Page 323 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sweden

PR A C TIC AL INFORM A TION  321

airports. They are often only dentist and larger places have DIRECTORY
open during the day and not special duty dentists.
all of them will give information Citizens of other EU and EEA Emergencies
over the phone. There is usually countries are entitled to Ambulance, Police, Fire Brigade,
a good chance of recovering emergency medical care at the Coastguard, Mountain Rescue
lost goods. same low rate as Swedes if they Tel 112.
Visitors from abroad should produce a European Health
contact their embassy or con­ Insurance (EHIC) card and a valid Healthcare
sulate if they lose their passport. passport or other form of
identification. More extensive Sjukvårdsrådgivningen
treatment costs extra so it is Tel 08­32 01 00 (24­hour) or
Emergencies 1177 (24­hour).
advisable to take out separate
The emergency telephone medical insurance covering Embassies
number for police, fire or specialist care, hospital expenses
ambulance is 112. It can be and repatriation before travelling. British Embassy
dialled free of charge from all Skarpögatan 6–8, Stockholm.
public telephones, but should Tel 08­671 30 00.
be used only in emergencies. Medicines Canadian Embassy
In Sweden, prescription Klarabergsgatan 23, 6th Floor,
medicines are sold only at
Healthcare Apotek (pharmacies). Medicines Stockholm. Map 1 C4.
Tel 08­453 30 00.
No special vaccinations are for minor ailments are available
needed to visit Sweden. Medical without a prescription, and these US Embassy
assistance is available across are also sold over the counter at Dag Hammarskjölds Väg 31,
Stockholm.
the country from doctors and supermarkets and petrol stations.
district nurses at the local However, many medicines which Tel 08­783 53 00.
medical centres. are available over the counter
There are duty clinics in abroad require a prescription in and sunny one moment to fog
the evenings and at weekends, Sweden. There is also a risk that or a storm the next. If you have
but you must make an the medication prescribed at the right equipment and follow
appoint ment by phone. home may not be approved in the rules, a trip in the mountains
Many hospitals have Sweden. It is best to ensure that need not be dangerous. The STF
accident and you pack sufficient mountain stations offer good
emergency depart­ medication for the advice about safe trails.
ments, some of which duration of your trip. Along the coast, drowning
are privately run. Pharmacy staff are accidents claim many lives
Patients should not well trained and can every year. Avoid going out
report to emergency give good advice. in flimsy craft and boats which
clinics with minor Unfortunately, are beyond your capabilities.
ailments. First, Pharmacy sign pharmacies can be Take advice from local people
contact the healthcare hard to find in the about the weather.
information service countryside and they are not There is no need to worry
Sjukvårdsrådgivningen for open on Sundays. A limited about the forest predators –
instructions in English. number of natural remedies are bears, wolves, lynxes and
Its staff have up­to­date also sold in health food stores. wolverines. They are shy
knowledge about the current creatures and prefer to avoid
situation in the city’s hospitals people. The same applies to
and can assign patients to a Out and About Sweden’s only poisonous snake,
suitable hospital or duty Sweden has a varied landscape the adder. However, anyone
doctor. Particularly during and climate and it is important bitten by a snake should seek
the holiday period, it is always to respect the forces of nature. In medical advice.
advisable to use this central the mountains, the weather can Mosquitoes can be a nuisance
information service, to avoid change very quickly from still from June to autumn, especially
unnecessarily long waiting at dusk, along waterways and
times. For severe toothache, in the mountains. Pharmacies
patients can usually receive stock mosquito repellent. In the
the help of a local archi pelagos, there is also a risk
of being bitten by ticks, which
carry a number of diseases.
Ticks should be removed from
the skin with tweezers as
quickly as possible. If the
redness around the bite area
Ambulance persists, consult a doctor.

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