There are many names for traveler’s diarrhea-- and many causes. It is one of the primary problems faced by folks venturing farther afield. There are some things you can do to keep yourself healthy and to take care of yourself when the inevitable occurs...
Let’s begin at the logical point: prevention. Here’s some advice to help keep you out of trouble:
• Know where you’re going and what the risks may be
• Avoid drinking water if you don’t know the source
• Do not put ice in your drinks
• Do not eat frozen foods like popsicles-- lots of nasty things survive freezing
• Do not eat raw salads or fruit you cannot peel
• Wash your hands often, and use hand sanitizer or simply rubbing alcohol; or rub your dry hands vigorously together to kill germs by friction
• Eat moderately, and watch it on the spicy stuff if you’re not accustomed to it
• Beverages made from boiled/boiling water are safe
• Filter your own water. I got sick almost not at all after doing this. I use an ordinary camping filter. This removes most things, but not viruses. After filtering, I treat the water with a minute dose of iodine from iodine crystals I carry with me. The dosage can be quite small-- high doses are used on water that is not filtered. Iodine is used in Europe to treat municipal water supplies. In very low dosages, it is safe for long-term use. Water filters that add iodine automatically generally add too much. I prefer to control it myself.
• Travel with iodine crystals. Use a very strong solution to soak fresh vegetables and fruits from the market in for 30 minutes. DO NOT rinse the food with untreated water afterwards! Use filtered water. Then you can make a fresh salad or eat fresh fruit without risk of illness.
Some possible causes:
• What you’re eating and the time at which you’re eating it are just plain different from what you’re used to, and the body is irritable about it
• You’ve ingested a nasty bacterium-- one study indicates this is the case 61% of the time
• You’ve ingested a nasty virus-- around 22% of the time, viruses may be the cause; but 50% of the time, you have both a virus and something bacterial.
• You’ve ingested a nasty parasite-- a 12 % likelihood that you have one of two particular parasites: Giardia lamblia, or Entamoeba histolytica.
How do you tell the difference?? The symptoms may be quite similar. In fact, from 20-50% of the time, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, you won’t be able to tell what’s causing your problem! Most of the time, you’ll get better all by yourself. Here are two things to remember:
• DON’T start taking antibiotics right away, or any other medication. Resistance of disease organisms to a wide variety of drugs is seriously on the rise. You make things worse for yourself as well as for everyone after you by using antibiotics carelessly and ignorantly.
• DON’T take something to cause constipation, like Imodium or Lomotil, unless you have absolutely no choice. Studies on Lomotil show that it makes your problem worse! Medication to stop the diarrhea doesn’t address the problem and may delay your recovery.
What to do if you get the runs:
• Take it easy. Get some rest. Eat lightly and blandly and safely. Give it a day or two.
• Pay attention to your symptoms. Fever? Blood in the stool? Vomiting?
• Consider the source. Do you eat meat? It could be salmonella. Did you drink something with ice in it, or eat a salad? It could be Giardia.
• If you are burping or passing gas that is sulfurous (egg-flavored or -smelling), you most likely have Giardia. Giardia can be effectively treated only with the correct medication. The recommendation from doctors in Nepal, where Giardia is very common, is to take 2 grams (yes, that is 2 grams, a lot of medication!) of tinidazole (Tiniba) at one time. This is usually sufficient to eliminate the organism from your system. In this country, metronidazole (Flagyl) is the only drug available, and it must be taken for at least a week. Tinidazole is more effective for Giardia and less unpleasant for you.
• Remember you’re losing both water and electrolytes. Drink a great deal of safe liquid (water or diluted juice are good), and be sure you eat, even if it’s just a little, to replace electrolytes. You can also use oral rehydration salts.
If the symptoms are not too scary, try a few of these simple remedies. They help with bacterial infections mostly:
1. Raw garlic can be helpful. Eat a few chopped cloves.
2. Nutribiotic is an extract of grapefruit seed. It comes in liquid form or in capsules. I’ve used the liquid. I take 10-15 drops in a glass of water three or four times a day. It tastes perfectly dreadful (extremely bitter), but has often helped. I take it after meals once or twice a day as a preventative if I’m eating rather questionable food or don’t feel well.
3. Lemon oil is said to be helpful. Take a few drops on a sugar cube. This is recommended for women who are pregnant as a preventative, taken before each meal.
4. A doctor once advised eating an entire fresh pineapple. I found this worse than the original problem. Depends on how you react to pineapple...
5. You could take Pepto-bismol regularly-- but there are so many side effects and cautions about doing this, I’d recommend you read about it on the CDC’s website.
6. Eat yogurt, if you can find it, the kind with a live culture. The bacteria present in the yogurt are beneficial, and may help displace the bad guys in your gut. It’s also easy to digest...
7. If you get worse over the course of a day or two, or if you get no better at all, then go to a doctor.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Take your vitamins, make time for good rest, eat and drink safely and with care, and you’ll enjoy your adventure more...
