same time may, oct and dec)

She has now almost outgrown the problem - But I still panic if she get a sore throat.

As a side note - when any throat infection starts eat a FRESH pineapple- make her chew each chunk well - It really works as it has antibacterial properties. After about half the pineapple she will feel her throat burning and if you have got it in time she will avoid the need for antibiotics. If you can't get hold of a fresh pineapple then gargle with fresh pineapple juice.

 

[thebadger]

You may (we have ) be able to get a prescription for antibiotics to take with you. But I know of others who have not been given this when they have asked -

My DD also suffered from the same thing - but twice it went into septicemia - the first time it happened we were in tenerife and she became gravely ill-and was in intensive care. Our doc now gives us the antibiotics to take with us - just in case. Even with the septicemia she did not get them removed as she only took it about 3 times a year strangely always at the same time may, oct and dec)

She has now almost outgrown the problem - But I still panic if she get a sore throat.

As a side note - when any throat infection starts eat a FRESH pineapple- make her chew each chunk well - It really works as it has antibacterial properties. After about half the pineapple she will feel her throat burning and if you have got it in time she will avoid the need for antibiotics. If you can't get hold of a fresh pineapple then gargle with fresh pineapple juice.

cheers for the info reineapple you learn something new everyday!

Sounds as if you went through it alright with your daughter, glad to hear she has outgrown this!

Will phone tomorrow and see what the insurance says!

 

[chmurf]

If you can't get hold of a fresh pineapple then gargle with fresh pineapple juice.

Dole Whip floats ?

 

[Cinderella2006]

My little one has an extremely poor immune system and the doctor has no worries about writing him up a prescription to take with me and use at my discretion x

 

[~Fisharefriends~]

I hope your little one doesn't get poorly on your trip however Disney were fantastic with the my hubby when he got n ear infection, he actually started to feel poorly in AK so we went to the 1st aid there, they have a dr available around the parks who can to see him, said he would organise a prescription and get it sent to the resort, by the time we got back to the resort the medicine was there waiting for us! I think it cost around $100 which we were then able to claim back from the insurance company.

 

[disneyholic family]

i take a carry-on bag full of medicine when we travel, including every different kind of antibiotic.

you do NOT need to declare it at customs.

as for needing a doctor at your disney resort room - just call the front desk and they will either call a doctor for you or give you a phone number to call.

there are two options - you can have a doctor come to your room, or you can go to a nearby walkin clinic.
Our preference is to have the doctor make a house call, although it's more expensive. For one, it's much faster than going to the walk in clinic.
But also, i don't want us to be exposed to whatever diseases are in that clinic.

all the doctors who have made house calls to our room have been excellent!!
and i say that with a lot of experience - we've had to have house calls to our hotel room on 7 different occasions.

i'll see if i can find the number of the visiting service for you to have already.

by the way, i would avoid a tonsillectomy if you can.
Children eventually grow out of it. Tonsillectomies are relatively dangerous as compared to the disease itself. Therefore, the cost/benefit does not come out in favor of the surgery.

 

[ninamouse]

When we were at Disney last October, my dear fiance suffered a terrible abscess on his tooth. We called concierge and they gave us the number of a local emergency GP. We called them at around 8.30pm and by 9.15pm he was knocking on our apartment door.

The doctor was absolutely brilliant and prescribed DF some antibiotics and painkillers.

It cost £150 for the treatment and prescriptions but was well worth it as DF was in terrible pain and could then enjoy the rest of the holiday.

As our excess on our holiday insurance was £150 it was pointless claiming, so it might be worth looking for cover that has minimum excess.

Hope that helps and gives you confidence that should you need help, it is there and very efficient....albeit costly!

 

[thebadger]

So I called today to confirm what I was covered for only to be told that it was not added by the TA when I made my booking although she gave me insurance phone number details. Checking our invoice the section for insurance is blank but I was covinced it was added.

I called the TA today and they are "looking into it" so now I don't have any insurance

Can anyone point me in thew direction of good travel insurance? A quick search via money supermarket and its a bit of myriad!! One that's good for travel to the USA.

Our quotes back ranged from £34 - £289 why the massive difference I have no idea.

Help!

 

[chmurf]

i take a carry-on bag full of medicine when we travel, including every different kind of antibiotic.

you do NOT need to declare it at customs.

The only thing OP would need to pay attention to, is the liquid rule, for liquid items.
Having a written prescription will allow for transport of larger quantities of liquid based medecine. And one should always have a prescription, just in case.

by the way, i would avoid a tonsillectomy if you can.
Children eventually grow out of it. Tonsillectomies are relatively dangerous as compared to the disease itself. Therefore, the cost/benefit does not come out in favor of the surgery.

If OP can avoid it, but I don't agree with the cost/benefit not being in favor of the surgery. It depends on the child and their conditions

For example, DS had his tonsils surgically removed when he was a couple of months over 3.
Before that, he was ill so often that he missed most part of his first year at school (he started at 2.5years old) and the best part of his second school year first half term, (from september until january when he underwent the surgery)
After the surgery, he never missed a single day at school, he was no longer sick and miserable 2 weeks per month. And he started to talk (which he didn't before the surgery). His tonsils were hurting him so bad, so often, that he was delayed as far as speech was concerned. And he didn't need antibiotics anymore which is a huge benefit.

So, for my son the benefits far outweighed the risks. But it all depends on the child and their condition.

 

[thebadger]

I called one of the insurance companies via the top cashback and they are covering us for the trip for £60. That includes the lowest excess (£50) and also our daughters tonsillitis

Phew

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I called one of the insurance companies via the top cashback and they are covering us for the trip for £60. That includes the lowest excess (£50) and also our daughters tonsillitis

Phew

Good news, bet you're glad you rung now otherwise you might never have realised about your insurance

 

[Elise79]

i take a carry-on bag full of medicine when we travel, including every different kind of antibiotic.

you do NOT need to declare it at customs.

as for needing a doctor at your disney resort room - just call the front desk and they will either call a doctor for you or give you a phone number to call.

there are two options - you can have a doctor come to your room, or you can go to a nearby walkin clinic.
Our preference is to have the doctor make a house call, although it's more expensive. For one, it's much faster than going to the walk in clinic.
But also, i don't want us to be exposed to whatever diseases are in that clinic.

all the doctors who have made house calls to our room have been excellent!!
and i say that with a lot of experience - we've had to have house calls to our hotel room on 7 different occasions.

i'll see if i can find the number of the visiting service for you to have already

I would always advise calling the insurance company first just in case - you don't want to be left with large medical bills that insurance won't cover because you failed to notify.

I called one of the insurance companies via the top cashback and they are covering us for the trip for £60. That includes the lowest excess (£50) and also our daughters tonsillitis

Phew

Great - at least you found out now and have it sorted

 

[EmilieK]

As previously stated no you don't need to declare the medicines but they should be in their original packaging with the precription label on them. I have no idea how to travel with liquid medicine ( allergic to pennicillin) but in the whole liquids and flying rule thing there is a rule that states something about necesery medicinal liquids beeing allowed so I would check your local travel authorities for the exsact rules.

 

[mackay_j]

As previously stated no you don't need to declare the medicines but they should be in their original packaging with the precription label on them. I have no idea how to travel with liquid medicine ( allergic to pennicillin) but in the whole liquids and flying rule thing there is a rule that states something about necesery medicinal liquids beeing allowed so I would check your local travel authorities for the exsact rules.

There is no issue flying with liquid meds- My eldest dd is diabetic and I have lupus and MS - so we have loads of stuff with us - In fact we get an extra carry on allowance which is just for meds and pump equipment- No one has ever even asked to look inside the bag after Xray (we tell them whats in it as we put it on the tray.

We once even forgot that we had a large bottle of power raid with us going through MCO in DH's ruck sack- the officer just pulled it out then asked if we carried it because DD is diabetic we answered yes and that we were sorry it was there we had been carrying about the whole holiday in case of any hypos and forgot we still had had- she put it back in the ruck sack and said just keep it for the flight- I think we found the only nice airport officer there is in the whole of the states.

 

[disneyholic family]

The only thing OP would need to pay attention to, is the liquid rule, for liquid items.
Having a written prescription will allow for transport of larger quantities of liquid based medecine. And one should always have a prescription, just in case.



If OP can avoid it, but I don't agree with the cost/benefit not being in favor of the surgery. It depends on the child and their conditions

For example, DS had his tonsils surgically removed when he was a couple of months over 3.
Before that, he was ill so often that he missed most part of his first year at school (he started at 2.5years old) and the best part of his second school year first half term, (from september until january when he underwent the surgery)
After the surgery, he never missed a single day at school, he was no longer sick and miserable 2 weeks per month. And he started to talk (which he didn't before the surgery). His tonsils were hurting him so bad, so often, that he was delayed as far as speech was concerned. And he didn't need antibiotics anymore which is a huge benefit.

So, for my son the benefits far outweighed the risks. But it all depends on the child and their condition.

exactly true - depends on the child.
obviously, in the case of your son, it was highly beneficial and necessary.
That is not always the case and give that sometimes the outcome is not what is expected, it is important to get multiple opinions before ever going under the knife.

this article is from 2011, but is still appropriate:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/2011-01-07-tonsillitis-surgery_N.htm

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