We just returned from a week of holiday in Hungary, I wish I could say we had a great time, but we didn’t all due to a nasty viral infection our son (and later us) got while still in the UK. But let’s start from the beginning:
We were due to fly out on Sunday however our little lad had fever on Friday night and was were upset, couldn’t sleep, there goes our holiday I though. He has been having horrible time with teething and I wasn’t sure if it was the teething fever or something else, but he was fine next day so we decided that it was indeed the teeth and on Sunday afternoon we set off to the airport. He was happily running around at the airport, but after take off as he fell asleep on my lap I could also feel his temperature rising. By the time we landed and got into the rental car he was very hot and had a nasty cough. It was a late night flight and we didn’t get to bed till after midnight, but sadly there was no sleeping for me, he was twisting and turning in my arms and had 39,5 C fever. I am not afraid of fever, I know it is the body’ fighting mechanism but he (and neither his sisters) had ever had this high fever so I was getting more and more worried. Was that still the teething, or something else?
I looked online and found the nearest pediatric surgery and was there 15 minutes before they opened at 8 am, Danny was very grumpy still but his temperature was back to normal. In Hungary children go to a pediatric surgery and not the GP, also you don’t need to call and hope to get an appointment the same day but just turn up and wait, and you are sure to see a doctor that day. Also you always see the same doctor and you can get to know each other and develop a relationship, which I think is brilliant, they actually know the child.
There was one child before us, so we only had to wait 15 minutes, after that we were seen by a very kind middle aged lady doctor and a health visitor. The doctor gave Danny a check up, listened to his lungs and heart, checked his throat and ears and concluded that he has a viral infection with sore throat and gave us some medicine for the fever and the pain, and recommended to get some herbal cough syrup too, which I got in the pharmacy next door. She said that Danny should be better very soon, but if we have any concerns then we should come back to the surgery. Danny is a British citizen and only has an EHIC card but it is accepted both by the surgery and the pharmacy too.
We got home and by the evening Danny was feeling better and started playing and stuffing his face with food as usual, but he still had the bad cough for days. Luckily his temperature remained normal and slept well so we only had to give him the cough syrup, which he actually liked.
Sadly his poor parents got the same illness a few days later, the fever (milder though), the sore throat and the nasty cough but luckily we brought back a few jars of Hungary’s excellent acacia and lyme blossom honey which is really good for sore throats. The silver line is that it prompted me to write about the pediatric care which we found to be excellent.
What to do when your child get’s ill in Hungary?
-ask your neighbour, or google where the nearest pediatric surgery is. (gyermekorvosi rendelő). They are normally open every day, with two doctors one doing the morning surgery and one the afternoon one.
- if your child gets ill at night or in the weekend look for the emergency pediatric surgery. (Gyermekorvosi ügyelet)
-remember the EHIC card. Most doctors do speak English, if in doubt ask a local friend or help from your hotel.
