Prevention of gastrointestinal infections in India

Nick-H

Isn't that the basic hygiene message the world over, even in hospitals, that there is no substitute for a good scrub with soap and water?
Although often soap is absent. Using the supplied paper towels usually leads to five minutes of picking the bits of wet paper off one's skin!

I used to travel with a small bottle of Hibiscrub (stuff that nurses wash with in hospitals). I don't know that using it made any difference. Although, as a resident, my immune system has settled down nicely, as a visitor I was sick for a day or two on just about every visit!

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camelgirl

Soap & water is my hygienic choice so I carry a tiny bar of soap in a bit of plastic wrap, since there is always water but often not soap. Good idea for the bandana for drying, I usually find myself using my shirt! The ratty bits of toweling sometimes available seem useless as they look grimy.

I also carry a very few packets of sanitizer for the same reasons wonderwoman does.

I may try programming a vibe into an energy field and forget about washing my hands altogether (I was recently told that snide does not equal funny on another thread... oh well, I still think it does )

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Nick-H

Glad to see you're not letting the snide down!

skk

Yes, I think you are right - its also de rigueur and good form in India to wash your hands before sitting down to eat anyway - In the past I used to just go through the motions to meet social expectations; I'll take it more seriously this time around and even start doing it here to get into the habit.

-skk

wonderwomanusa

Have you seen those tiny packets of soap leaves? I think the Container Store carries them ... I'm thinkning about finding them, because it's easier than "tiny soap in plastic bag" in my bottomless bag!

Snide is always good.

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Nick-H

---It's what's insnide that counts




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gggg

I will be in India for 6 months and I am thinking of the cost and all the plastic involved in bottled water. I am considering the UV steriPEN because of it's size and simplicity to use, and am wondering if anyone has forgone the bottled water and solely relied on the UV method?

camelgirl

There was a recent discussion about this, have a look, it might answer your question. I personally think you should go with steripen & only use bottled water if you're caught short for some reason. That's my plan. But my early India trips were before bottled water even existed, which is why I know it can be done without adding to the plastic pollution.

Water Filters

altmtl

I'm a big fan of probiotics, I usually bring the "heat stable" type with me...
Viomax Profidus or PB8 - I sometimes bring Activated Vegetal Charcoal and GSE Liquid Concentrate (citrus extract)

Can I get similar products in India, I don't want to bring a 3 month supply... my med kit already takes up too much space.

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AlanJ

Our family of four read the first half-dozen pages of this mammoth thread about a month before we travelled for 17 days in India. There was so much advice -- some of it conflicting -- that we were not at all sure which one to follow, and our family doctor seemed to think it was all a matter of luck, anyway.

Still, we felt we ought to be doing something proactive, so, as well as taking along imodium and gastrolyte for any mishaps that did occur, we started taking daily probiotics ("Immune-Plus"... one a day for the first couple of weeks, followed by two a day during the trip), and we boiught ourselves a half-litre bottle of Swedish Bitters.

The probiotics were, of course, easy to take, but no one liked the Swedish Bitters. Three of us persevered with it; eldest daughter was given to pretending she took her dose earlier, and even on one occasion did what we all FELT like doing and tipped hers down the sink.

Anyway, four people travelled for just over two weeks in India, eating all manner of street food, drinking lassis that may or may not have been prepared with ice, and occasionally visiting private homes, where it would have been impolite to refuse to eat anything that was served to us (so we just said a silent prayer and tucked in).

Three of us stayed well from Day 1 to Day 17; one stayed well for eleven days, but on that night became very well-acquainted with the western toilet on the Jaisalmer-Jaipur Express (no vomiting, thankfully, but lots of hurried trips down the corridor, and nine imodium swallowed in three days).

The "patient" was the one who'd poured her Swedish Bitters down the sink. Am I saying that the Swedish Bitters was the deciding factor? Well, who would know? Possibly not, as, two days after returning to Australia, I suddenly had a "delayed reaction" for half a day and made several quick -- if not exactly urgent -- visits to public toilets, which I generally try to avoid.... yet I never shirked on my Swedish Bitters.

However, we couldn't help feeling that there must be SOMETHING in the "prevention-is-better-than-cure" philosophy, as our "record" of one night's diahhrea for 4x 17 night's is, if not perfect, better than many!

So, without really knowing if it's useful or not, I am suggesting to people embarking on a trip to India, that they check over this long thread, and at least TRY the Swedish Bitters, if only to give them something to rant and rave against.

drzog

hehe, nice one AlanJ. Just for the record there are "bitter herb" tablets available, including "Andrographis complex" by Mediherb Australia. I now take this rather than the yummo liquids, easier to carry too. Andrographis is one of the most famous Ayurvedic bitter herbs for the treatment of dysentery and other infections, including the flu and works brilliantly for prevention of recurrent tonsillitis too. It is best taken in tablet form as it is known as "The King of Bitters" and is not tolerable as a liquid without a large dose of licorice! Bitters in general act by activating the local immune system glands in the gut (or throat) wall to be more alert and efficient. They are also great for liver detoxification and efficient stomach function.

cheers DrZ

ps. clearly your local Dr is a little behind the current research literature in immunology-probiotics-immune stimulating plant constituents etc, but that is (sigh) the usual rather than the exception in my profession.

pps I am sure I have mentioned this before but: bitters are mostly not safe to be taken in pregnancy.

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Nick-H

That would send me running down the street in horror. I loathe the liquorice, Annis, etc family of flavours with an intensity that verges on allergy!

drzog

my point entirely..hence the tablets huh Nick, although Anise flavors i think are rather romantic and remind me entirely of far away lands like the time in Mumbai where I paid something crazy for a chai at the mumbai tea house?, but it was the most amazing tea I have ever had, complete with all the fresh herbs in the plunger pungently tantalizing, the Darjeeling notes playing across the symphony of spice...blah blah...btw large doses of licorice in fact might also make ones diarhoea worse as it is a most efficient laxative!

Nick-H

(It took me months to pluck up courage to tell my then girl-friend that there was something in her cooking that I really didn't like. We went through her spice jars to find out what. It has been so long, that I had forgotten the flavour; it was star annis)

drzog

Star Anise is of course the worlds most ancient flower I believe , and no relation to Aniseed or Fennel apart from the (delicious) flavor. Compared to these Licorice isnt that bad is it Nick?

For those in the grip of the flu, they are also all excellent cough medicines, primarily soothing actions, and a great chemical/artificial sugar free alternative for kids....but I promise I wont start a 'prevention of respiratory illness in India' thread!