In the Middle East, a simple nosebleed. Or is it?

Last week, an engineer in his late 30s doing contract work for the U.S. military on the Arabian peninsula started to worry about his nose. It had been bleeding for more than a week and he could do nothing to make it stop. The man checked himself into a local clinic, whose doctors packed his nostrils with gauze and applied ointment.

 It didn’t heal. He returned a second time and his nose was cauterized. The bleeding continued. The local clinic checked his blood pressure and found it high, whereupon the otolaryngologist on site explained that he could not successfully cauterize the blood vessels. His nose was repacked, he was given medication to treat his high blood pressure, and the man called Global Rescue as a precaution. 

Global Rescue’s doctors reviewed his records and requested a certain lab test be done. The clinic obtained those results, which they sent back to Boston for review. The results showed negative for the more serious condition the American doctors were concerned about, and his treatment remained unchanged. After afew days, his bleeding did not return. 

No, there was no high drama on this mission. No international medical evacuation, no helicopters or air ambulances or security teams deployed. Just a routine nosebleed and a simple request by Western doctors for a lab test that otherwise would not have been ordered. It serves a reminder that sometimes what travelers need most is peace of mind, secured by the knowledge that expert specialists are overseeing your care, as insurance against more serious complications.