Medical issues: how we got ready

“Did you have any storms” is the most common question we are asked about our trip. The second most famous is “Did you have any illness or accident?”. We didn’t have any storms or illnesses but we were prepared in case something happened. So let’s speak about our medical plan (I leave the weather side to Greg if one day he is inspired to write about our strategy to avoid storms).

Our medical box – or boxes as we have 3!

When we were getting ready for our adventure, I read few blogs and books and I tried to compile our list of all the tablets, pills, syrups, drops, sprays or bandages we would need…in case something would happen. I went to our GP with a 4 page long list of what seemed to me as compulsory medicines. Our GP came on board with his own travelling experiences and, even more important, knowing our medical past. We discussed my list which became smaller and smaller. In fact, we summarised our needs in four section: 1)ear-nose-throat-head –2) everything digestive/gastric – 3)skin and muscles -4)pain, stiches or other specials. As often as possible, we tried to have some medicines with a large spectrum of action and which – with the appropriate dosage (1/2 or 1/4 for the kids) could be used for everybody on board. 4 of us are allergic to penicillin so we have appropriate antibiotics for all of us, but otherwise, it is more or less normal medicines. One of our sailing friends in Cape Town had a pharmacist as a brother and he prepared everything for us, using generics as often as possible and checking the expiry dates as we wanted the latest as possible. At the time, it cost us around AU$ 1000. I packed everything in Ziploc bags in function of their action and I left clear notes in each bags identifying each medicine and what they were for. I then packed these bags in 3 big boxes again with a summary sheet on the lid. The 3 boxes are in a high locker in our cabin, so out of reach for the kids.

We have on board few medical dictionaries, especially the Merck and a French medical guide for offshore cruisers or racers (“Du guide de la medicine a distance” de J Y Chauve) which helps a lots when you need to give a diagnosis to the Sea Medical Center in Toulouse (France).

Medical insurance

We chose BUPA international as our medical private insurance as we wanted to have a hospital cover, just in case. This medical insurance represented a big part of our annual budget but we decided to have that kind of cover, especially with the kids. We also had a subscription with DAN International which is a diving insurance but works as a very good repatriation insurance and was costing only $400 per year.

We didn’t need any of these, but knowing we had them, in case of a very difficult or critical situation was reassuring. We didn’t have a dental cover and the only medical issues we had were in fact teeth problems!

Practice

Gregory and I updated our first aid skills and went on a 3 day course. However, I didn’t feel it was enough so I also completed a “Captain ship medical certificate” which was a week course and included a Friday night at the emergency unit in a busy hospital in Cape Town. There, I saw lots of blood, put in some drips and learnt that the adrenaline helps a lot in case of emergency.

On board

While you are cruising you are more careful with your daily moves and you know that you can only rely on yourself. Also while at sea we live in a nearly bug free environment. We used only 2 courses of antibiotics in 3 years (Victor had some high fever for more than 48h and Clea had what I thought was tonsillitis). We broke 3 toes – that could have been avoided easily, but we have these “trip trap chairs” where the feet can’t be seen and are just there waiting for bare feet to trip over them.

In a handy basket we have our 1^st aid small kit and the kids know themselves what they can use and for what. We used some antibiotic cream for every little cut we had as it can take a while at sea to heal properly (this is for us THE cream to have). We used some paracetamol in a normal quantity and some arnica cream for bruises. We had some antihistaminic cream for these very itchy bites. There is also in this basket a special gel for burns, I am prone to these little burns, especially when I take a cake out of the oven.

All in all, we didn’t use much of what we had, but we planned a lot. We felt we were geared properly and we didn’t miss anything special. Our medical insurance was costing a lot but was offering us the peace of mind we wanted.