Traveler's diarrhea
Mar 11th, 2008, 07:52 AM
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Traveler's diarrhea
Scheduled for a wine-tasting trip to Argentina and Chile in late April. Has anyone had any problems with travelers' diarrhea in these countries? Any suggestions regarding food safety besides the obvious (no salads, fruit, water, etc.)? Any medications you can recommend to help avoid or treat this?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Mar 11th, 2008, 11:11 AM
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Your ideas of the obvious and mine are somewhat different, babsie.
Salads are OK, fruit is OK and the tap water is OK, but I suggest drinking mineral water. I recommend the Villavicencio brand in Argentina.
But then, I live here and maybe I'm self-vaccinated against whatever is wrong with these things for foreigners.
We'll see what visiting tourists have to say about this, but I believe they'll agree with me.
You'll have a great time during that wine-tasting trip, babsie. Just relax and enjoy.
Salads are OK, fruit is OK and the tap water is OK, but I suggest drinking mineral water. I recommend the Villavicencio brand in Argentina.
But then, I live here and maybe I'm self-vaccinated against whatever is wrong with these things for foreigners.
We'll see what visiting tourists have to say about this, but I believe they'll agree with me.
You'll have a great time during that wine-tasting trip, babsie. Just relax and enjoy.
Mar 11th, 2008, 11:17 AM
#4
Take along some PeptoBismol tabs or liquid.
Also Imodium (but only for emergencies, like if you find yourself in the situation your fear and have to get on a bus or plane. Otherwise it's much better to let things run their course naturally).
Also Imodium (but only for emergencies, like if you find yourself in the situation your fear and have to get on a bus or plane. Otherwise it's much better to let things run their course naturally).
Mar 11th, 2008, 11:19 AM
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I think Chile and Argentina are probably the two most healthful countries in Latin America. Not to say that you could not develop diarrhea, but it would more likely be due to a different diet rather than contaminated food in those two countries. I would still only drink bottled water in both.
Mar 11th, 2008, 02:59 PM
#8
I do not think you have to worry about Travellers Diarrhea in Argentina or Chile.
This does not mean you can never get it ....it is just not a major problem there ,like it could be in Mexico or Cuba or places in the Caribbean.
1. I would take Imodium with you but get the "Quick Dissolve " type.
"Quick Dissolve" is written right on the box.
You place this on your tongue ...count to five and it had dissolved !!!
It hads a nice marshmellow taste.
2. The trouble with Pepto Bismol is two fold.
One... it turns your stools black and should you get diarrhea , you might think your are having a gastro-intestinal bleed.
Two...it turns your tongue a dary grey-black color if you drink too much( same with tablet forms)
3.Cipro is good to take along(in case you might need it). If not it is good for about 2-3 years ..so save it for future trips.
Get the 1000 mgm Cipro and not the 250 mgm or the 500 mgm..... the 1000 mgm ,you only have to swallow one a day .
Yes, Cipro kills the bacteria in your stomach and every other bacteria also..... it reall cannot decipher between the "bad" and "good" bacterial.
Its main purpose is in case you are very sick and got an E.Coli infection.
It will kill the E. Coli but will do little to improve your immediate situation until the E. Coli toxin effetcs wear off.
Take the Cipro only if you are quite sick and not just for some uncomfortable diarrhea....for this
use Imodium, because you do not want to be sipping wine at the Winery and looking for the bathroom door!!
I toured Argentina and the Chile wine country last year... so you will have a good time
Percy
This does not mean you can never get it ....it is just not a major problem there ,like it could be in Mexico or Cuba or places in the Caribbean.
1. I would take Imodium with you but get the "Quick Dissolve " type.
"Quick Dissolve" is written right on the box.
You place this on your tongue ...count to five and it had dissolved !!!
It hads a nice marshmellow taste.
2. The trouble with Pepto Bismol is two fold.
One... it turns your stools black and should you get diarrhea , you might think your are having a gastro-intestinal bleed.
Two...it turns your tongue a dary grey-black color if you drink too much( same with tablet forms)
3.Cipro is good to take along(in case you might need it). If not it is good for about 2-3 years ..so save it for future trips.
Get the 1000 mgm Cipro and not the 250 mgm or the 500 mgm..... the 1000 mgm ,you only have to swallow one a day .
Yes, Cipro kills the bacteria in your stomach and every other bacteria also..... it reall cannot decipher between the "bad" and "good" bacterial.
Its main purpose is in case you are very sick and got an E.Coli infection.
It will kill the E. Coli but will do little to improve your immediate situation until the E. Coli toxin effetcs wear off.
Take the Cipro only if you are quite sick and not just for some uncomfortable diarrhea....for this
use Imodium, because you do not want to be sipping wine at the Winery and looking for the bathroom door!!
I toured Argentina and the Chile wine country last year... so you will have a good time
Percy
Mar 11th, 2008, 03:21 PM
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Don't forget if you have stomach problems and take medicine that you probably WON't be able to drink any more, at least while you are taking the medicine, so always check this. Some medicines have more, or longer restrictions than others.
Mar 11th, 2008, 03:51 PM
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I have recently returned from Egypt/Jordan where I had the runs like you wouldn't believe. I tried every natural remedy recommended by friends and I ate lots of cheese. I exahausted my supply of Immodium I brought from the US and yet my bowels continued running like the Nile. 
Here's what finally worked:
1. I bought some more Immodium from a Jordanian pharmacy and the pharmacist told me to take it ONLY after a meal. That was my mistake, because I was taking Immodium sporadically. I saw an immediate difference once I started taking it after meals.
2. It caused me great pain, but I gave up my morning cuppa joe.
This was hard for me as I am an avid coffee drinker (OK, I'm a major coffee-a-holic) but coffee is a diuretic so if you have problems, find something else for your morning caffeine buzz.
These 2 steps saved my trip.
Here's what finally worked:
1. I bought some more Immodium from a Jordanian pharmacy and the pharmacist told me to take it ONLY after a meal. That was my mistake, because I was taking Immodium sporadically. I saw an immediate difference once I started taking it after meals.
2. It caused me great pain, but I gave up my morning cuppa joe.
This was hard for me as I am an avid coffee drinker (OK, I'm a major coffee-a-holic) but coffee is a diuretic so if you have problems, find something else for your morning caffeine buzz.These 2 steps saved my trip.
Mar 11th, 2008, 04:26 PM
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I was in Argentina and Chile last March (07). I drank only bottled water, did not eat raw vegetables or fruit..and no ice in drinks.
Did I have to do that? Maybe....maybe not.
Several in our group had Cipro with them. Our importer recommended that we have it with us. No one needed it...some ate raw vegetables, others did not.
Toward the end of the trip, three of us did have a stomach upset, but nothing serious.
I think sometimes, it is not so much that the water is bad....but rather that it is different than the water our systems are used to.
You will have a great time.....can we all jump in your suitcase?
Did I have to do that? Maybe....maybe not.
Several in our group had Cipro with them. Our importer recommended that we have it with us. No one needed it...some ate raw vegetables, others did not.
Toward the end of the trip, three of us did have a stomach upset, but nothing serious.
I think sometimes, it is not so much that the water is bad....but rather that it is different than the water our systems are used to.
You will have a great time.....can we all jump in your suitcase?
Mar 11th, 2008, 07:05 PM
#12
P_M
I am really puzzle why the Jordanian Pharmacist told you to take Imodium ONLY after a meal.!!!???
There is no correlation between taking Imodium with or without food.
Usually people are told to take a certain medication AFTER a meal because of:
(a) The medication causes an irritation to the stomach and to reduce this side effect the buffer of food is an aid.
(b) the medication is better absorbed in the presence of food...this does not happend that often.
But you ate a 'lot" of cheese... I know , I know ,cheese is suppose to "bung" you up and then you would not have the runs... great in theory but it does not work that way on a gut that is already compromised.
Since you had diarrhea you already were NOT properly absorbing the food you were eating.
So what did you do , you ate a lot of cheese... that is the LAST thing I would have eaten !!!!!!
It takes a special enzyme of break down and digest milk and cheese.
With your chronic diarrhea you were rather depleted of this enzyme....but you ate cheese.....you could not digest it properly.... so the food ( cheese) which should have been absorbed in the first 2-3 feet of your small bowel..
now
passed on further down, reached the colon...where it should not be in bulk form .....your colon had to suck in water ( from your system) and you kept having diarrhea. !!!
For all of you who get diarrhea... do not eat cheese milk or ice cream for a day or so.
Actually if you have acute diarrhea with cramps... you do NOT feel like eating much anyway.
You robbed yourself of a morning coffee ...because if you were not nauseated...you could easy have had the coffee..BUT no cream in the coffee.
When I get sick with diarrhea and/or cramps, I usually do not want to eat anything except clear soup...dry toast... tea with honey or sugar.
Thats is why the "Quick Disslove" Imodium is so good because you place it on your tongue...within seconds ....
it mixes
with salvia and it is gone into your blood stream!
Good Night All
Percy
I am really puzzle why the Jordanian Pharmacist told you to take Imodium ONLY after a meal.!!!???
There is no correlation between taking Imodium with or without food.
Usually people are told to take a certain medication AFTER a meal because of:
(a) The medication causes an irritation to the stomach and to reduce this side effect the buffer of food is an aid.
(b) the medication is better absorbed in the presence of food...this does not happend that often.
But you ate a 'lot" of cheese... I know , I know ,cheese is suppose to "bung" you up and then you would not have the runs... great in theory but it does not work that way on a gut that is already compromised.
Since you had diarrhea you already were NOT properly absorbing the food you were eating.
So what did you do , you ate a lot of cheese... that is the LAST thing I would have eaten !!!!!!
It takes a special enzyme of break down and digest milk and cheese.
With your chronic diarrhea you were rather depleted of this enzyme....but you ate cheese.....you could not digest it properly.... so the food ( cheese) which should have been absorbed in the first 2-3 feet of your small bowel..
now
passed on further down, reached the colon...where it should not be in bulk form .....your colon had to suck in water ( from your system) and you kept having diarrhea. !!!
For all of you who get diarrhea... do not eat cheese milk or ice cream for a day or so.
Actually if you have acute diarrhea with cramps... you do NOT feel like eating much anyway.
You robbed yourself of a morning coffee ...because if you were not nauseated...you could easy have had the coffee..BUT no cream in the coffee.
When I get sick with diarrhea and/or cramps, I usually do not want to eat anything except clear soup...dry toast... tea with honey or sugar.
Thats is why the "Quick Disslove" Imodium is so good because you place it on your tongue...within seconds ....
it mixes
with salvia and it is gone into your blood stream!
Good Night All
Percy
Mar 21st, 2008, 09:51 PM
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You are going to argentina and chile, why would you be drinking water? just kidding.
-Countries with least posibility of stomach problems.
-bottled water, hot tea, mate(try it)
-peel fruits-
- EVERYBODY FORGETS WHAT YOUR MOTHER SAID___WASH YOUR HANDS_____ often, more so after certain activities. Enjoy your trip.
-Countries with least posibility of stomach problems.
-bottled water, hot tea, mate(try it)
-peel fruits-
- EVERYBODY FORGETS WHAT YOUR MOTHER SAID___WASH YOUR HANDS_____ often, more so after certain activities. Enjoy your trip.
Mar 22nd, 2008, 05:37 PM
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My boyfriend and I were in Argentina in Nov. and we only drank bottled water. While we were in Cafayate we both ended up with travelers diarrhea for several days. We drank gallons of rehydration fluids to combat dehydration. The owner of our hotel insisted on finally calling the hotel doctor. He advised against taking the Cipro we had brought and gave us a prescription for something that didn't seem to help. We finally went against his judgement, took the Cipro and we were fine the following day.
I travel fairly extensively and I don't leave home without Cipro!
I travel fairly extensively and I don't leave home without Cipro!
