<p>My son is now in Copenhagen after attend a World Cup game in Munich. He has been in Munich and Berlin for the last week. He casually mentioned he hurt his foot/ankle the other day and had some redness and swelling so he was taking tylenol around the clock and slept with the foot elevated. I think he said the foot was stepped on, but I’m not sure. The next time we spoke he said the swelling was down some. I was concerned because this is my child that never complains and never takes anything for pain.</p>
<p>Today’s email lets me know he has arrived in Copenhagen safely and the hostel is not bad. He then ask for an appointment for when he is home to have the foot checked out. He tells me the foot is deep red by the ankle bone and the rest of the foot is swollen, but not red. My son has worked a few summers doing EKG’s and said with his limited medical knowledge that his foot looks like when he had an old patient that had an IV blow the vein in their arm or hand! He thinks maybe he had a vein or a big blood vessel rupture. He was concerned that he might have internal bleeding or an infection.</p>
<p>Now he will not be home until Sunday and is heading to Amsterdam later this week. I have already put a call in to our orthopedist just to get an idea if he can really wait until he gets home in a week. My husband or course said he will be fine, but I know my son, if he is telling me all of this about his foot, he is worried; but maybe not enough to seek treatment in a foreign country.</p>
<p>After much babbling, my real question here is, does anyone know of either an orthopedic or a hospital ER that an American can go to in Copenhagen? I have no idea what the cost for something like that would be. I am sure my insurance company would not cover a visit in Copenhagen!! How does one go about receiving medical treatment in a foreign country?</p>
<p>Dealing with local medical care in a foreign country can be complicated. (At the moment, we’re trying to coordinate care and return home for a relative hospitalized in Australia.) I would suggest you first contact your insurance company to find out what the coverage is and to seek advice. Also, did your son have supplemental coverage like travel insurance? If so, contact that company. Is he traveling with a sponsoring group or tour that can make arrangements for him? If he doesn’t know anyone locally and has to get treatment, maybe he can contact the American embassy in Copenhagen for referrals. Good luck, and I hope it’s not serious!</p>
<p>A possibility – we have a nasty fly here in Germany – I think the Germans call it a “black fly” - might be a type of horse fly. Lives in grasses. My D got bit by one last June, a day or two later her lower leg swelled up – looked like blood poisoning or something. Turned red. Was hot to touch. I’m a nurse, and I was sure it was an infection. Nope; just a black fly bite. They told me her skin would eventually begin peeling like a sunburn, and it did. Lasted about 3 weeks. She never knew she’d been bitten, but went to the park with friends on her birthday, and we’re sure that’s where it happened.</p>
<p>Since your son was just here, is this a possibility?</p>
<p>always- Thanks for that link. I would think he needs an xray, so a home visit might not help. </p>
<p>binx- I’m pretty sure he wasn’t bitten as he said he got stepped on and even had a foot print on his foot! I will double check with him about the fly bit though.</p>
<p>Mudder’s- I figured he should call the American Embassy; I believe I read that somewhen when looking for travel information. He does not have any travel insurance and is not traveling with a group. </p>
<p>I am sure I will not be able to convience my son to receive treatment in Copenhagen, but I figure I will find out what I can.</p>
<p>It should not be too expensive being seen at a hospital in Copenhagen thanks to universal health care and lots of people there speak excellent English. I don’t have specific tips, but I think the US Embassy should be able to help out. Did you check out the Danish Embassy site? It may have information for travelers. Sorry to hear about your son!</p>
<p>Call the American Embassy for a referral. The nurse should have a list of doctors and hospitals.</p>
<p>“Although emergency medical treatment is free of charge, the patient is charged for follow-up care.”</p>
<p>I got this from the State Department website since I have visited several EU countries and received emergency care free of care. It is free where I live for first time emergency visit. So I imagine this may also apply with your son. Embassy will know.</p>
<p>One experience: friend slipped on tourist trail and broke bone in ankle area. I drove her to the general hospital and she had xrays and cast for free.</p>
<p>Another: son came down with pneumonia on trip to Greece: Xrays at a local hospital and medicines were free.</p>
<p>One of our relatives became acutely ill (ruptured hernia) in Ireland, requiring emergency surgery that wasn’t covered at all under their national healthcare. Her Medicare didn’t cover it either, but her private Medicare supplemental paid everything. Coverage can be tricky. I’d check with the embassy but still call the American insurance carrier’s customer service number to find out about coverage, just to be on the safe side.</p>
<p>I spoke with someone at the Danish Consulate office in New York and was told my son was not entitled to free health care, emergency or not! I haven’t bothered to check with my holme health insurance as I am pretty sure they will not cover treatment in Denmark.</p>
<p>I received another email from my son that said he wasn’t ready to been seen just yet. He doesn’t want to waste a day of touring, nor does he want to mess up the time with his buddies. He said the foot isn’t slowing him down and the pain is bearable! If the swelling gets worst or the redness increases, he will look into what to do then. I made him an appointment with our orthopedist for next Monday; hopefully his foot will be better by then.</p>
<p>Leave it to my son to worry about expenses. He said that Copenhagen is very expensive so he will not be buying gifts there; he will wait until he gets to Amsterdam.</p>
<p>pokey, it sounds as though he should be fine until he gets home from what he’s told you. If it’s not slowing him down any, that’s a good sign.</p>
<p>I’m a little surprised that people would think that foreign countries should give emergency care without charge to travellers. The U.S. certainly doesn’t do that! :)</p>
<p>Another health care issue that probably doesn’t help you, Pokey 318, when considering health care for kids at school especially if they like to travel, get the health care that schools make international students buy. It is worldwide and covers travel etc.</p>
<p>Oh, Marite, I know that some do! I guess I just look at this issue from the Canadian perspective. Even though we have lived on both sides of the border, more than once, our healthcare issues have been looked at through the filter of how Canadians do it. I didn’t mean to sound like I was making a judgment, I apologize if that’s how it came across. It’s just that it is a given when Canadians travel that they obtain travel insurance, most especially if they are travelling to the U.S. It’s a standard question asked when making flight arrangements or discussing a trip with a travel agent. I guess maybe I assumed that was the case in the U.S., too!</p>
<p>No problem, Alwaysamom. My health insurance does cover me when I travel; still, it’s important to know where to go in case of an emergency.</p>
<p>I was in hospital for a check-up when I lived in London. A woman came with a burst appendix. She’d been part of a tourist group. For a while, the nurses and doctors were stumped as to how to communicate with her. Finally, it transpired that she was from Turkey and could speak some French. Whew!</p>
<p>I would encourage you to have your son go to an emergency room in Copenhagen. Even if you have to pay for all services, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what “full cost” looks like in Europe. I have a friend who suffered a mild heart attack while traveling in Germany – after a week’s stay in the hospital with exceptionally good care, he had a hospital bill of a few thousand dollars – the same event would have probably resulted in at least a $30,000 hospital bill had it happened in the US. Years ago I had a bout with pneumonia in New Zealand - what would have been free care to locals ended up costing me $45 + $26 for the antibiotics. </p>
<p>Now I don’t know anything about Denmark, so I can’t be sure what your hospital bill will be… but I think you will find that it is much more affordable than waiting for your son to possibly develop serious complications over what started out as a minor injury. </p>
<p>So tell him to go to a hospital or emergency facility for treatment, ASAP.</p>
<p>calmom-If you can figure out a way to convience a 22 year old on his first trip to Europe to see a doctor, please share with me! Said child is sure with his limited medical training that this injury can wait. He insist that he is not slowed down by the foot, so that must mean all is good! When he ends up with a cast on his foot when he arrives home, I am sure my son will think differently. It does sound like a bad sprain vs a break, but I have even less medical training than my son other than being a mom!!</p>
<p>Maybe you can tell him what I said - that it will save money for him to see the doctor in Copenhagen, because doctors & hospitals charge less in Europe? (FWIW, your own insurance company will probably partially reimburse you later on-- I think I eventually got reimbursed by Blue Cross for the $45 bill in New Zealand)</p>
<p>It reminds me of the time my parents visited me and my mom had a heart attack. She is still going at almost 97…that was 12 years ago. The care was fantastic and when my dad got the bill he swore because it was so cheap; and whatever he did have to pay, his insurance covered the cost.</p>
<p>Yes, nothing makes an American more frustrated with our current system of health care & insurance than to experience medical care in just about any other part of the developed world. Rural areas and 3rd world nations might be a different story entirely… but Copenhagen ought to be fine.</p>
<p>Here’s another reason Pokie can give her son: Research. Of all the countries in the world, the Danish have the highest rate of satisfaction with their health care system: 91% (this compares with a 40% satisfaction rate in the US)* So maybe Pokie’s son ought to check things out and report back to us on what the Danish people are so happy about. </p>
If it’s not slowing him down any, that’s a good sign.</p>