Traveling to Orlando is just not as simple as using some Floo Powder to travel to Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, flying on Aladdin’s Magic Carpet or getting a ride with some of the dolphins at Sea World. You run yourself ragged for the week before your trip, making sure everything at work is done, everything at home is done, everything you need is packed and that you’re all ready to go. You’ve spent a couple of late nights and didn’t get enough sleep. Then you board a plane full of people and are sealed in for several hours, surrounded by coughing, hacking and sneezing passengers who didn’t want to miss out on their vacations. You know what happens next, right? Runny, stuffy nose and coughing. Or maybe your child has an eye or ear infection or you might be suffering from a case of stomach flu or food poisoning from that buffet last night. Whatever the cause, being sick while visiting Orlando isn’t fun. After all, this is supposed to be where you vacation like you mean it, right?
Luckily, there are many ways to help you back on the way to wellness while in Orlando. Here are a few tips to help:
Call Your Local Health Care Provider
If you live in the U.S. and have a primary health care provider, you can call them and explain your situation. If it’s a simple problem like pink eye, ear infections or simple chest cold, they may be sympathetic to your situation and willing to send a prescription to a pharmacy in the area. If you normally use a nationwide chain like Walgreens, CVS or Walmart, they will already have your information on file and you can go there to pick up your order, just like at home.
If you’re from outside the U.S., we realize that calling your physician at home probably won’t be an option. Never fear, though – all of the other suggestions below should work for you.
Check out Telemedicine
Many insurance plans include access to a Tele-Doc, Doctor on Demand or a similar service. This is a program that lets you talk to a medical professional over the phone (or by FaceTime chat) and get a recommendation. These providers can send prescriptions to a pharmacy in the area for you. The consultation fee may be free as part of your coverage or might be a relatively small fee (compared to an urgent care copay). If you have your insurance card with you, call the customer service number on the card to see if this is an option available to you.
You can also get access to a Virtual Doctor through the Walgreens App for your smartphone – the fee for an evaluation is only $59 or you could contact MDLIVE where visits cost $75 or less, depending on your insurance. If it is your child that is sick, another option for telemedicine is with Nemours CareConnect. Their doctors can treat your sick child right from your phone, even if they have a case of swimmers ear or a sore throat.
Find A Local Pharmacy Clinic
There are a number of pharmacies in the area with clinics that have Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants on site that can treat basic problems and write for medications if necessary. It would be best for you to check with your insurance plan to see what locations are covered, but the fees are lower than Urgent Care or Emergency Room visits.
Here are some of the clinics in the I-Drive Area:
WALGREENS HEALTHCARE CLINIC
8021 INTERNATIONAL DRIVE
ORLANDO
CVS MinuteClinic
7599 WEST SAND LAKE ROAD
ORLANDO, FL 32819
Local Walk-In Clinics
There are also several walk-in clinics around the I-Drive area. Since these locations treat guests from all over the world, it’s best to check to see if they take your medical insurance and what fees they charge up front. You don’t want a $300 doctor bill for a sore throat to ruin your vacation.
CARE SPOT URGENT CARE
7751 KINGSPOINTE PKWY
SUITE 114
ORLANDO FL, 32819
PARAMOUNT URGENT CARE
8972 TURKEY LAKE ROAD SOUTH
ORLANDO, FL 32819
Pediatric After Hours Care
If your kids get sick, there are some locations that cater just to them. These locations are mainly to treat patients when the pediatrician offices are closed, but that’s also the same time you’re not able to call your doctor at home.
NIGHT LIGHT PEDIATRICS
8956 TURKEY LAKE ROAD STE 950
ORLANDO, FL 32819
Open Mon – Fri: 4pm – 12am, Sat – Sun: 12pm – 12am
Advent Health (Previously Florida Hospital) Centra Care
Centra Care is the urgent care division of Advent Health (previously Florida Hospital). Their locations are open seven days a week and are staffed by adult and pediatric-trained Advent Health physicians. These locations are where you need to go for a more serious medical issue that may involve X-rays or stitches. The location in Dr. Phillips is the one closest to Universal Orlando.
DR. PHILLIPS CENTRA CARE
8014 CONROY-WINDERMERE RD.
ORLANDO, FL 32835
In-Room Medical Care
An additional option available to guests visiting Orlando is The Medical Concierge. This service by the EastCoast Medical Network runs a Walk-in Clinic open from 8AM to 8PM, provides In-Room Urgent Care (Doctor House Calls) 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a week and also can provide services for or provide references to one of their network clinics for the following specialties:
- Pediatricians
- Dental*
- Chiropractor*
- Dermatology*
- OB/GYN*
- Ophthalmology*
- Orthopedic*
- Psychiatry*
They can be contacted 24 hours a day at 855-935-5252 and their main clinic is located at:
6000 TURKEY LAKE ROAD
SUITE 206
ORLANDO, FL 32819
I can vouch for this service as we had a friend visit from the United Kingdom who needed emergency dental work. He was referred to a local dentist who saw him the next morning and provided medications that helped his problem until it could be addressed when he returned home.
Dental Emergencies
If it’s a dentist you need, you can always call the Mobile Dental ER that another of our friends used when visiting Orlando.
Hospital Emergency Room
Sometimes medical emergencies don’t stick to a timetable. If you need emergency care at any time of the day, the Emergency Room is your final option. The closest hospital to International Drive is:
ORLANDO HEALTH – DR. P. PHILLIPS HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
9400 TURKEY LAKE RD
ORLANDO, FL 32819
While it’s not fun to get sick on vacation, especially if you’re visiting Orlando, it does happen. Hopefully, these tips will get you in touch with the medical assistance you need and get you back to good health and able to enjoy the rest of your vacation.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
