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Can You Protect Your Tummy From Traveler's Diarrhea?

It goes by many names: Delhi belly. Montezuma's revenge. The Aztec two-step. But doctors use one not-so-glamorous term: traveler's diarrhea.

If you're visiting a place this summer with less than ideal sewage disposal — maybe a resort in Mexico or a village in Rajasthan — chances are your GI tract will give you trouble at least once ... maybe twice ... maybe continuously.

There are just about as many misconceptions and myths about traveler's diarrhea as there are names for it. So we're here to try to set the record straight — or at least discuss what's known and not known.

We dove into the literature and talked to two pioneers in the field to figure out what causes…

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 To avoid getting sick overseas, follow these key rules

It may go by amusing names such as Delhi belly, Bali belly, the backyard trots or Montezuma’s revenge, but there’s nothing entertaining about traveller’s diarrhoea. Contaminated food and drink can not only disrupt your travel plans, but cause serious illness such as cholera, hepatitis A and typhoid. Fortunately, it only takes a few easy precautions and minor sacrifices to stay hearty. Rule number one: don’t drink tap water unless you’re absolutely sure it has been properly treated.

Articles of Interest

A review of antibiotic prophylaxis for traveler’s diarrhea: past to present

We conclude that prophylactic antibiotics should be restricted to some high-risk travelers or short-term critical trips.

Bringing Your Own Antibiotics On Vacation Could Do More Harm Than Good

People who travel to exotic locales and take along their own antibiotics are more likely to come back colonized with resistant bacteria, according to a new Finnish study. Many travelers take along antibiotics to treat so-called “traveler’s diarrhea” - and if they have the medications along, they are likely to use them even for minor ailments, according to lead author Dr. Anu Kantele of Helsinki University Central Hospital. In most cases this is a bad idea, she said.

How to avoid traveller's diarrhoea (and what to do if it strikes)

Although it’s not inevitable that you will get diarrhoea (commonly known as ‘Montezuma’s revenge’, ‘Delhi belly’ etc) while you are away, it is pretty likely. Digestive upsets are the most common travel-related illnesses, affecting about 30-50% of travellers to tropical destinations, so you may as well be prepared.

How To Never Get Traveler’s Diarrhea Or Food Poisoning While Traveling

It is unlikely to get diarrhea from things we eat in our home countries, even if they are slightly contaminated with something, because we’ve been eating those things our whole lives. Our bodies recognise them and can handle them just fine. However, overseas, many germs are brand new to the body

Preventing and Managing Traveler's Diarrhea: Stay Healthy on Your Adventures

Traveler's diarrhea (TD) is a common gastrointestinal infection that occurs when individuals consume food or water contaminated with harmful microorganisms. This condition is most prevalent in developing countries, particularly Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The primary culprits responsible for TD are bacteria, including enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Shigella spp., and Salmonella spp., as well as viruses like Norovirus and rotavirus, and parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

Travelers’ Diarrhea Prevention on the Road

If you follow our preventative tips, Travelers’ Diarrhea hopefully won’t be an issue. However, when and if it occurs, here are some tips to help salvage your vacation...

Traveling Abroad? Careful What You Carry Back... In Your Guts

IF YOU DO any kind of challenging travel – adventure travel, backpacking, even just going to less-developed parts of the world – you've probably evolved some sort of protective routine. You get shots, take your malaria medication, wash raw things before eating them and take a water filter for the bad places. (Please tell me you do this. Condoms, too.)

When the Mango Bites Back

“If you take an antibiotic and then get on a plane to India, you’re much more likely to develop a serious infection,” Dr. Relman said.

You (and most of the millions of holiday travelers you encounter) are washing your hands wrong

We live in a microbial world: Trillions of different bacteria colonize our skin, gut, and orifices. Collectively with yeast and viruses, they are called our microbiota. A plethora of exciting research suggests that the associations of animal hosts with their microbiota are not rare occurrences but in fact are fundamentally important for the host’s biology. Our microbiota can protect us from germs by training our immune system and by colonization resistance): the characteristic of the intestinal microbiota to block colonization of pathogens.