Traveller's Diarrhoea

Diarrhoea is the single most common health complaint amongst travellers and up to 50% of people travelling abroad will suffer from intestinal problems. Whilst diarrhoea is rarely life-threatening and in most cases goes away on its own for the majority of people getting it whilst away from home is a real nuisance. PrimaMed travel clinic can offer a simple course of antibiotics to manage the symptoms of traveller’s diarrhoea as part of your travel kit essentials. Put your mind at ease by taking precautionary measures against traveller’s diarrhoea.

What is traveller’s diarrhoea?

Diarrhoea is normally defined as an episode of three or more liquid stools per day. This is often accompanied by an increased frequency and urgency of bowel movements, bloating, cramps, nausea, vomiting, general malaise and, sometimes, fever. Episodes can be isolated or recurrent, but in most cases are self-limiting and go away after a few days. If diarrhoea causes particular discomfort, or does not go away after 5 or more days medical intervention may be required.

What causes traveller’s diarrhoea?

This kind of diarrhoea is often associated with travel outside of Europe to places in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Central and Latin America where hygiene standards are typically lower. Diarrhoea can of course affect those who holiday in more developed countries as well.

The most common cause of traveller’s diarrhoea is faecal poisoning following ingestion of contaminated food and water. This normally occurs when someone does not wash their hands after going to the toilet and then handles food.
Nearly all cases of diarrhoea occur within the first 2 weeks of travelling, however episodes can occur upon returning from a trip abroad.

Curing diarrhoea

If you experience a particularly unpleasant bout of diarrhoea or should your symptoms last longer than 4 days, medical treatment is advised. Traveller’s diarrhoea can be treated quickly and easily using a short course of antibiotics. Ciprofloxacin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribed to treat diarrhoea. Take one 500mg tablet of Ciprofloxacin two times daily for just three days to clear up infection.

At-risk groups

The elderly, young children and those suffering with chronic illness are more likely to develop complications such as dehydration resulting from diarrhoea. It is very important to ensure that fluids lost due to diarrhoea are regularly replaced especially if you are travelling in a hot country.

Preventing diarrhoea

Traveller’s diarrhoea is often an inevitable part of travelling away from home, but there are steps you can take to minimise your risk of infection and reduce the severity of illness.

Use only bottled water – for both drinking and brushing your teeth. When you buy water check the seal is not broken before drinking as often bottles are “recycled” and filled from a tap. Alternatively you can boil water and treat it with special water purification tablets following instructions on how to go about doing so safely.
Other drinks - Drinking hot drinks made with boiled water such as black tea or black coffee is generally considered safe. Avoid drinking milk as it is likely to be unpasteurised.
Use a straw when drinking fizzy drinks, checking it has not been reused.
Avoid eating certain foods – when away including all raw fruit and vegetables which are likely to have been washed in tap water. Do not eat any dairy products or uncooked meat.
Other precautions include avoiding any food which looks as though it has been left out all day, or needs reheating. It is best to eat freshly prepared meals or foods which have been deep fried.
Wash your hands – before you eat and as a precautionary measure clean your hands with either and antiseptic wipe or hand gel.

Useful tips

It can be beneficial to take a course of probiotics to help support your digestive system when travelling. Probiotics bought in sachet or capsule form from the pharmacy contain millions of good bacteria to support your gut. They will not prevent you from getting diarrhoea, but can help your body maintain intestinal immunity.