A Broken Nose: Accidents While Studying Abroad

While studying abroad is an incredible adventure, it isn't always smooth sailing, and accidents do happen. Today, I'm sharing how I broke my nose during my exchange, how I handled it, and why having good health insurance is an absolute lifesaver.

Throughout my exchange in Barcelona, I dealt with several health hiccups, which isn't very common, but not even that could ruin my experience. I still consider those seven months abroad some of the best times of my life; they taught me countless lessons and truly tested my physical and mental resilience.

A little bit of everything happened to me: during the first few weeks, I caught a stomach bug; later on, a persistent cough; another time, food poisoning, along with various random infections. But hands down, the scariest moment was when I broke my nose.

Going on an exchange isn't always easy. For many, it's their first time traveling without family, living on their own, or even leaving their home country and boarding an airplane. So falling sick can be a massive shock. However, your mindset makes all the difference in moments like these.

Beyond keeping a positive attitude, having 24/7 health insurance is vital one that covers everything from a minor scrape to major emergencies. That is precisely why most embassies require policies to cover comprehensive care, right down to repatriation of remains.

I took out health insurance through Mundo Joven, and honestly, despite a few quirks, I highly recommend it. Every single time I needed help, they came through and sorted things out for me.

The Story Behind the Accident

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It happened during the Venice Carnival. I had gone for a weekend getaway with a group of friends and the guy I had a massive crush on at the time. Everything was going great until we decided to stop by Caffè Florian, one of the oldest,most elegant, and iconic cafés in the entire region. As I was walking down the stairs to the restroom, I stepped on my own shoelaces and went flying.

When I finally hit the ground, I partially blacked out. All I remember is an intense throbbing pain in my teeth, every single waiter and customer staring right at me, and my best friend screaming my name, desperately waiting for me to come to.

When my friends helped me up, the concussion hit me and I threw up right onto the café’s ultra-luxurious carpet. Everyone went into full panic mode. They helped clean me up, handed me a coffee, and we headed straight back to the hotel. On the way, I threw up three more times, once directly into a canal, yet strangely enough, the sharp pain had faded; I just felt completely numb.

I clearly remember my friends looking at me with pure terror, whispering among themselves. Now I know they were panicking because my nose looked horrifying and obviously broken. When I finally looked in a mirror, I blurted out:"Promise me I’m not going to look ugly forever," and they promised me a million times over.

Looking back, my reaction was bizarre, but it honestly helped me bounce back fast. I decided to lean into the humor of it all, cracking jokes about my face and the entire disaster, because really, who breaks their nose while trying to flirt with their crush? It felt like a bad rom-com.

Despite the chaos, I tried to brush it off and decided against seeing a doctor, convincing myself the swelling would go down by morning. Spoiler alert: it didn't.

A Trip to the Doctor

The next day, I still indulged myself by going to see the Flight of the Angel because I refused to let an injury ruin my vacation. People couldn't stop staring at me, though, until a girl finally walked up and told me I really needed to get it checked out, she had broken her nose the previous year and said mine looked identical. That was the moment I realized it was time to head to the hospital.

I called my insurance, and they directed me to the nearest facility, the Ospedale SS. Giovanni e Paolo. It happens to be one of the top hospitals in the area and honestly quite gorgeous; as a tourist, it's actually worth seeing, though I ended up visiting more out of necessity than choice.

I spent hours waiting in the ER for my turn, but my best friend never left my side. When they finally saw me, the doctors didn't speak any English, so we had to rely on a translator app the entire time.

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All I wanted was to hear them say my nose wasn't broken and that it was just swollen. But after X-rays, CT scans, and a battery of tests to rule out brain damage, they delivered the news: luckily, my brain was completely fine, but unfortunately, my nose was broken and visibly deviated to the right. In that split second, I thought my study-abroad dream was over and I'd be forced to fly back to Mexico.

Once I was back in Barcelona, I headed to the Hospital de Mataró for a follow-up. The staff there were so incredibly kind that they didn't even ask for my insurance, they just genuinely wanted to help. They ran a few more tests and informed me that I would be going into surgery the very next day. Panic set in, but I tried looking on the bright side: "Hey, maybe my nose will end up looking even better." However, when the ENT evaluated me, he attempted to manually reset my nose right there in the office. It didn't work because the bone had already begun to set, but he ultimately concluded that I didn't need immediate surgery. He explained that it posed no risk to my overall health and that I could easily wait until my exchange ended to get it fixed back home in Mexico.

Armed with just ibuprofen and ice packs, I gradually healed. Two weeks later, I was back on my feet and feeling like new, I even made it to the Sitges Carnival! Still, the whole ordeal taught me some invaluable lessons:

• Everything happens for a reason. This was a true test of physical and mental resilience; having an accident far from home challenges your maturity and your ability to keep your cool in the middle of chaos.

  
  

• My best friend is simply incredible, and I want her in my corner for the rest of my life.

  
  

• Mundo Joven's health insurance was a total lifesaver. Without it, the cost of just the X-rays alone would have been through the roof.

  
  

• Healthcare in Italy wasn't the smoothest experience. The language barrier made communication really tough,and I spent hours waiting around. That said, I'm still grateful the day I went, there was no one on duty in the records department, yet they made an exception to get all my scans printed and handed over to me.

  
  

• Healthcare in Spain was top-notch. They treated me quickly, didn't bother asking for paperwork or insurance details until they knew I was stable, ran comprehensive tests, and didn't charge me a single dime. On top of that, the medical staff was exceptionally skilled and compassionate.

  
  

• Attitude is everything. If I had let myself spiral, the whole experience probably would have fallen apart. Instead, I leaned into humor, laughed at myself, and bounced back in no time.

  
  

• Support often comes from where you least expect it. I had only been on my exchange for two months, yet all the new friends I had made stepped up to look after me, spoil me, and keep my spirits high. Even my professors at TecnoCampus were remarkably understanding and accommodating throughout the entire ordeal.

  
  

So if you're ever studying abroad and find yourself dealing with an accident or illness, remember that everything happens for a reason. Look for the silver lining, embrace it as a learning curve, and treat it as a challenge that will only make you stronger.