Posted 1/16/09 by Michael Miello

Recently the big dinner table conversation has been about health care around the world. Yes, we’re nerds thank you very much. My friends, folks and I discussed the major differences in the health care systems existing worldwide. I even saw a great documentary that compared the health systems of 5 countries, both public and private systems, and apparently Taiwan has one of the best. Props to my friends over there.

But I’m not Taiwanese and neither is most of my audience, and so that doesn’t move my marbles much. Did I just use the word marbles? Jeez.

For us Americans, we need to remember that we have private insurance, meaning that we’re responsible for selecting health care providers that will cover our butts when we’re not on American soil. Many students forget this or don’t even think about it when they travel. They only discover when they need medical attention after breaking a limb while skiing in the Alps or running away from elephants in the Congo.

• Before leaving, make sure to ask if your health care provider covers you internationally! Most insurances only cover your butt on American soil, so beware!
• If they don’t, ask around for recommended health insurance providers.
• And be careful when traveling!

Recently there’s been talk about a provider called MultiNational Underwriters. Here’s their link: www.mnui.com. I don’t know much about them, but they seem to be good for international students. They are affordable and will cover your health issues when abroad. It’s always important to travel with valid health insurance, so make sure to do it!

Check out the link and let me know your thoughts: Free Student Insurance Quote.

April 21,2008 Author: A. Subrahmanian

For the past several years there is a large surge in the number of students travelling abroad for higher studies. Many of them are flying across the border to get quality education in the form of graduate and post graduate programs. As the world has become a village quality education has become accessible to those who aspire for the same. Out of many countries which welcomes foreign students for education United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and Russia some of the all time favorites.

Do you have plans to travel abroad for studies? You might have selected your university, You might have selected your stream of study. You definitly have thought of and arranged your accomodation, your food, your clothes and how to call back home etc. Have your ever thought that what will be situation if disater strikes on your health or you loose your belongings like passport or other valid documents while you are in a foreign country. Keep in mind that your friends and relatives are not with you to ask for help. I am sure that one will feel like he is in a no mans land. While in a foreign country you should be secured enough to handle these type of tragic situations. A student medical insurance or a student travel insurance will be a precious asset to be secured. Consider buying a International Student Medical insurance policy while going abroad for your higher studies and be good at your studies.To more about student insurance policy get a Free student insurance quote , visit the website www.mnui.com

.

February 26, 2008 - Author: Karlana Kulseth

As a parent, I often worry about if my children are covered anything that happens in the future.  I am sure I do not stand alone in this thought.

But what about you parents who have children who are studying abroad?  Especially those college students who take up semesters in different countries to expand their experiences?

Parents, you might want to look into student insurance for study abroad.

Sure, you may have insurance, but you read your policy recently to see if your children would be covered outside the country, or outlying U.S. territories?  Looking into policies that are offered by MultiNational Underwriters could be a lot less expensive than purchasing an international student medical policy or travel insurance.

If you are looking for more facts and different types of coverage, visit MultiNational Underwriters at http://www.mnui.com.

December 13th, 2007 - Author: S. Lenka

Fascination to study abroad among Indian students has always been there. Over the years the fascination has grow exponentially. Bringing home a foreign degree is a matter of pride and prestige and a job becomes guaranteed. The other advantage of a foreign degree is the ample number of jobs available in the marketplace for foreign return students.

Apart from guaranteed jobs, things one learns abroad are always filled with new experiences. The focus of foreign universities is very clear: they would emphasize more on practical training and less on class-room lectures.
The cost of study in foreign universities varies widely among institutions and the cost of living varies from place to place. Apart from published costs students must prepared to cover hidden costs – which include:

• Personal expenses
• Costs when residence halls are closed,
• Health insurance
• Change in the value of currency, etc.

The students in abroad are seeking medical care during their study. Sometimes the expenses are too high, that a student may not able to continue his/her study further. So, it is wise to make International students insurance policy. The policy helps to pay the medical bills and to take the help of expert doctors during the need. When you purchase health insurance, the premium (the money you pay) is used to pay the medical bills during any health care. Your coverage remains valid only as long as you continue to pay your premiums. Once you purchase insurance, the insurance company will give you an insurance identification card for you to use when you seek care from a hospital or doctor. The insurance company will also provide written instruction for reporting and documenting medical expenses (filing a claim). The insurance company will evaluate any claim you file and make the appropriate payment under you policy. In some cases the insurance company pays the hospital or doctors directly; in other the company will reimburse you after you have paid the bills.

December 7, 2007 - Author: Alice Lee

IF you are travelling, play it safe. Have a good travel insurance. Most insurance, including medical ones, may not cover travel related medical emergencies. If you are one of those who are not sure, before even booking your travel plans, you should first consider making inquiries about travel insurance.Do not find out too late that your current medical insurance provider do NOT cover travel medical expenses when outside of your home country or that your current insurance covers only up to 50 per cent of the claim.

Often travel insurance are very competitively priced, some even as low as $1 per day and this meagre sum does go a long way towards a stress-free holiday.

Of course, no one wants to fall ill during a tour but for a nominal fee, let travel insurance give you that peace of mind.

I had been browsing several travel insurance sites and this one offers pretty reasonable rates. Check it out. They also offer free quotes, no obligations.

November 29th, 2007 - Author: destination

Traveling does not mean to pack your bag & walk on to visit the destination. Firstly planning is more important to focus on that destination than secondly after planning the more important & careful point is that we should do travel medical insurance which help us in many ways while traveling to a great destination. The travel medical insurance facility can help you to get rid off the interrupted glitches & emergencies even if you lost your luggage, you slip or you need a medical treatment.

At that time the medical insurance will be helpful definitely to get free from the entire above given medical problem, which you face during the traveling time. Therefore many of the travelers are getting the free quote before they start their journey. For a FREE Quote click here & get the travel medical insurance advantages. Lets be happy during journey & have a nice time with our family & friends.

January 18, 2008 - Author: R. Davis

Mount Kinabalu is not a technical climb, means that you don’t have to bring any special equipments or apparatus to help on your climbing. It’s a straight forward climbing, and some climbers considered it as a hiking activity.

There’s always risk on any climbing activities. As long as you are moving up or down (against or towards the gravity), you will definitely exposed to danger of falling, which may leads to injuries. Depending on your condition, falling down can be really trivial but sometimes can be dead serious.

I will write about fall at the end of this article, but let’s get through 8 most common injuries on climbers, in which I have divided it into 2 main groups:

1.  4 Injuries from the climbing activities itself,

2.  4 Injuries from the exposure of our body to the environment.

4 Injuries from the climbing activities

1. Foot
The most common minor injuries to your foot during the climb is blisters. It can be caused by unsuitable shoes, as wearing a pair of shoe that is not your size will increase friction of your feet with the padding of the shoes. This friction can leads to annoying blisters which could really spoil your trip.

Wearing unsuitable socks can also be one of the causes, as nylon & polyester material will not absorb your sweat properly and they usually are not thick enough to do it. Thick socks from wool material is the most suitable, as it could absorb sweat, isolate heat (which will help you warm your feet at the peak) and protect your feet from friction with the inside padding of the shoes (which could leads to blister formation). Cotton socks is unsuitable as you are at risk of hypothermia as it retains water.

2. Hands
Hand injuries usually happened at your second stage of your climb, where you use it almost all the time to hold the guide rope on the Summit Trail. As the trail is more than 13,000 feet above sea level, low temperature and strong wind will almost definitely make your hands cramp and numb, unless you use one, or even 2 pairs of gloves to protect it.

It depends on your preferences, some climbers like to wear water-proof gloves, but I opted with some normal cotton wool gloves that is usually use by local construction workers. And I wear 2 pair of those.

3. Upper body (trunk)
Most climbers will climb Mount Kinabalu with less than 10kg of backpack. Unless you need to spend more than 1 night, it is really not necessary for you to bring more loads, as excessive loads could injure your upper back muscle, especially if you don’t have enough training.

Shoulders, upper back and spine, and even your lower back muscle is the most affected, as moving your body uphill with the loads actually increases your potential energy, which means you need more energy to do the work. By this, it is more prone to get injury.

4. Legs and lower limbs
The body part that is primarily used for Mount Kinabalu climbing. Can easily get injured at almost every part - the bone, muscle, tendon and ligament - unless you have a good workout and training for this kind of activities.

Your muscle will be used to the limit when you climb uphill, but it is your joints that is working during your downhill climb. As climbing down releases potential energy, you joints works to absorb more shock with every footstep to stop motion instantaneously.

4 Injuries from the exposure of body to environment (or some medical professional describe it as illness).

1. Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which your body temperature drops below that required for normal metabolism and bodily functions. This condition could happen while you are on the bare rocks of Kinabalu, 13,500 feet above sea level. The temperature can drop to below 5 degree Celsius, and prolong exposure to this environment can leads to hypothermia.

Most climbers will wake up at 2am in the morning to start the second phase of the climb through the cold darkness. You will be exposed to cold temperature for about 4 hours - which can be really cold if it is raining and windy. Wearing thick clothes and maybe a simple raincoat will reduce the risk of hypothermia.

*Do you know that the cause of death of Ellie was hypothermia?

2. Dehydration
Dehydration is a condition in which our body contains an insufficient volume of water for normal functioning. During the first phase of the climb, your body is exposed to fluid loss from sweating. You may exposed to dehydration if you climb uphill without consuming adequate water, especially in a hot and/or humid environment of lower zone of Kinabalu.

That is why the authority have set up huts on the Summit Trail with untreated water tanks for you to refill your water bottle on your way up and down the mountain. Drink a lot of water on the way - better still put a sachet of oral rehydration salt into your water to replenish the electrolytes that you have loss from sweating. You can easily get fatigue if you are dehydrated.

3. Altitude sickness
Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness (AMS) or altitude illness is a pathological condition that is caused by acute exposure to low air pressure (usually outdoors at high altitudes).

It commonly occurs above 2,400 meters (approximately 8,000 feet). Bare in mind that Laban Rata is at about 11,000 feet above sea level. This condition is caused by reduced partial pressure of oxygen, while the percentage of oxygen in air remains essentially constant with altitude at 21 percent.
*I have explained about altitude sickness here.

4. Internal organ illness
Is what happened to your internal organ when exposed to all external hazard - the weather, the altitude, the heat, the food, the water, the environment… You name it… As the list go on, this is what you have to bear in mind.

You could experience just about any illness that is related to the hazard. You may have to prepare yourself with a good first aid kit to relieve the symptoms, hoping that it would not hinder yourself from conquering the highest peak of Borneo.

Fall
I could not categorize fall in either of the group above. While all the above known injuries could be prevented with a good preparation before and during the climb, falling is not. A lot of external factors that could leads to fall - as you are climbing against and towards gravity.

Wet boulders and rocks can be very slippery sometimes. Wrong judgment and misaligned foot while walking through slippery surfaces can leads to fall. It is not about the mountain all the time, but climbers can sometimes be careless and ignorant.

Emergency Medical Evacuation

What could happen if you get injured from a fall?
Porters of Kinabalu have a very systematic way of lifting injured climbers down the mountain. As what Leong have wrote on his Multiply page, the only way available (at this moment of time) is to strap the injured climbers on a stretcher and bring them down carefully.

There are some issues on air lifting injured climbers down from Mount Kinabalu by helicopter, and up until now, it has not been totally resolved.

However, we have good news for climbers who are concern about their safety. Insuring your trip to Mount Kinabalu may alleviate your anxiety if anything happen. Multinational Underwriters’s travel medical insurance policies have an optional “Sports Rider” that will cover you when you do hazardous sports. They could provide airlifting for any emergency medical evacuation, and could cost over $30,000 depending on the location and rescue. Check it out.