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No one plans a trip expecting to deal with traveler’s diarrhea, but it’s a common reality we have all probably faced at some point in our lives.
This is another follow up related to common travel diseases and infections abroad, which has to do with my last story about Delhi Belly. Remember if you prefer to watch you can always check out my Youtube channel.
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The first incident...
While I was in India I got a terrible stomach bug which immobilized me for a little while, but I had no idea that my system would be touch and go for long afterwards.
I spent two months in Nepal after being in India, and my GI tract was not happy on several occasions—leading to multiple episodes of classic traveler’s diarrhea.
The worst of these occasions occurred while I was in Pokhara after finishing the Annapurna circuit trek. I had some sort of strange luck because I was able to make it a whole three weeks without trouble on the trail but once I had finished, it seemed I was due for trouble.
To be honest, it wasn’t only the lentil soup that is to blame here.
There was a suspicious falafel and mango lassi that caused the onset illness. After that meal I lasted about an hour before I had to vomit.
I vomited what felt like all the liquid in my body, and it continued into the night. Eventually the vomiting turned into diarrhea, and at some point I decided to take an Imodium in an attempt to stop more loss of liquid.
The flood gates opened
You can imagine how I felt the next day. The good part is I stopped losing liquids from every orifice. But then I started to feel feverish, and my whole body was aching.
The following two days I hardly ate. While my friends were eating pizza and delicious Chinese, I was running to the bathroom to relieve myself (from either end) about every hour.
I decided to opt for a lentil soup on the third day, thinking that a soup would be comforting and easy on my system. Immediately after eating it I knew I had made the wrong choice.
I have never had such debilitating diarrhea ever. It felt like my intestines were heaving. Luckily one of my friends had these amazing rehydration salts on hand, and gave me some to make sure I didn’t completely wither away.
After changing up my strategy I was fine in a few days. The reason I am sharing this story is to give some quick tips on what to do and what not to do if you run into these kinds of stomach issues abroad.
Do pack rehydration salts
Rehydration salts are really key. You should also make sure to drink enough water, but your body will loose a lot of electrolytes while vomiting or having diarrhea so you’ll want to make sure you are replenishing that loss.
These are actually a staple in my packing lists now. I always like to keep two in my bag just incase of emergencies when I’m not close enough to a pharmacy or don’t have the physically energy to go out and buy them.
You could alternatively make your own using a basic recipe with salt and sugar, but I must say the flavourings in some of the packs are a nice addition when you are having a hard time keeping anything down.
Do not take Imodium (unless it's an Emergency)
Only take it if you really really need to, say if you know you won’t have bathrooms nearby for the next while.
My advice is this: let whatever demon is lurking inside you out. Taking Imodium prevents the bacteria that caused the traveler’s diarrhea from leaving your GI tract (along with the fluids you’d prefer to keep inside). Part of the healing process is getting whatever is wreaking havoc out of your body.
I think where I went wrong was taking the Imodium, and then having the relapse a few days later after having the fibrous lentil soup. Which leads me to my next point of advice.
Experiencing traveler's diarrhea? Eat starchy foods only!
The lentil soup was a mistake. A liquid broth would have been a better alternative, and probably would have also provided me with some restorative electrolytes.
The issue with the lentil soup was the high fibre content, which basically opened the faucet of the traveler’s diarrhea to full blast.
After the soup I ate exclusively starchy foods for a few days. Plain white rice, plain bread, and a random boiled potato. Rice and bread are probably the better options there, but I was desperate for some variety so added in the potato. Eating these kinds of foods will help slow down the movement of things a bit, but won’t totally shut off the valve like the Imodium does.
Do take probiotics after the traveler's diarrhea subsides
The last thing, and possibly the most useful suggestion I would give is to get your hands on some probiotics.
Though this won’t help you with any bouts of traveler’s diarrhea in the present, it will prepare your body and GI tract for future invasions by harmful bacteria.
In fact, the doctor who helped me with my stomach bug in India prescribed me some as I was taking strong antibiotics for the infection I had. Obviously that amount of probiotics was not enough to completely re work my intestines with good bacteria, since I had incidents like this one in Nepal. The more variety of probiotics (and good sources of probiotics from diet) you can get your hands on the better. The only thing worse than having a stomach attack like this one, is having another one later.
I hope these tips are helpful for you. Though I would never wish these situations upon anyone, I do hope that if it does happen to you, you are prepared and make a swift recovery.
Remember to pack those rehydration salts and other handy meds into your first aid kit while travelling!
Thanks so much for reading, let me know in the comments if you’ve made a similar mistake like this while abroad, or other handy tips you have for traveler’s diarrhea!
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Wishing you all safe (and hydrated) adventures in the future my friends.
Much love,
Danika
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