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newfydog said:My wife went into a pharmacy to look for an antibiotic for a urinary tract infection. The pharmacist gave her a weird powder to mix in a drink, and assurred us it was the right thing. It cost five dollars.
She was better in an hour. Our doctor in the US looked up this miracle drug, and found it was just coming available here. Cost for one dose is $80.
Tia Valeria said:That is what I did for Terry last year in Oviedo at the pharmacy there, cost 12 euros and worth every cent. Brilliant, he too recovered quickly. Sadly we didn't make a note of what it was. Could you put its name up or PM us please newfydog it would be very useful to know.
Anniesantiago said:My walking partner in 2006 required medical attention to a tick bite... actually to a second degree burn HE gave himself trying to get rid of the tick.
It was very nice. The gentleman at the farmacia pulled out a chair, sat him down, cleaned his wound, medicated it, dressed it and handed him the tube of antibacterial ointment.
The charge?
6 Euro
THAT wouldn't happen in the USA!
newfydog said:Tia Valeria said:That is what I did for Terry last year in Oviedo at the pharmacy there, cost 12 euros and worth every cent. Brilliant, he too recovered quickly. Sadly we didn't make a note of what it was. Could you put its name up or PM us please newfydog it would be very useful to know.
The powdered antibiotic is called Monurol, at least in the states. The generic name is fosfomycin.
Good thing to have if one is going straight from a long, dehydrating plane ride to an extended bike tour.
falcon269 said:I sure would like to know where I can get some good travel insurance.
falcon269 said:I sure would like to know where I can get some good travel insurance.
jpflavin1 said:I had a very swollen and painful achilles tendon. After several painful days of walking, I stopped in a Farmacia in Fromista and the owner, after looking at my foot, recommended I buy this nylon half sock with a pad that covered the achilles. The pain stopped almost immediately and within a few days the swelling had diminished. Not sure what the sock is called but the manufacturer is Lugo. I referred to it as my Camino miracle sock. It cost 18 euro.
Ultreya,
Joe
Anniesantiago said:I'd sure like to know more about that sock! My achilles tendons often complain on the Camino.
Maybe a different approach, but try : http://www.therapysocks.com
DesertRain said:Please, please, please.... Get travel medical insurance.
And keep the insurance paperwork with you! Leaving it in the suitcase you ship on ahead does not help much at all. (she says from painful personal experience)
Oh by the way: the emergency number throughout Europe is 112. As I understand it, they will find an emergency operator who speaks English.
And while you're at it, contemplate the situation of having fallen and knocked yourself out cold and speechless. Leave your emergency contact info and pertinent emergency medical info (drug allergies!) in your wallet.
We got our travel insurance for the Camino through SquareMouth.com. They represent a number of insurance companies and provided realtime quotes and comparisons between plans. I was very pleased with the site and the rates. Can't tell you anything about the claims process, and I hope I will never have to know.Does anyone have a recommendation for a good travel insurance company?
I'm back home after this year's walk from Castrojeriz to Astorga. I arrived in Sahagun with a swollen toe and went to a medico center. I just had to say the word peregrina and they treated my toe twice, gave me antibiotics and adviced me to walk no more than 10 km the next day. I paid nothing at the medico center or at the farmacia. I had to show my European health card and my passport, that was all. (My toe is fine now, just a little blue..)
....... The bill from Santiago was an outrageous 499 euro. The treatment consisted of waiting 3 hours in a crowded waiting room to see a Medico for about 4 minutes. She looked at her leg/ankle said it was "not broken" and sent us on our way. A pharmacist later determined it as severe tendinitis and suggested treatment.
The point here is that we were billed to our home after we returned.....so be aware that things are changing.
Hola Stephen - I can relate to your problem. To have to abandon the VDLP after a week and 110 km was very annoying. But the doctor in Salamanca (University Medical Centre - E105 - ouch!!) said that had I tried to continue I would have done permanent damage. Its now 5 months and still no fully healed - neurosurgeon said it could take 6 months for the nerve to settle. Hope so as I wish to return and complete. So the words of warning, from my fellow pilgrims, proved very timely. CheersIn spite of four months preparation, bathing feet in surgical spirit each night and wearing double-layer walking socks, I got severe blisters on my first day, after 33 kms on tarmac roads. I have no idea why. A taxi to a medical centre resulted in prompt, kind, free attention. I heard them discussing cutting and stitching the skin :cry: probably because the skin was thick after the surgical spirit. In the end they bandaged them and said no more walking at all for three days.
Sadly, that plus continuous rain resulted in an abandoned camino - that was at the beginning of May this year, walking and hobbling from Salamanca on the VdlP.
Stephen
http://www.calig.co.uk/camino_de_santiago.htm
I hope other pilgtrims will take note.Hola Stephen - I can relate to your problem. To have to abandon the VDLP after a week and 110 km was very annoying. But the doctor in Salamanca (University Medical Centre - E105 - ouch!!) said that had I tried to continue I would have done permanent damage. Its now 5 months and still no fully healed - neurosurgeon said it could take 6 months for the nerve to settle. Hope so as I wish to return and complete. So the words of warning, from my fellow pilgrims, proved very timely. Cheers
Lol! I always was...just letting out my frustration : )Karma is a b****. Pay the bill.
I'm a jaded ER worker. Forgive me. Also, check with your health insurance policy. They might cover it. Mine considers it out of network. I only buy catastrophic/evac insurance.Lol! I always was...just letting out my frustration : )
Got my first bill last Friday from hospital .I had retinal detachment surgery in Pamplona. Went to ER late one night, EKG, blood work, and XRay the next day. Then 2+ hour surgery where they reattached my retina, removed a cataract, and put in a corrective lens. Asked the Dr. How much will this will cost me, and he said it is free, no bill. Ended up having 2nd eye surgery, as the corrective lens had slipped. So total stay in Pamplona was 4 weeks (couldn't travel with gas bubble in eye).
We bought Travel Guard insurance, and I'm now filling out tons of paper work, having to make copies of all receipts and sending them the originals. Included with making copies we are to copy entire passport. This looks like it will take some time to complete. I have no hospital bill, but listed under "trip interruption," we are supposed to be reimbursed for hotel and food. I certainly hope a hospital bill won't soon appear in our mailbox!
Travel Guard was my first call for help. They told me to go to Pamplona, being the nearest medical facility from Puerta La Reina, and get evaluated.
I will let you know how my claim went with them. It cost about $450 for 2 persons for 2 months of coverage.
Got my first bill last Friday from hospital .
Travel insurance: I do NOT leave home without it.We bought Travel Guard insurance......
Will keep you posted. I scanned my Heath ID cards to them yesterday. They Want to bill my insurance. AIG Travel Guard sent me about 7 pages of claim forms. I'm trying to get through it all. I strongly suggest if anyone buys travel insurance and need medical help, they retain all copies, hotel, food, statement/diagnosis signed by doctor before you leave. We pilgrims get money out of the ATM machines periodically.. No good to use on a claim! Retain all food receipts! This will cover those costs under the "trip interruption" protection.Hi, Dreamwalker, I think a lot of us would be interested in hearing how it goes for you with Travel Guard. I have sometimes bought extra travel medical insurance, usually from Medex, but sometimes I just go without it. In part that's because of the stories I hear of how the policies are typically so riddled with exclusions that the average person doesn't understand, and when you go to get coverage on a claim, you find out it's not within the scope of the policy. If I knew for sure that a particular company is efficient, pays up without haggling, and gives generally good service, I would probably stop my wishy washy indecision and just buy it! Thanks.
Wow! You really went through a lot! Very helpful that you spoke fluent Spanish! I hope you are doing well now!I am a 70 year old senior, I was in hospital for 4 days with an infection the week before we started. Add, 28 hour travel plus a 6 hour difference in time and start walking right away. The result, I passed out before Larrasoaña. Wonder woman took in a taxi to Pamplona... and I apassed out again in the taxi. Medical Services in Pamplona were excellent. They did all kinds of tests because of my age and my diabetes. The diagnosis was exhaustion. Prescription 3 days of rest, sleep and food in Pamplona. They did not charge anything in Pamplona but later at home we received a bill for 120 Euros (really? is that all?) Of course our insurance payed for that.
A month later one day from Astorga I waked up with brutal vertigo and the nausea that goes with it. We took a bus to Astorga and I was throwing all all the time. Again, excellent care in Astorge, they controlled the nausea and told me to rest and wait for the vertigo to go away, that was another 2 days and another 100 or so Euros.
Finally, 5 kn short of Portomarin, I tripped over a branch and fell on my face. Result two black eyes and a wound that required stitches in Portomarin. Thsi was for free. They never sent us a bill.
So, medical services in Spain are excellent and very economical.
Note: We has the advantage that both, my wife and I speak fluent Spanish.
Must have been some good brandy!The hallux joint of my left foot started hurting somewhere in Southern France. It bothered me on and off for the following four weeks. On the day I walked to Leon, the joint started to hurt badly. I took more than two hours for the last four kilometres. I had no option but to let my Camino friends continue on their own. The following day I shuffled around town in beach sandals, from one bar to the next and then another and one more ... turning the day into a major brandy tasting session. In the evening my foot hurt less, so I set the alarm for 5.20 am, just in case. As I woke up, the pain was gone.
By lunch-time I reached Hospital de Orbigo, but I didn't feel tired. So I called my Camino friends who were in Astorga, asking them to organise a bed for me. I reached them at 6.30pm, having walked more than 50 km - without any pain. I remained pain-free for the rest of my Camino.
I love this story...and loved Hospital de Orbigo...thank you for sharing itDuring my first Camino after crossing the long medieval bridge over the river I entered the town of Hospital de Orbigo. Attempting to photograph the parish church I lost my footing and fell head first onto the irregular pavement! My pack crashed into my right shoulder. I was flat on the ground; my forehead and shoulder hurt like hell! Gently other pilgrims helped me up. An egg was quickly swelling on my forehead (by day’s end I resembled Cyclopes). Out of nowhere a kind Spanish couple appeared and the man said “Don’t worry, madam, I am a Chevalier de Santiago and will help”. Examined at the regional hospital, I was told to rest, and see a doctor again the following day.
The Spanish couple graciously invited my friends and me to lunch at their house. We met their grown sons and had a trilingual conversation. Our host explained that the Chevaliers de Santiago are a group of Catholic men, who have been nominated to become members and who pledge to foster the Camino and help all pilgrims. In the Spanish custom lunch lasted at least four hours! With my left hand I alternated holding ice to my head and trying to eat since my right shoulder and arm were extremely painful. Nevertheless, how, lucky I was to be able to move and to have found a ‘guardian angel’.
Next morning while I was still on my bunk the Chevalier and the local priest walked into the dorm to see how I was doing! Next the Chevalier and his wife took me to the local doctor whose office was adjacent to the church. When all three of us entered the examination room, the Chevalier said to the doctor “Another one has fallen!” It seems that in recent months others had also fallen on the same new paving where I stumbled. The doctor checked my eyes, gave me simple pain killers and wished me good luck. Later I ate again with the Chevalier and his family. Never will I forget their kindnesses and spontaneous gracious hospitality. It was heartfelt Camino ‘caritas’.