How to Handle Being Sick While Living Abroad

Being sick when living abroad sucks. Being sick and alone in another country sucks even more 🤒.

It's scary.

You're far from your loved ones. And for some of us, hospitals bring anxiety the second we walk in (🙋‍♀️ me!).

The last time I almost passed out in an emergency room.

Getting medical help abroad isn't always easy - especially if you don't speak the local language and English speaking doctors are limited. And even with advanced language skills, medical vocabulary is a whole different challenge.

I've read that some people start getting sick more often after moving abroad 🌎. Maybe it’s the stress or anxiety from living in another country that quietly weakens the immune system? Or maybe it’s a different climate and exposure to viruses your body hasn't met before?

So, how can you prepare or at least find some comfort when you're sick and living (alone) abroad? Here are some of my personal tips to help you feel better.

*Disclaimer: This is not professional or medical advice, just what has worked for me.

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1. Be Prepared: Design Your Own Medical Kit

One of the best things you can do is be prepared for the moments when sickness starts to take you down. I always keep a small medicine box at home, and as a bare minimum, it should include:

• Thermometer

• Painkillers

• Fever reducer

• Plasters/bandages

• Wound-cleaning liquid

Since common colds like sore throat or nasal infections can visit you several times a year, I also keep:

• Throat pastilles

• Nasal spray

I have my own favorite over-the-counter medicines that I rely on and whenever I visit my home country Estonia, I stock up. I simply trust their effectiveness more compared to unfamiliar brands abroad. But obviously, that’s just my personal preference.

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2. Have Health Insurance

Sooner or later, you’ll need to see a doctor, and it’s crucial to have health insurance. In some countries, people with public health insurance also have private coverage.

Private insurance plans vary a lot. Some have waiting periods before covering certain services, like hospitalization. Others may include only a limited number of doctor visits in your monthly payment. Once you exceed that, you'll need to pay extra.

👉 Expat Facebook groups can be a helpful source of information. When I lived in Spain, I used Sanitas.

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3. Home Remedies That Help with a Cold

As an Estonian, natural home remedies are a big part of our culture, so when I catch a cold, I try to relieve the symptoms first by:

• Steam inhalation (only if I don't have a fever)

• Warming up salt, putting it into a sock, and using to warm my cheeks

• Gargling with salvia tea (once it has cooled down)

But, I also come from a country where "vodka-socks" 🧦 - literally socks soaked in vodka and put on you to treat a high fever, were a thing when I was a kid 😁.

👉 Here's a great article with more Traditional Estonian Cold Remedies.

The only country where I've lived and where none of my usual tricks worked was Thailand 🇹🇭. Maybe it was the tropical climate that allowed bacteria to spread faster, or simply that the illnesses there were very different from what my body was used to. But everything just escalated so quickly, and every doctor’s visit ended with dozens of little plastic bags filled with medications.

During my time in Thailand, I dealt with things I’d never experienced before:

• A burned throat from eating too spicy food 🌶️

• H1N1 (influenza A)

• Bloated stomach

You should have seen the hospital folder they kept on me.

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4. Differences During Doctors Visits

   
   

4.1. Being a Foreigner = More Money?

I guess it heavily depends on the country you're from, but for me, healthcare system in Estonia feels safe and understandable. I don’t worry about being scammed, and I generally trust doctors’ opinions and the medication they prescribe.

🦷 My first dentist visit in Spain, however, was a very different experience. I didn't even know what to say when the dentist told me that I had 7 cavities! One was "super urgent" and needed immediate treatment. The estimated TOTAL cost was over 600€, and I was quickly asked how I'd like to pay 😁.

It had only been a year since my last dental check-up, so it didn't make sense. The dentist explained that changes in water and food could cause cavities when you move abroad, but I couldn’t help regretting that I had mentioned working for a Finnish company (meaning a higher salary).

A couple of days later, I went to another dentist. He didn't even said anything about the so called "urgent one". Also, I didn't have 7 cavities. I had only one!

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4.2. Antibiotics

One big difference I noticed after moving to Spain, was how easily antibiotics were prescribed compared to Estonia.

💭 As a kid, I was often sick. The worst was when I had lung infections three years in a row. At one point, I was close to being hospitalized and I remember crying when I heard it was a possibility.

Each time, I stayed home from school for weeks and took antibiotics three times a day, every eight hours. My mom would wake me up in the middle of the night, to give the dose.

Fast forward to 2019, I was living in Spain, dealing with a sore throat and blocked nose before a trip to Thailand. I got worried that it might get worse, so I went to see a doctor.

From the first moment, I didn't like him. He was an elderly man who barely listened. I felt like I was on a conveyor belt and he needed to get rid of me to treat the next patient. He quickly checked my throat and kinda twisted my head in a way that felt bit too aggressive. Even after I repeated that I didn’t have a fever, he immediately prescribed antibiotics at the maximum dosage for eight days.

I went home, and my Spanish boyfriend at the time went to the pharmacy to buy the medication. But the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt.

When he returned, I told him I wanted a second opinion.

He got upset and asked if I thought I was smarter than the doctor. But eventually, we went to see another one - just a couple of hours later.

The second doctor said it was a virus. Antibiotics wouldn’t help. He told me to monitor my symptoms for the next 3 days and only take medications if things got worse.

Therefore, the antibiotics turned out to be completely unnecessary and expensive. My boyfriend went back to the pharmacy with two doctors’ notes issued just a few hours apart and asked for a refund.

The pharmacist stared at him and asked where his girlfriend was from. “Nobody would do that in Spain,” she said. “Questioning a doctor’s opinion like this.” But we got the money back. And I never needed to take anything at all.

Now, whether it's right or wrong to question a doctor's opinion like that...I did what felt right for me. There are several studies discussing antibiotics resistance and how in Europe, southern countries use far more antibiotics than their northern neighbors.

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5. Comfort Food: Easy American Chicken Noodle Soup

   
   

Last but not least, you also need to eat while being sick and chicken noodle soup just feels right! But when you’re sick, cooking is usually the last thing you want to do. That’s why this is the recipe I always turn to. It skips the step of boiling a whole chicken to make a stock and uses chicken fillets instead!

Ingredients:

(Serves 3–4)

• ½ dl short-grain rice (I break the spaghetties to very short - skip it if you're an italian 😁 )

• ½–1 tsp salt (to taste)

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1–2 tbsp cooking oil

• 3 chicken fillets (about 450–500 g / 1 lb), cut into bite-size pieces

• 1.6 dl water (about ⅔ cup)

• 1 stock cube (chicken or vegetable)

• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

• 2 carrots, diced

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• Lemon pepper and black pepper, to taste

• Fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions:

Heat a little oil in a large pot (a stainless-steel pot works best). Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté gently until softened. Add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring constantly, until the chicken turns white on the outside (about 3 minutes).

Pour in the water and add the stock cube, rinsed rice, and diced carrots (around 1 × 1 cm / ½-inch cubes). Bring the soup to a boil. Add the chopped potatoes and let the soup simmer until all the vegetables and rice are tender.

Season with black pepper and lemon pepper. Before serving, sprinkle with fresh parsley. The recipe is adapted from here.

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Conclusion

Being sick while living abroad and especially while living alone can make you even cry. It's good if you have friends to call or colleagues who can bring you food or check in on you. But when there's nobody around, you need to fight this battle alone.

What about you?

Have you experienced cultural differences in healthcare that surprised you? Or how do you stay prepared?

💭 Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.