Health in Bangkok: hospitals, pharmacies, emergencies and precautions

Emergency numbers

In Thailand, each emergency service has its own short number, free to call from a local phone:

Numbers checked in October 2026 in Canadian travel advice and with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. In practice, if you do not speak Thai, the quickest option is often to call a private hospital's emergency department directly (numbers below): these hospitals send their own ambulances and answer in English. Scams, theft and police numbers are covered in our guide to scams and safety in Bangkok.

International private hospitals

Private hospitals are where travel insurers send foreigners. They have a 24-hour emergency department, a desk for international patients and doctors who have often trained abroad. The downside is the price: the bill comes close to that of a private clinic in Europe, and the UK authorities point out that hospitals require a guarantee of payment before treating patients. Keep your insurer's assistance number and a bank card on you.

• Bumrungrad International: 33 Sukhumvit Soi 3 (Soi Nana Nua), between the BTS Nana and Ploen Chit stations. 24-hour switchboard on +66 2 066 8888, ambulance on +66 2 011 5222, short number 1378 from a Thai phone. The hospital reports more than 150 interpreters, including French speakers, and a free coordination office for foreign patients.
• Bangkok Hospital: 2 Soi Soonvijai 7, New Petchburi Road, Huai Khwang. Emergency line 1719 from within Thailand, switchboard +66 2 310 3000.
• Samitivej Sukhumvit: 133 Sukhumvit Soi 49, Watthana. 24-hour switchboard and ambulance on +66 2 022 2222, emergency department on +66 2 378 9090.
• BNH Hospital: 9/1 Convent Road, Silom. Emergency department on +66 2 632 1000, 24-hour call centre on +66 2 022 0700.

If you are staying in Sukhumvit, Bumrungrad and Samitivej are the closest; in Silom, BNH; on the Thonburi bank, Siriraj Hospital. Our guide to where to stay in Bangkok maps out these areas. At rush hour, traffic can double an ambulance's journey time: for a non-life-threatening case, a taxi or ride-hailing app to the nearest hospital is often faster.

Public hospitals

Bangkok's large public hospitals are leading university centres, cheaper than private ones, but waits are long and reception is mainly in Thai. Two of them have services suited to foreigners:

• Siriraj (2 Wang Lang Road, Bangkok Noi), the oldest hospital in the country, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, opposite the old town. Its private wing, Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun, takes paying patients on 1474 or +66 2 419 1000 (24 hours). The site is also home to the Siriraj Museum, devoted to the history of medicine.
• King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (1873 Rama IV Road), run by the Thai Red Cross, opposite Lumphini Park. 24-hour switchboard on +66 2 256 4000.

Next door, the Thai Red Cross's Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute (1871 Rama IV Road, +66 2 252 0161), known to visitors for its snake farm, is also a reference centre for rabies treatment and vaccinations. Its clinic hours are not published on its official website: phone before you go.

Pharmacies and medicines

Pharmacies are everywhere in Bangkok: chain stores in shopping centres and Skytrain stations, independent shops on the streets. A licensed pharmacist must be present during opening hours and often speaks some English. For a cold, traveller's diarrhoea, an insect bite or sunburn, this is the first port of call.

The Thai classification is less strict than in Europe: some medicines sold only on prescription in Europe, including antibiotics, can be handed over on the pharmacist's advice alone. That is no reason to treat yourself: if you have a fever, see a doctor, because fever can be a sign of dengue, for which aspirin and ibuprofen are not recommended.

Bringing your own medicines

Thailand strictly controls the import of certain medicines. According to the guidance of the Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) in force in October 2026:

• Sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs and some ADHD treatments (zolpidem, alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, lorazepam, bromazepam, methylphenidate…): allowed for up to 30 days of treatment, with a prescription or medical certificate, without a permit or customs declaration.
• Opioid painkillers (codeine, dihydrocodeine, morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, methadone): up to 30 days of treatment, but with a Thai FDA permit applied for at least two weeks before arrival, a certificate from your home country's health authority and a declaration at the customs red channel.
• Banned: amphetamines, including the dexamphetamine used for ADHD, as well as cannabis and THC, even if prescribed abroad.

The prescription must state your name and address, the condition treated, the medicines, their dosage and total quantity, and the doctor's name, address and registration number. The French ministry advises a prescription written in English. Keep medicines in their original packaging.

Vaccines and mosquito-borne diseases

No vaccine is required to enter Thailand from Europe; yellow fever is only required of travellers coming from a country where it occurs, or who have transited through an airport there. The French Ministry for Foreign Affairs recommends being up to date with routine vaccines (diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough, measles) and, depending on the length and conditions of the stay, vaccination against hepatitis A, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis (rural stays), hepatitis B (long or repeated stays) and rabies. A measles alert was issued in March 2026, mainly for the regions bordering Myanmar and Laos. Check with a travel vaccination centre a few weeks before you leave.

Dengue

Dengue, carried by a mosquito that bites mainly during the day, is the main infectious risk in Bangkok. From 1 January to 19 August 2026, the Department of Disease Control recorded 21,620 cases and 31 deaths nationwide, including 1,785 cases and 4 deaths in Bangkok, a lower level than in 2025. Cases rise during the rainy season, from May to October. There is no specific treatment: prevention means skin repellent, covering clothes and an air-conditioned room or mosquito nets. Chikungunya and Zika, carried by the same mosquito, are also present; Zika is a particular risk for pregnant women.

Malaria, on the other hand, does not affect Bangkok: risk areas are limited to the regions bordering Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia, and no preventive treatment is needed for a city stay.

Rabies

Stray dogs and cats, monkeys and bats can transmit rabies, which is fatal once symptoms appear. Do not stroke animals, even in temple grounds where dogs often live. After a bite, a scratch or a lick on broken skin, wash thoroughly with soap and water for several minutes, then see a doctor the same day: post-exposure vaccination is available in hospitals and at the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute.

Heat, water and pollution

Heat

The hot season runs from late February to mid-May, and April is the hardest month. The Department of Disease Control advises avoiding staying outdoors between 11:00 and 15:00, drinking before you feel thirsty and limiting alcohol and coffee. Plan outdoor sightseeing for early morning, take breaks in air-conditioned museums and shopping centres, and call 1669 in case of confusion, burning skin or collapse, possible signs of heatstroke. The month-by-month climate is covered in our guide to the best time to visit Bangkok.

Tap water

French and Canadian official advice is to drink only bottled or purified water, sold everywhere for a few baht. Wash fruit in bottled water or choose fruit peeled in front of you, and favour street food served piping hot.

Air pollution

From November to March, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) regularly exceeds the limits in the capital. On heavily polluted days, check the air quality index, cut down on outdoor exertion and wear a filtering mask if you have asthma or are sensitive.

Floods and leptospirosis

Heavy rain flooded parts of Bangkok from 25 September 2026. On 28 September, the Department of Disease Control warned of the risk of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread by contaminated water (3,303 cases and 46 deaths nationwide since the start of the year). Avoid walking barefoot in water or mud, shower after any contact and see a doctor quickly if you have a fever or calf pain in the following weeks.

Travel insurance and medical costs

In October 2026, no insurance is required at entry for a visa-free tourist stay, but the French ministry considers it essential: it should cover hospital costs and medical repatriation, and the embassy does not pay medical bills. Check whether the bank card you used to pay for the trip includes assistance, and up to what limit. An entry fee of 450 baht including insurance for tourists was approved in principle in August 2026, but it is not yet in force.

On the day of treatment, a private hospital usually asks either for a guarantee from your insurer or for payment by card. Call your assistance provider before you arrive, if your condition allows: it can contact the hospital directly and guarantee the bill. Keep all the paperwork afterwards (medical report, invoices, prescriptions) for reimbursement. Payment methods and card limits are covered in our guide to paying in Bangkok.

The French embassy

The French embassy is at 35 Charoen Krung Soi 36 (Rue de Brest), in Bang Rak. Switchboard on +66 2 844 7005. Outside opening hours (every day from 17:00 to 8:00 and from 15:30 on Fridays), an emergency duty line answers on +66 81 994 4901, only for serious situations: accident, death, assault. Before leaving, French nationals can register on Ariane, the ministry's service that lets it contact travellers in a crisis; other travellers should check their own embassy's registration service.

Further reading

Our guide to scams and safety in Bangkok complements this one on theft, local laws and traffic. To choose the least hot and least polluted months, see the best time to visit Bangkok, and to stay near a major hospital, our guide to where to stay in Bangkok.