Diarrhoea while travelling? Learn more

In today’s society, with the development of new technologies, travelling has become much easier in comparison to earlier times. However, the easier the travelling has become, the more people’s health has been neglected. Travel health has now become quite an important issue since a number of people have been observed to be falling sick while travelling. The two most commonly experienced diseases while travelling are malaria and travellers’ diarrhoea. Although malaria has been found to affect a greater number of people, travellers’ diarrhoea has been found to be more prevalent than that of malaria.

Travellers’ diarrhoea

Travellers’ diarrhoea is the most commonly experienced disease while travelling. It has been observed that people usually contract this disease within the first two weeks of their stay in a new country or area. You are likely to contract this disease on travelling to places having poor hygiene conditions or poor sewerage systems. If you travel to areas such as Asia, Middle East, Africa, Mexico, Central and South America. Some of the areas where you are less susceptible to contract this disease include Russia, Eastern Europe, Southern Africa and certain parts of the Caribbean. It has been observed that approximately 20% to 60% of people who are travelling have contracted this disease.

Symptoms of travellers’ diarrhoea

Travellers’ diarrhoea, in almost 80% of the cases, is caused by the bacterium known as Escherichia coli (e-coli). This bacterium can be contracted through undercooked meat, unpasteurised milk or faecal matter. However, it has also been observed that the disease can also be caused by viruses or parasites. The symptoms that are most commonly experienced by a person suffering from travellers’ diarrhoea include abdominal pain, fever, cramps, bloating, nausea and vomiting. A person usually experiences these symptoms for about three to five days. However, if the disease was caused by something other than bacteria, then you are likely to remain sick for a month as well.

Preventive measures for travellers’ diarrhoea

As vaccines are available for other diseases, unfortunately there is not have a vaccine available for treating this disease. However, there are certain precautions that you can take in order to prevent suffering from travellers’ diarrhoea .You can consult your doctor before starting your trip for probiotic treatments that can help you adjust better to the bacterial attack. You can also ask for preventative antibiotics that can help prevent you from contracting the disease itself. You should be careful while drinking water; you should try and drink water that is available in sealed bottles. It is also safer to drink beverages such as coffee, tea, bear, wine and carbonated drinks.

You can take help of the diarrhoea’s pack that is available and has helped approximately 50% of travellers. This pack consists of medications that help you rehydrate effectively, that fight the cause of diarrhoea, stop loose bowel movements and provide relief from nausea. The medications that are included in the pack are Ciproxin, Dioralyte, Imodium and Buccastem. You can buy these medications on prescription or through any of the registered online clinics. In order to buy these pills online, you are first required to go through the online consultation. Your details are reviewed by a registered doctor and the decision is then passed on to you through an e-mail. You can then order your medications through your patient login.