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Traveler's diarrhea
11-21-2012, 08:48 PM
Hey guys,
I'm a newbie here, but have been an avid lurker of this travel forum for while. It's great to find a site with a bunch of guys that have similiar interest as my own.
I have a decent amount of experience traveling through Mexico, and Peru, and aside from chasing women, I also love to sample the local food. My last trip to Peru, I spent 1 month in the country, and sadly about half that time I barely left my apartment. I literally spent my first 5 days in Lima glued to the toilet after eating at a local restaurant, and as I was starting to feel better after 5 days the symptoms returned several days later. I was told by a local friend of mine, that a medicine called Bactrim would help subside the runs, and it did for awhile, but I was just curious as to what you guys do when you travel down south. I am planning a trip to Colombia in Febuary, and wanted to take some precaution before I get there.
Do you mostly cook your own food? or take special medication that helps kill the bacteria in the food. Needless to say it really can fu*K up your trip, any help would be appreciated.
Thanks guys!
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Traveler's diarrhea
11-21-2012, 08:58 PM
I get vacines, and keep some chalk tablets, if/when shits hit the fan, makes my stomic relax. If im out of tablets, or they dont work.. I eat raw, uncooked rice. like a tablespoon full and swollow. Keeps it together. Good trip!
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Traveler's diarrhea
11-22-2012, 01:36 PM
I've been a few times to DR and everyone I've gone with has had diarrhea. I haven't. But when I travel there I take a probiotic that's called Intestinex. I think it has acidophilus and goat milk.
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Traveler's diarrhea
11-22-2012, 01:42 PM
A bit off topic, but I occasionally get upset stomach and diarrhea as well. I've considered Culturelle for it, but have stuck with either Dexilant (RX) or Prevacid (OTC) for treating this. I even went for a test to determine I had no bleeding ulcers, which I didn't. So can a daily probiotic really make a massive difference?
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Traveler's diarrhea
11-22-2012, 04:34 PM
I rarely cook as the food has been really cheap in most places. I have been pretty sick to my stomach, but I usually just ride it out with plenty of fluids. You have to watch out for how your food is prepared and how long it sits out. When I was in Cambodia I walked away from most places that let the flies run amok on the food after getting sick a few times. If you're on a shorter trip and want to play it safe you can ask other travelers for recommendations or stick to things like soup.
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Traveler's diarrhea
11-22-2012, 04:42 PM
Get antibiotics prophylactically when you travel to third world places.(there are WHO recommendations for which countries you need to take antibiotics prophylactically).If you get diarrhoea with fever take ciprofloxacin.
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Traveler's diarrhea
11-22-2012, 11:59 PM
Thanks for the info guys, i think i'll head to the doc for anti-biotics before I head out to Colombia. Being that I only have a month there I want to be at the top of my 'game' the whole time there.
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Traveler's diarrhea
11-23-2012, 01:52 AM
I never had any problems in Colombia although I didn't eat much street meat there, only a handful of times. Actually in Colombia I was impressed by how clean most of the restaurants were, you'll see the waiters and food attendants scrubbing things down a lot. Once when I was getting a shake at a fruteria in Medellin and there was a municipal food inspector there doing an inspection, very reassuring.
I've been in Thailand for just over two weeks now and spent all of last night pissing out of my ass and just got back from the pharmacy where I got some pills. I'm pretty sure its from the street food I ate two nights ago, it was late, around 2300 and I was starving so I went down the road to this little place and had a bowl of noddles and chicken. When I asked for water, all they had was a cooler jug full of ice cubes and water and I foolishly drank from that. All the others meals I've been eating at proper restaurants and malls, its more money but I"m willing to spend to avoid getting sick.