Traveler’s diarrhea
When you travel to some parts of the world like Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, it’s almost a certainty. Surely you’ve heard of Delhi belly, Montezuma’s revenge, Hong Kong dog, Tiki trots and Casablanca crud? Well, for short, it’s traveler’s diarrhea, a condition you experience when you have a series of loose or watery bowel movements. This is often due to bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Causes: Traveler’s diarrhea is caused due to an infection with Escherichia coli.
Symptoms: Common symptoms of traveler’s diarrhea may not be visible within the first week of travel but you might experience them after returning home. You will experience stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and fever. However, it goes away after a couple of days or a maximum of five days. If blood accompanies your stools, see a doctor immediately.
How it spreads: The bacteria that causes traveler’s diarrhea usually reside in the intestines of the patient and originate in feces, soil, food, water, or places contaminated with feces. When you eat food contaminated with bacteria or put a contaminated object in your mouth, you become a prime candidate for traveler’s diarrhea. Water, for example, can be contaminated with sewage or meat with feces during the slaughter process.
Generally, traveler’s diarrhea is linked to poor sanitary conditions or low levels of personal hygiene. Your food can be contaminated if your kitchen staff works with unwashed hands or from washing crockery and cutlery with contaminated water.
Diagnosis: If you travel to an area where this is common, then the diagnosis will be based on the development of diarrhea there. Usually, you will experience a mild form of it and one that is remedied quickly with over-the-counter drugs.
When severe, antibiotics may be given and the exact organisms responsible for your condition will be identified so that appropriate drugs are given. Stools are also tested at clinical laboratories for detecting parasites and cultured for bacteria.
Treatment: Anyone suffering from traveler’s diarrhea should drink a lot of liquids to stay hydrated. Apart from this, non-prescription drugs can give relief from this condition, as your doctor will advise you.
Preventing traveler’s diarrhea: You can do the following to prevent getting traveler’s diarrhea:
- Develop good personal hygiene habits.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water each time you visit the toilet, handle animals, raw meat and before cooking or eating.
- Before eating, wash and peel all raw fruit and vegetables, cook all meats and don’t bring cooked food into the vicinity of raw meats or poultry.
- Eat and drink only pasteurized dairy products.
- Be careful about the water you drink.
How to help yourself:
- Drink clear fruit juice or weak tea with sugar.
- If you urine is yellow, drink more liquids.
- Take Pepto-Bismol. It can make your stools firmer and kill bacteria.
- Use natural fiber-based laxatives to relieve your constipation.
- Take easily available antibiotics.
If you have a herbalist in your area, try taking the following as a tincture—Astragalus, Picrorrhiza, Goldenseal, Barberry and Echinacea. These herbal remedies are not meant to be prophylactics, like a vaccine, but work on the principle of giving your body a better chance to stay healthy.