Dubai Health Issues

Special thanks to Dr Neil Livingston  for this information.

This is a summary of a presentation given at Dubai Women's College to new faculty in 2004, but I feel is still relevant.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Dubai generally has a high standard of Medical care, both in primary health and in Hospital facilities. It must be remembered that the conditions in the Middle East are quite different from our home countries and these conditions lead to some special precautions and requirements to live in Dubai in a healthy manner.

Your employer will provide you with Private Health Insurance which will cover you for almost 100% of your personal health needs. Your families may not be covered by this or you may elect to utilize the public health facilities which are open to anybody holding a resident visa. These require a Health Card which are available through the public hospitals (Dept. of Health), they enable you or your families to attend the Public Hospitals and Community Health Centres. Cost of issue of the Health Card is approximately 300 Dhs. (Note For HCT staff NGI covers you and your families see the NGI section)

Primary Care Many Medical Centres exist around the city, the private clinics are mostly for the local community, there are several catering to the specific needs of the expatriate community. Most provide after-hours care and some ,house calls. Look for a clinic which provides for your specific family’s needs. (See Dubai Connector Publication for a comprehensive list )

Hospitals The public hospital system provides a high quality of care, especially in the case of a accident or injury, long waiting lists exist for elective procedures. Private hospitals provide very good care as inpatients and outpatient facilities. Specifically, American Hospital (Ph.3367777) and Wellcare Hospital (Ph. 2827788).

Dentists. High quality of care available for general Dentistry and Orthodontics, all are reasonably expensive but very good. (eg. Jumeira Beach Dental Clinic Ph.3499433 and Drs. Nicholas and Asp Dental Clinic Ph. 3454443 Full list in Connector)

Pharmacies Are located on every street corner, they are well stocked , try to buy well known brands or company products. The staff have very little training and don’t rely on their advice.

Ambulances. run by the Government and are obliged to take people to a Public Hospital. Response time can be extremely variable.

• Food There is a large variety of foods available in Dubai. It is important to wash vegetables, salads and fruit well before consumption some people treat their fruit and vegetables with chlorine based agents. Fish is generally fresh and safe to eat. It may take time for stomachs to adjust to food changes especially to Middle Eastern foods. If persistent diarrhoea presents it is important to have a stool culture to exclude bacterial gastro-enteritis.

• Water The tap-water in Dubai is safe to drink, most people prefer to drink bottled water as the taste of tap-water is rather metallic. Local companies provide home delivery (eg. Oasis Water Ph.04 8845656). It is essential to drink large amounts of water in this climate 2.5 litres/day, needs may increase up to 2-3 times this if playing sport or gardening. If you are passing plenty of urine then you are drinking enough. Remember to carry large amounts of water if you are travelling out into the desert.

• Sun It is important to respect the damage the sun can inflict on the skin, eyes and as a contribution to dehydration. Always wear a broad brimmed hat, apply sun-block and wear 100% UV filtering sunglasses. Almost 100% of skin cancers seen in the UAE are in Caucasians. Always block out your children and encourage them to wear sun-glasses. Beware children can burn their feet on metal grates exposed to the sun.

• Vaccinations. To live in Dubai the WHO recommend Hepatitis A and Typhoid vaccinations. There is debate about the value of TB vaccination but it is generally recommended. It is a good opportunity to ensure that all of your vaccinations are up to date (eg. Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B etc.)

• Travel Dubai is a central hub for travel to other countries, make sure that your travel vaccinations are up to date well before departure.  There have be some cases of malaria from the north-east emirates area, some prophylaxis is recommended.

• Children Ensure your children are up to date with their routine vaccinations, there is a relatively high incidence in Dubai of bacterial infections eg. tonsillitis, ear infections etc. Gastro-enteritis is quite common, usually mild.

• Bites/Crawly things There are no deadly spiders or reptiles in the UAE. Bad allergic reactions are commonly seen to spiders, ants, jelly-fish etc. Beware of dog-bites, most domestic dogs are quite safe but consideration of Rabies if bitten by a wild dog, consult your doctor.

• Safety issues Be extra careful around swimming pools and the beach, fencing etc. is often inadequate (non-existent), some body in the family should be skilled in CPR. Awareness of safety issues at the beach, (Sunburn, dehydration, jelly-fish bites, sea-urchins on rocks etc.) Be very careful on Dubai’s roads, always wear seat-belts for all passengers, never carry small children in the front seat, never trust the other drivers (they are mad until proven other-wise). If travelling into the desert always go with an experienced person ,carry plenty of water and mobile phone.

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This page was last updated by Leigh Butler on November 07, 2005