If it is an emergency
Call 911. It works throughout Mexico, it is free from any phone, it operates 24 hours and there are English-speaking operators. Say «Emergency, English please» and you will be transferred. Calls are geolocated. It covers police, fire and ambulance from a single number.
Inside the terminal, tell any member of airport staff or airline staff. They can reach the on-site medical service faster than you can find it, and they know where it is.
Medical help at the airport
There are first-aid points in the terminals, staffed for the kinds of thing that actually happen at airports: heat, dehydration, a fall, a panic attack, a diabetic episode, a reaction to something eaten on the plane.
- Ask any staff member rather than looking for a sign. It is faster.
- Pharmacies exist in the terminals for the everyday things — painkillers, rehydration salts, antihistamines, motion sickness.
- Serious cases go to hospital in Cancun, which has private hospitals used to treating international visitors, about twenty minutes away.
Bringing medication into Mexico
Ordinary prescriptions are not a problem. Two categories are:
- Controlled substances — strong painkillers, some ADHD and anxiety medication. Carry them in the original labelled packaging with a copy of the prescription, and keep them in your hand luggage.
- Medical cannabis — a prescription issued in another country is not valid in Mexico, and neither are products derived from it. This applies however it is prescribed at home. The full list of what you cannot bring →
If you take something essential daily, split it between hand luggage and hold luggage so a delayed bag is not a medical problem.
Travel insurance
Healthcare here is good and private treatment is straightforward, but it is paid for. A hospital will ask how you intend to settle the bill before a non-emergency admission. Travel insurance that covers medical treatment is the single most useful thing to arrange before a trip to Mexico, and it costs a fraction of one night in a private hospital.