What should I do if I get a traveler’s diarrhea in Thailand?
What is traveler’s diarrhea?
Traveler’s diarrhea is an intestine ailment caused by the consumption of infected food or water. If food workers do not wash their hands after using the restroom, the illness may be transmitted to others who eat the contaminated food.
Developing nations include regions with the greatest risk of catching traveller’s diarrhea. Depending on the kind of exposure, the risk of infection varies, ranging from a very low risk when consuming hot, prepared meals and factory-sealed drinks to a larger risk when consuming raw vegetables and fruits and tap water. In most instances, the infection was caused by E. coli bacteria.
This type of diarrhea is prevalent in underdeveloped countries, particularly those with sanitation and hygiene problems. Due to improved sanitation, the incidence of traveler’s diarrhea in Thailand has decreased significantly in recent years. When meals are not fresh enough or have been left outdoors in the heat for too long, street food is often the result.
What is the difference between diarrhea and traveler’s diarrhea?
Usually, the symptoms, causes, and therapies are identical to those of regular diarrhea. However, traveler’s diarrhea happens often when persons go to locations with inadequate sanitation and ingest food with which they are unfamiliar, causing diarrhea to arise. Normal diarrhea, on the other hand, may develop if a person has had comparable difficulties with food choices and hygiene.
Symptoms
Typically, symptoms occur between six and twenty-four hours following a bacterial or viral illness. One to three weeks may pass before symptoms of an intestinal parasite infection manifest. This may explain the occurrence of traveler’s diarrhea a week or more after returning home. Typically, minimal symptoms are present. Three or more loose stools within twenty-four hours may indicate a traveler’s diarrhea. Additionally, you may suffer urgent and frequent bowel motions, fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Causes
Diarrhea in travelers is sometimes caused by a germ that is present in filthy food or drink. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is the most common agent that causes the condition as well as salmonella and intestinal parasites.
How to avoid traveler’s diarrhea
Street food has been one of the most famous attractions in Thailand since it is something tourists enjoy experiencing. It is crucial to begin making the proper choices by avoiding food in unhygienic environments or that has been in the shop for too long. Individuals should instead select restaurants that have a nice and clean atmosphere and provide freshly cooked or freshly prepared cuisine.
Additionally, in locations with inadequate sanitation. Avoid consuming ice, since it may have been produced with tainted water and it is safer to drink from an unopened can or bottle than from an unknown clean and dry container. Additionally, water on the surface of a beverage can or bottle may be tainted. Consequently, the region of a can or bottle that will come into contact with the mouth should be clean and dry. Where water may be polluted, you should not use tap water to wash your teeth.
How to treat traveler’s diarrhea
As with any condition, it is better not to self-medicate for traveler’s diarrhea but to contact a doctor instead. This is especially crucial for pregnant women and children.
Pepto-Bismol can reduce the severity of diarrhea and minimize the duration of the illness. This medication may aid in the prevention of traveler’s diarrhea, but it should not be used for more than three weeks. However, it may cause temporary blackening of the tongue and faeces, nausea, constipation, and rare ringing in the ears.
To manufacture ORS, add one packet to boiling or treated water. Ensure that the proper quantity of water is added to the salts by carefully following the instructions on the package.
In addition, antidiarrheal medications may lower the quantity of diarrheal stools, although they may cause complications in patients with severe diseases. These drugs should not be used by those with a fever or blood in their stools.
When to meet doctors?
As some of the treatments described above are inappropriate for children, it is essential for an infected person to see a physician about the treatment of diarrhea in children and infants. Dehydration is the greatest hazard to children, especially infants.
In addition, persons should seek medical attention if they have suffered severe diarrhea for many days, have a severe fever, or are unable to avoid dehydration.
Some individuals may need hospitalisation; however, the majority of patients may be managed as outpatients. Traveler’s diarrhea is an area of expertise at the Wellmed clinic. We offer an observation room where we may provide intravenous fluids for diarrhea or food illness to speed up your recovery from tiredness. In order to save crucial travel time. You may collect a stool sample prior to visiting our clinic without an appointment utilising the sample collecting.
