Loading Results
We have updated our Online Services Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. See our Cookies Notice for information concerning our use of cookies and similar technologies. By using this website or clicking “I ACCEPT”, you consent to our Online Services Terms of Use.

For Your Travel Checklist: Preventing Traveler’s Diarrhea

Share
Facebook
X
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Email
Print
A smiling woman smelling fruit while shopping at a local market during vacation

Traveler’s diarrhea is the most common travel-related illness, typically caused by exposure to bacteria in water or food. You can take precautions to reduce your risk of contracting the intestinal illness, but can’t eliminate it entirely – particularly if you’re traveling to high-risk areas where sanitation and hygiene practices are different.

“I see many patients who come to our clinic about traveler’s diarrhea,” says Danielle Walker, PA-C, with University Hospitals Travel Medicine Services. “Constant vigilance is necessary to avoid it.”

Preventing Traveler’s Diarrhea

Loose, watery stools are the primary symptom of traveler’s diarrhea. Abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, vomiting and fever are also possible. “Symptoms will generally resolve on their own in three to five days,” says Walker.

She recommends the following to help prevent traveler’s diarrhea:

  • Drink bottled water only. “Make sure you’re breaking the seal of the bottled water, because there are reports of people selling tap water in a plastic bottle,” says Walker.
  • If you must drink local water, boil it first and let it cool down.
  • Avoid ice and frozen drinks.
  • Avoid getting tap water in your mouth while brushing teeth or showering. Be sure not to rinse your toothbrush in tap water. Use bottled water.
  • Avoid food from street vendors and market stalls.
  • Choose restaurants or hotels known to cater to travelers.
  • Avoid unpasteurized dairy products.
  • Avoid raw fruits and vegetables. Fruits like bananas and oranges with peels are safer.
  • Stick with thoroughly cooked, hot foods.

“This is the one time in the medical profession when we say salads can be problematic, because you’re not sure how well the lettuce was washed or the source of the water the lettuce was washed with,” says Walker. She adds that tourist resorts tend to be lower risk, but nobody should assume the risk is zero when traveling outside of the country.

Treating Traveler’s Diarrhea

Before your trip, your doctor can prescribe antibiotics depending on where you’re traveling, in case you develop diarrhea. But antibiotics won’t be effective if diarrhea is caused by a virus or a parasite. Travelers are also urged to have Pepto-Bismol or Imodium on hand in case they get sick. But you should not take Pepto-Bismol or Imodium if you have bloody diarrhea, Walker says.

Travelers with diarrhea should drink clear liquids and hydrate with an electrolyte drink such as Gatorade, she says. For young children, be alert that the risk of dehydration is greater. Also, parents should be vigilant about frequent hand sanitation, as young kids are more likely to put things in their mouths and touch their faces.

Regardless of the cause of the diarrhea, treatment typically comes down to managing symptoms. “The main goal is to prevent dehydration by drinking plenty of fluid or with oral rehydration solutions,” says Walker.

When to Seek Medical Care

“If a person is unable to keep any liquids down, this is a sign that further medical care and possible IV hydration is needed,” says Walker.

Other symptoms that require medical care include:

  • High fever
  • Bloody or black stools
  • Severe dehydration
  • Severe abdominal pain
  • Severe diarrhea that does not improve after a few days

“If medical care is needed in a foreign country, it’s probably best to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate who can further advise the traveler,” says Walker. Before a trip overseas, travelers should look up embassy and consulate contacts in the destination country.

For treatment of diarrhea caused by a parasite, anti-parasitic medicines can be prescribed, based on the type of parasite, Walker says. The most common anti-parasitic medicines are metronidazole and tinidazole.

“If a person has diarrhea that isn’t resolving after returning from a trip, I suggest being seen by an infectious disease practitioner,” she says. “They will collect a small stool sample and send it for a stool pathogen panel.” The stool test will determine whether diarrhea is caused by bacteria, a virus or parasite, and treatment will be based on the results.

Related Links

The board-certified infectious disease specialists at the University Hospitals Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine & Global Health can help ensure that travelers of all ages stay healthy and safe during their journeys.

Share
Facebook
X
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Email
Print