In an emergency you will not have time to research. Read this once now, and the decision later takes seconds.

The three numbers

  • 192 — SAMU. The mobile emergency medical service. This is the one you call for a health emergency.
  • 193 — Fire brigade and rescue. Accidents, fires, water rescues.
  • 190 — Police.

Calls are free. If you cannot explain yourself in Portuguese, give the address first and repeat it slowly — location matters more than description.

Call 192 or go straight in, without waiting, if there is

  • Chest pain, or pain spreading to the arm or jaw
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Sudden weakness on one side, a drooping face or confused speech
  • A serious injury or heavy bleeding
  • Loss of consciousness, or a seizure

Do not drive yourself, and do not wait for an online appointment.

UPA or pronto-socorro?

Both are open around the clock, and choosing right saves hours.

  • A UPA is an urgent care unit: consultations, stitches, injuries, X-ray, basic lab tests and an ECG. For urgent problems that are not life-threatening, it is usually faster.
  • A pronto-socorro is a hospital emergency department, for serious and complex cases.

Emergency care is provided to anyone in Brazil, tourists included. You will not be turned away for being foreign or having no documents.

What to have ready

  • Your passport, and your insurance policy number if you have one
  • A list of the medicines you take, with generic names
  • Your allergies
  • A phone with a translation app

What an online consultation is for — and is not

A video consultation is right for problems you can describe: an infection, a skin reaction, medication that ran out, a doubt about whether symptoms are serious. It is not for an emergency. If you are reading a warning sign in this article and recognising yourself, close it and call 192.

Frequently asked questions about medical emergencies in Brazil

Which number do I call for an ambulance?

192, the SAMU emergency medical service. The call is free.

Will a public hospital treat me as a tourist?

Yes. Emergency care in Brazil is provided to anyone, regardless of nationality or documents.

UPA or hospital?

UPA for urgent but not life-threatening problems, hospital emergency for serious cases.

Nobody speaks my language. What do I do?

Give your location first, use a translation app, and show your written list of medicines and allergies.

General information, not individual medical advice. Reviewed by Dr. Marcelo Rafael Lujan, CRM-SC 42.900.

Not an emergency, but you would like a doctor's opinion today? See how an online consultation works, in English, wherever you are in Brazil.