Help, I’m feeling unwell

Luckily, we’ve got Airport Medical Services. Signposted as First Aid and located in Departure Hall 2, it can be reached via the stairs at check-in desk 16. Or, if you are already through security, through Lounge 2. Airport Medical Services is open 24/7. There is a GP post/First Aid, a pharmacy and 5 treatment rooms with hospital beds.

Airport Medical Services is available for travellers – arriving, departing and transit – day trippers and Schiphol employees. If you have complaints and come here, a doctor and a number of nurses will be on hand to see what is wrong with you and, perhaps more importantly, whether you can still fly.

Staff will do everything they can to make sure you can still travel, but sometimes, it is unfortunately not responsible. A severe earache, nausea, heart problems, tightness of the chest…these things won't get any better on the plane. And if you turn out to have an infectious disease (like chicken pox, for instance), flying is not a good idea at all. Forgotten your medicine? You’ll usually be able to fly. You can pick up an emergency supply for your trip at the Airport Medical Services pharmacy.

No matter how nice it is that Airport Medical Services exists and that the staff are happy to help you, you'd really rather not visit. Not at the start of your journey, but not on the way back either. How can you avoid a visit to Airport Medical Services? The following tips will go a long way.

• Don't pack all your medication in your suitcase, but put some, enough for a week, in your hand baggage in case your suitcase arrives late at your destination or at home.
• Are you taking a medication that is considered an opiate? Make sure you have permission to take it with you.
• Take out cancellation insurance. A trip that cannot go ahead due to illness or accident happens more often than you think.
• Do you take medication on a regular basis? Ask your pharmacist for an up-to-date list of these medications. Always useful in case something happens and you end up needing medical attention at Schiphol or on holiday.
• Are you going to the tropics? Get the right vaccinations and take malaria pills when that is recommended for a country.
• Be careful where you eat in exotic countries. You won't be the first person to land at Schiphol with food poisoning because of that romantic shack on the beach.
• It looks fun, putting your child on top of a pile of suitcases on your baggage trolley. However, they often fall off. At Airport Medical Services, they see quite a few children with a wounded chin or a tooth through their lip.
• Want to quickly take the escalator with your suitcases instead of waiting for the lift? It might go well, but it can also go very wrong. Make sure you don’t end up in the hospital with a broken arm or leg.

To sum up, make sure you are medically well-prepared when travelling and don’t take any risks that could mean having to prematurely end your trip in an unpleasant way.