The world is so big that we all want to see it. However, people find that diarrhea may occur when traveling to another area.
When we ordinary people encounter this kind of situation, we will say it is [acclimatization]. However, doctors will not say so. There is a special word for this kind of situation, which is called [traveler diarrhea].
Modern research data show that the probability of diarrhea can reach as high as 60% when moving from more developed areas to less developed areas.
Although diarrhea is not serious enough to kill travelers in general, dehydration and other conditions will greatly affect the quality of travel. It prevents you from enjoying special food as you please, slows down the travel progress and affects the travel mood.
According to a WHO survey, 5% of patients with diarrhea during the journey need hospitalization, 30% need bed rest, and 40% change or suspend their travel plans, resulting in both time and economic losses.
This is not what you and I want, is it? Today, I’ll teach you how to stay away from diarrhea and have a perfect trip.
Is what a traveler with diarrhea?
Diarrhea during travel is not due to what intolerance to the soil and water in the travel area. In fact, most of them are infectious diarrhea.
The general infectious diarrhea, that is, the diarrhea that makes us have diarrhea at ordinary times, is mostly virus and only a few are bacteria. However, more than 90% of the pathogens of travelers’ diarrhea are bacteria.
These bacteria mainly come from contaminated water and food. After entering the body, they can lurk for several days and then suffer from diarrhea, abdominal pain, anorexia, and sometimes hematochezia and fever. Some people only show symptoms after the trip, and pathogenic bacteria can also be detected in feces, which is also a big hidden danger for the elderly and children in the home.
How to prevent travelers from diarrhea?
Since the most important pathogen of travelers’ diarrhea comes directly from water and food, although hand washing should be paid attention to, hand washing alone cannot prevent most travelers’ diarrhea.
You can do this specifically.
STEP 1 Prepare your travel kit
The incidence of diarrhea among travelers is very high, and bacteria from water and food are impossible to prevent. It is very necessary to prepare travel medicine bags.
(1) Rehydration Salts Prevent Dehydration: Preventing dehydration is crucial for any disease that causes diarrhea. Oral rehydration salts are worth thinking about. However, when using travelers with diarrhea, be careful that the water must be clean water, otherwise it will only make things worse. If diarrhea is not too severe, electrolyte drinks can also be used as substitutes.
(2) Montmorillonite Powder Antidiarrheal: For antidiarrheal, Smecta (Montmorillonite Powder) is recommended, which is an imported brand and can be used by adults and children. Smecta is an adsorbent that can quickly adsorb bacteria and toxins in intestinal tract, which can not only relieve diarrhea symptoms, but also repair and protect intestinal mucosa by covering damaged intestinal mucosa and help establish a healthy intestinal environment.
Some studies show that montmorillonite powder can reduce the course of diarrhea by about 1 day and is suitable for travel preparation. Because montmorillonite powder does not enter the blood circulation, it only plays an adsorption role in the intestinal tract, so it is safe and can be taken orally by children, the elderly and pregnant women.
(3) Pay attention to the observation of the disease condition: The main pathogen of travelers’ diarrhea is bacteria. Compared with daily diarrhea, antibacterial drugs are needed more.
However, mild bacterial infectious diarrhea can also heal itself. Not all travelers need antibacterial drugs for diarrhea. They can observe it while using rehydration salts and montmorillonite. When stool exceeds 4 times/day, stool has pus, blood or fever, they should seek medical help.
Step 2: Choose food and drink carefully
Don’t drink water from unknown sources, but boiled water. Don’t eat lettuce, salad, or hot food when served. Don’t touch the seasonings on the table, don’t eat roadside stalls, and try not to choose buffet spots.
Fruit must be peeled off, and don’t touch the glass if you have a straw to drink water. It may also be valuable for long-term travelers to bring your own portable water purification equipment. Follow these suggestions until the plane lands, because the return plane meal may also be prepared at the place of travel.
3. Don’t take stomach medicine casually.
Some people are always worried about stomach discomfort when traveling, and like to take stomach drugs to prevent it. Most stomach drugs inhibit gastric acid secretion, which is an important barrier against pathogens and has no effect at ordinary times. However, when traveling, the decrease of gastric acid will lead to an increase in bacteria entering the body and aggravate diarrhea.
More and more Chinese travel abroad to see the world, and the sanitary conditions in China are getting better and better, which has created conditions for the occurrence of diarrhea among travelers. We must bring common drugs and do a good job in prevention during the trip.
I hope what I said today can be helpful to you. Never let traveler diarrhea affect your perfect mood.