Health

In addition to making sure you have adequate healthcare cover while your abroad, you should make other practical preparations with regard to your health.

Dentists and Opticians 

Dental and optical care is often not covered by reciprocal agreements, and can be extremely expensive. You should therefore make sure to have any necessary check ups before you go to avoid any costly treatment overseas.

Check-ups and prescriptions

If you have ben diagnosed with any long term condition, particularly those requiring medication, it is a good idea to have a check-up and discuss with your medial practitioner anything which may affect the management of your condition while you are away. In particular, you should consider whether your prescription medication will be available in your host country and if not, how you will handle this. 

Immunisations

Fitfortravel is a public access website provided by the NHS (Scotland). It gives travel health information for people travelling abroad from the UK, including guidance on health risks specific to the destination country and advice about immunisations. Remember that you should always discuss your particular needs with your own GP or Practice Nurse.

Emotional support

If you are experiencing any kind of personal or emotional issues in the lead up to your departure, it is extremely important that you make sure you get the support you need before you go away. Making the move abroad can be a stressful time, sometimes making small issues seem much more significant and occasionally leading to further emotional difficulty. If you are experiencing anxiety in the lead up to your departure, you can consult Student Support and Wellbeing Services to discuss your issues and further support options available to you.