top of page
Search

Traveller's Diarrhea

You take one vacation a year- don't let a case of traveller's diarrhea ruin your trip!


When you get diarrhea in Canada, the culprit is usually a virus.

When travellers develop diarrhea abroad, the most common causes are bacteria, typically related to inadequate hygiene on the part of the food vendor/traveller.


Some bacteria that cause stomach upset in travellers include Salmonella (which causes typhoid fever), Shigella, E.coli, Campylobacter and Cholera (very uncommon).


Typical strategies I recommend to minimize risk include getting vaccinated prior to your trip and being cautious about where you eat. I encourage travellers to bring along a treatment course of antibiotics to take only if they develop significant symptoms.


If you become ill with traveller's diarrhea:

  • drink clean water (bottled or boiled) or oral rehydration solution to stay hydrated

  • treat fever with fever reducers, such as tylenol (1g every 6 hours) or advil (400mg every 8 hours)

  • If you are not improving after 48 hours or you become very weak or feverish despite medications recommended above, I would encourage you to seek urgent medical care at your location.


The CDC has developed a free app called “Can I eat this?” -referring to this may help you if there is any ambiguity about food safety at your destination.



38 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

We have had the opportunity to counsel patients travelling to 48 different countries! Top destinations for individuals consulting TravelHealthMD.ca are: Thailand, India, the Philippines, South Africa,

Once you’ve splurged on a vacation, you may be nervous about spending more on travel insurance. Here are some things to consider. There are five main categories of travel insurance: trip cancellation

So you’ve booked your trip of a lifetime! Could acute altitude (mountain) sickness be a risk? It depends where you are headed. As a rule of thumb, altitude sickness may be experienced by visitors to d

bottom of page