When do travel-related symptoms requiring urgent medical attention mean I should call emergency services immediately?

Call emergency services immediately for chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting, signs of stroke, uncontrolled bleeding, seizures, severe allergic reactions, confusion, or any symptom that feels life-threatening while traveling.

Treat symptoms as an emergency if they are sudden, severe, rapidly worsening, or involve breathing, consciousness, circulation, severe pain, or neurologic changes, and call local emergency services right away.

Use emergency services if dehydration causes confusion, inability to keep fluids down, fainting, very little urine, extreme weakness, or signs of shock, especially if symptoms are worsening quickly.

Call emergency services for severe asthma attacks, wheezing with difficulty speaking, blue lips, chest tightness with severe shortness of breath, or any breathing trouble that is rapidly getting worse.

Chest pressure, crushing chest pain, pain spreading to the arm or jaw, sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath can signal a heart emergency and require immediate emergency services.

Sudden face drooping, arm weakness, speech trouble, vision loss, severe dizziness, or confusion are stroke warning signs and need emergency services immediately.

Swelling of the face, tongue, or throat, trouble breathing, widespread hives, vomiting, or collapse may indicate anaphylaxis, which requires emergency services and epinephrine if available.

Call emergency services for fever with confusion, stiff neck, severe headache, trouble breathing, bluish skin, or if you suspect sepsis, malaria, or another rapidly worsening infection.

Seek emergency services for head injury with loss of consciousness, severe bleeding, broken bones with deformity, neck or back injury, or any injury causing shock or inability to move.

Severe abdominal pain with a rigid belly, repeated vomiting, blood in vomit or stool, fainting, or pain with fever and weakness may require emergency evaluation right away.

A seizure lasting more than five minutes, repeated seizures, a first-time seizure, injury during a seizure, or failure to wake normally afterward are emergencies requiring immediate help.

Call emergency services for heavy bleeding, severe abdominal pain, fainting, seizures, trouble breathing, or signs of labor before term if you are pregnant while traveling.

Sudden severe headache, new weakness, numbness, trouble speaking, confusion, vision changes, loss of balance, or abnormal behavior can be signs of a brain emergency and need immediate help.

If someone swallowed, inhaled, or was exposed to a toxic substance and has trouble breathing, seizures, drowsiness, vomiting, or collapse, call emergency services immediately.

Heatstroke signs such as confusion, collapse, very high body temperature, seizures, or hot dry skin are emergencies and require urgent cooling and emergency services.

Call emergency services for severe confusion, inability to swallow, seizures, loss of consciousness, or symptoms of dangerously low or high blood sugar that are not improving quickly.

Bleeding that does not stop with firm pressure, spurting blood, blood loss causing dizziness or fainting, or bleeding from the head, chest, or abdomen requires emergency services.

If a traveler is threatening self-harm, severely agitated, hallucinating, unable to care for themselves, or is a danger to others, call emergency services immediately.

Severe headache, confusion, trouble walking, shortness of breath at rest, or worsening nausea at high altitude may signal dangerous altitude sickness and require emergency services.

Move to a safe place, call local emergency services immediately, follow dispatcher instructions, use an epinephrine auto-injector or rescue inhaler if prescribed, and do not delay because of unfamiliarity with local systems.