Curious what fellow Fodorites would do in this situation:

We got the most recent COVID and Flu jabs two weeks before embarking on our current 35 night trip to Europe. However, a new strain of COVID is making the rounds in Europe.

Spouse got sick within days of arrival; cold symptoms that moved into his chest. Both of us had worn masks on our flights and in airports, disinfected our tray tables and other various bits around our seats trying to avoid this very thing. We went to a pharmacy in Austria and asked for medication for upper respiratory issues. Between that and the OTC cold/flu supplies I always pack for travel, he was feeling back to normal within a week or so.

Fast forward a few weeks and he's sick again, but considerably worse. He sounds absolutely horrible. I suspect he has bronchitis, he's thinking COVID. He's been masking in public since his symptoms returned.

We're in German/Italian speaking SudTirol.

We've already done what we would do, but curious what others would do. Also curious what Europeans/Australians/Kiwis visiting the US or countries not their own would do in this situation.

Melnq8, I’m very sorry to hear about your husband’s two bouts with respiratory illness during your trip. I’d be inclined to look for an English-speaking physician by googling or asking someone at your hotel or your apt rental host for a lead. I wouldn’t want to risk something like a bad upper respiratory symptoms turning into pneumonia. Wishing you both all the best

go see a doctor. Lots about. Don't try and tough it out.

Outside the USA, where various versions of socialist medicine exist I'd just go see a doctor, if in doubt ring my insurance first. So far in Europe and NZ major issues have been zero cost or just $10 fees.

Going to USA is a bigger concern for so many reasons not least the horror stories one hears, but I'd ring my insurance first. I have friends who have leapt on an aircraft rather than see a US doctor more from fear of failed insurance etc.

Go to a pharmacy and ask for a physician's contact information.
The physician will see you , ask questions and prescribe medication.
Than you stay in your hotel a few days watching TV. It's frustraing to wait as your body heals but
there is no alternative. You must be patient.
I have done this several times as I spend most of my time here in Vienna.
The health care system in Europe is very good for this type of scenario.
Best of luck.

I'm not as familiar with Italy-- but in the UK for instance, pharmacists can give medical advice and dispense meds that would require a prescription in the States. If I get sick (if of course it isn't a true emergency) my first stop is the nearest Boots or pharmacy for a consult. They can usually sort things out. Also if I'm staying in a hotel I'll ask them for a recommendation for a local surgery (doctor's office). I have had to go to A&E (emergency room) a couple of times and once they did the complete treatment, and the other time they referred me to a local clinic with an appointment the next morning.

It's time to seek medical care. Your husband should likely have a chest X-ray and may need antibiotics. He has tried self care and is not improving. We have had to get medical care a few times while traveling and it was always a good decision. I hope he feels better soon!

If you're in a hotel ask about the Guardia Medica. Or ask the pharmacy.

Appreciate the responses so far.

I guess I wasn't clear when I said "We've already done what we would do, but curious what others would do. Also curious what Europeans/Australians/Kiwis visiting the US or countries not their own would do in this situation.

And I might add, how exactly one would go about it.

For example, one traveling in the US probably wouldn't get a lot of help from a pharmacist, at least not in my experience.

I'll post the outcome later.

I am lucky that we were never ill in the US but I did need to see a doctor in France. We were at a campsite and they booked an appointment for me with the local doc. He barely spoke English I barely spoke French but we got it sorted. I paid his fee, he gave me a receipt so I could claim it, but I didn't bother.
DH was taken to hospital on La Palma and that was all covered by our EHIC - European Health insurance Card.

It sounds like your husband needs to see a doctor. Are you staying in a hotel? If so ask the reception for help. If you are in an apartment or holiday home there is usually a folder with information about the nearest doctor/hospital etc.
Otherwise try Google maps for a doctor in the area, or maybe ask your insurer for help.

I hope he is soon feeling better.

We've had various approaches depending on the country and situation.

In Italy, we were advised to walk into the hospital and received care there for something I would have considered a clinic visit in the US. In Egypt, we went to a pharmacy that gave us antibiotics for a respiratory infection. In Australia, after a fellow hiker called an emergency number, a medical team assessed me and took me by ambulance to the nearest hospital.

US Embassies and consulates can provide a list of doctors who speak English. Many of them list the info on their websites under "Citizen Services." Here, for instance, is the information on the embassy Vienna website: https://at.usembassy.gov/medical-assistance/

I think in today's world it is almost a requirement to travel with COVID test kits. At least then you know what you are dealing with. Several years ago my daughter and her boyfriend were in Europe and it was toward the end of their trip and she came down with a very bad sore throat. This was in Berlin and she went to a walk-in kind of clinic which took her insurance and gave her a prescription which really upset her stomach. They then reached out to her boyfriend's father, a doctor who said to stop taking it. When she came home I took her to an ENT thinking maybe a tonsillectomy was in order while still under our insurance. She brought along the prescription bottle which was written in German and the ENT said it was not a bad drug but the dosage was way too high for a person of my daughter's height and weight.

Interestly their flight home had double security screening because Senator John McCain was on board.

I arrived SYD August 29, arrived Perth September 1, started feeling ill and tested positive with Covid (we brought tests with us). We also masked on flights but it seems this new strain is very easy to catch. Luckily I didn’t have respiratory symptoms, just fever, cough that lasted a long time, and extreme fatigue.

Friends who got sick in Italy (not Tyrol) were able to get an English-speaking doctor to come to their hotel and prescribe medicine.

Hope Bill feels better soon.

Mel, I hope your husband is feeling a whole lot better very soon - and that you don't catch it! In similar circumstances, our daughter visited a pharmacist in France and survived okay, although she was unwell for longer than she admitted to us. If in a foreign country and not sure what to do, I'd first ask my host for advice and then possibly the local consulate if there was one. Or contact my travel insurer.

Only peripheral to your situation but not so long ago we flew home from Athens to Australia. There were people on our flight who were very clearly unwell (and not masking) and quite likely others who were unwell but not so obviously. One example were two very young men heading home to Australia. We were quietly moaning to each other about people travelling when they are sick but then I stopped and asked myself - if they were my kids and they had to get back for work/study, had no one to look after them, and would have to fork out a very large sum for new airfares to defer their return, would I be more sympathetic? Even with travel insurance, there's no guarantees of a successful claim - and all the hassle. I decided it wasn't so clear cut. I would certainly have insisted they wear a mask! Unfortunately, we both had severe respiratory problems within a day or two of our return and spent three weeks in bed, even though my husband wore a mask for most of the journey. By then my sympathy had evaporated, although I was hugely grateful that we got sick on the return flight and not the outbound one.

It's good you've taken action. It definitely sounds like a need for a doctor or hospital.

My husband was ill on a Greek island and we had a flight coming up. Taxi to a tiny, ill-equipped hospital, I was worrying about everything. The doctor spoke perfect English, sorted out the problem, cost was minuscule. Doctor said he'd had similar treatment himself while on holiday in USA and the cost was high.

Another time in France we took our dictionary with us to the pharmacy, to say what words we could think of, related to the problem. At first they said No English but it turned out OK, there was enough comprehension to get by. The few times we've bought over the counter medicines in Europe, they've been amazingly cheap. We're Australian.

I would also call my own doctor, back home.

Very sorry this happened and hope all is well soon.

"I suspect he has bronchitis, he's thinking COVID. He's been masking in public since his symptoms returned."

If he has bronchitis, I might delay the flight back or you might end up like this idiot in 2014 who flew home sick, not knowing he had bronchitis. Upon further review, the late DJK Books was right.

When I became ill in Europe, our hotel arranged for an English speaking doctor to come to our hotel. He was fine, ordered an RX for me and I recovered in our hotel room.

maitaitom - yikes! I once flew with an ear infection I didn't know I had. I can only imagine what your flight was like.

We don't leave for 10 days, so hopefully he's better by then. But he's certainly feeling like shite at the moment, despite trying to soldier on.

When I posted this thread, we'd already taken care of things, but I was curious what others would do. For reference, we were in Vipiteno/Sterzing, Italy, (population ~6,800).

What we did:

We contacted our Air BNB owner and asked if she knew a doctor - she gave us a name and a website. We contacted said doctor (who was literally a minute walk from the apartment) sending an e-mail and leaving a phone message before his office opened. He was only in the office from 9-12, so when we didn't hear back we cheekily turned up at his door - turns out it's a one man operation, no reception. He was with a patient, but came out to say he was booked and told us to go to the hospital for a COVID test.

So, we walked to the hospital, got Bill registered in the A&E (by filling out a short form and providing his passport) and he was in and out in 90 minutes - consultation, COVID test, x-ray, blood test, etc. When we went to pay at the 'ticket' office, the paperwork was taken and we were waved on, so no idea if a bill will be turning up at our house in a few months, or what.

Diagnosis - bronchitis, and evidently it's bacterial, as they gave him antibiotics as a result of the blood test.

We then went to a pharmacy with a prescription and he's now loaded up with meds.

Thank you Italy!

Bill said he felt that the doctor was scolding him for going to the ER, even though that's what we'd been told to do. Evidently she thought we should go to pharmacy for a COVID test. We certainly could have, but what then, when the test was negative? He'd still need to see someone and there were no urgent care facilities in town (we looked online).

The whole experience made me wonder what others would do, as I'd not have gone to an ER in the US - I'd have gone to an Urgent Care office.

I've been sick while traveling in Kuwait, Australia and NZ, and each time there was a different solution.

The bout of food poisoning in Kuwait was the most memorable. The 5* hotel we were staying in supposedly had a doctor on call 24 hours a day - uh, no. Hotel reception was no help in finding a medical facility either. We were so desperate that we got in a taxi at 5 am and asked the driver to drive us around looking for a medical facility. Never did find one.

Twenty-four hours of puking/dry heaves later, we accidently discovered a medical facility directly behind the hotel! But of course it had odd hours and didn't open until around 5 pm, so there was more waiting. We walked in, gave my name and lo' and behold I was still in their system from when we lived in Kuwait many years prior. An IV never felt so good.

But I digress.

This recent event also made me wonder what non-English speakers would have done in the US; communication issues, the red tape, never mind the expense. And our pharmacies aren't as helpful as pharmacies in other countries, or at least that's been my experience.

Anyway, we found a solution, the situation just raised a lot of questions for me.

As someone who has been to the ER in another country, I say you did the right thing. We never got charged in Lisbon when I fell and hit my head.