22 Dec Scenarios for a medical translation at Christmas

Posted by - Rubén

Are you planning any special trip for Christmas? And what would you do if you get sick in a foreign country at that time? Many people travel all around the world during this period. If you are one of those travellers, you might have though about some health issues – such as an international insurance, the European Health Insurance Card, the pertinent vaccines for the visiting area – but have you also thought about any medical translation or interpreting?

When travelling abroad you should previously take into consideration other possible scenarios:

a) Christmas is a time of excesses, so you probably drink and eat more than you should. Headaches, stomach-aches, nauseas… Not a huge problem, but you should better go to the pharmacy aiming wellbeing. What would you do in that situation? Do you know how to explain your situation or name the drug you need to a pharmacist? You should, at least, previously make a list of the most common diseases or malaises translated from your mother tongue to the country language.

b) Imagine that you get really sick during Christmas. You should directly go to the hospital and, if not speaking fluently the language of that country, you would be completely lost. How would you explain the doctor your situation? Do not fear and just require the services of a professional medical interpreter. Don’t you know where to find one? Here you can contact some language experts.

c) You have been diagnosed with a very bad disease some time ago; when travelling abroad any precaution is paltry, specially if you fear a disease outbreak. So, it would be a good point if you travel with a medical translation of any document attesting your disease and any medical recommendation. It would be easier for the hospital staff.

Avoid unnecessary problems during Christmas, a period of time where happiness must be an essential. Just be cautious and prepared to any illness or malaise; minimize communication problems in these hypothetical situations by having a medical translation or interpreting close to you.