Your go-to for tummy issues...
 

Curious what others bring with them on their travels for those 'just in case' moments when you find your stomach isn't your best friend.

Seems like we've heard a few recommendations: Doxycycline, a Z-Pack, Levaquin, etc.

Obviously consulting with a doctor is always preferable--but I ask because I've had doctors and travel clinics all recommend different things.

Luckily we haven't needed them on a trip so far, but we always bring something with us 'just in case'.

a large plastic bag

karen

Doxy is not recommend for stomach upsets and has not been for at least a decade due to bacterial resistance. The two antibiotics currently recommended for SE Asia are Levaquin and Azythromycin (Z-pack). (These recommendations can be found on the cdc website.) Cipro, the old stand-by, is no longer recommended in SE Asia.

You'll also want some immodium in your "just in case" kit as well as re-hydration salts.

Like you, I also travel with an emergency stash of antibiotics (cipro). But luckily, I only really needed them years ago in Africa, when I felt as if they saved.my.life.

Now, I try to take a probiotic for 4-6 weeks before I leave, to strengthen my system, so to speak. And when I travel, I always have a stash of tums with me. Simple, but very effective after too much rich,spicy food.

Always carry Pepto Bismol tablets. And to be on safe side when it seems food or menu may be troublesome, we just take 1 tablet to be on safe side. Thus, have never had any problems. It is easy to buy, easy to carry and price is affordable too!

I also take sachets of salt replacement drink, helped Muffin when he was ill in Singapore a couple of years ago

I now take anti-nausea suppositories in additon to an antibiotic and we have had to use them only twice in the past 25yrs but were very glad to have them!

I also took 6 weeks of probiotic before I left for S.E. Asia. Get a good brand, they are not made equal.

David's poor choices n sports teams makes me sick to my stomach. North Carolina's horrible season perks me right up.

Imodium plus whatever antibiotic is currently recommended for my destination. In Syria on my last trip I got sick TWICE (and I hardly ever get sick) and some super-cheap stuff from the local pharmacy did a great job - I'll be taking that next time, as I only needed a third of it.

Bastyr University here in Seattle has done research on probiotics and travelers diarrhea. What they found was that taking the probiotics before travel made no difference in the incidence or duration of travelers diarrhea. But taking probiotics once you started to feel ill shortened the duration of travelers diarrhea. So that's worth considering as well.

Also remember when taking Immodium and Pepto Bismol ,they can do more harm than good some times. If you have a bacterial infection in your GI system you need to get it out of your body. By taking Immodium or pepto you stop the dirrhea which is natures way of ridding a body of infection if the GI tract. So go easy with those types of medicine, and keep Hydrated, to replace the fluids and salts you have lost. On pack of salt in a can of gingerale, 7 up or the likes and sip slowly.

kmkrnn - I agree that it's better to take the antibiotic and wait for your system to clear itself out. I've done that on occasion, but sometimes when you're traveling you just don't have that luxury. When you have to travel despite the diarrhea, Imodium is your friend!

We take Z-pack and Imodium but have never used the Imodium. Sorry to say, we have used the Z-pack but that's part of traveling...

So true, Karen, immodium is a last resort... but one you want to have available.

I have seen a 40+ yr old man who took pepto for 3 days and was sooooo dehydrated and toxic he was halucinating on the airplane home. He crated a medical emergency.

We brought Xifaxan with us to Ecuador and my husband needed it...it's a newer, expensive drug specifically for traveler's diarhhea caused by e coli.

Wow! Traveler's diarrhea is almost always caused by various enterobacteriaceae (E. coli, S. tyhpii, Shigella and other nasty creatures, gram negative rods) -- Cipro kills 'em, but Pepto and Imodium can ease the symptoms. I find one Imodium is enuf to stop the processes for a week. Pepto makes the nausea less awful. The key is to ease into the dosage gradually.

Sometimes food that's been sitting around too long at room temp can generate Staph. aureus toxins that make one sick fairly soon, but it's the toxin, not the bug that's making one ill, so antibiotics aren't much help.

We've only had problems once, in India, for about 12 hours. MP laid low and drank fluids and was fine by the next day. Z-Paks are erythromcycin, more appropriate for respiratory infections, gram positive rods.

I'm amazed at how many different strategies travelers use to deal with these problems. My bacteriology professors would be too!!

And don't forget those nasty GI viruses --- no antibiotic will help that affliction. Pepto and Imodium will.

Indiana, you are correct that most TD is caused by enterobacteriaceae. For many years, Cipro was the most recommended drug for treatment of TD. But because of that, the various bacteria in some areas of the world are now resistant to Cipro. That's why in S and SE Asia Cipro is no longer effective. As per the cdc, the two antibiotics recommended in those areas are Levaquin and Azithromycin (Z-pack).

No question, the antibiotics won't kill viruses nor will it rid the body of staph. toxins. Those have to be treated symptomatically.