That health center in the health area of ​​Vigo notice massive arrival of pilgrims who chose the Camino Portugues de la Costa to reach Santiago. They treated them as one more patient, even though they realized that would mean addition more pressure on excessive Primary Care.

Hikers with backpacks, hats and a few sticks are a regular part of the landscape in the Vigo region during both winter and summer, when the influx doubles, and it is now not uncommon to find them also in Primary consultation.

the wear and tear it produces walk 25 or 30 kilometers a day in the sun it puts a dent in some of these people, who have varied profiles, from young, usually healthy people to older people with underlying pathology.

when they have urgency They go to a health centre, which is obligated to treat them, whether they have a European health card or not, and regardless of whether they are then billed.

Family doctors in the city admit they are increasingly treating more and more pilgrims. “Before it was an anecdote, now it isn’t.” For their part, the the wellness center on the coast caters to a higher volume of pilgrims.

Vigo already has the pilgrim hostel at O ​​Berbés, which last year alone received 8,000 worshipers from 42 different countries. The biggest influx occurred in the summer, with 4,185 pilgrims between July, August and September.

main pathology

The main problems of the pilgrims have to do with blisters at the feet, fatigue, heat attack, Burns, indigestion And little accident. Here are the basics. However, among hikers, for example, there are significant numbers of retirees from Germany or the UK, and other older people starting the experience. “Many have age-related co-morbidities and get complicated.” At a health center on the beach, they came to treat thrombophlebitis in a foreign pensioner.

language barrier

One of Difficulties in attending pilgrims from other countries is a barrier from Language. Health workers usually solve problems using the most universal language, such as English, or they are lucky that the other person speaks Spanish, but there are cases where fluent communication is not possible. They are people from all continents and not all of them know English nor do any of the toilets work in the language. In this case, they use Google translator and gestures directly. In the end, they understood each other.