Prevention of gastrointestinal infections in India

johngradycole

Thanks very much everyone for your speedy replies. We'll do just that!
Jason

(Now all we need is a room in Shimla for Christmas and life will be rosy...)

drzog

great link posted on a related thread: hospitals in New Delhi region pdf
http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/medical_information2.html

__________________
yours in health

http://drzog.blogspot.com

luarm1

Lots of useful pieces of information can be gathered here about the bugs, diseases an so on.
Water is a problem, fruits and salads too. Milk can be dangerous,
a wet glass too...
But if someone decides to visit India, what and where can this adventurous person can eat just to keep the body working for a fortnight??? :-)

himadventures

I think instead of trying...better consult a doctor. Quality control of some medicines available on drug store is not as we see in European countries.
I have seen drug reactions to PCM[ Paracetamol] and even AVIL which is again a anti-hemetin.

Consulting a doctor should be preffered. and If you do not want to consult...do anything untill you do not have ..

1. Loss of apetitie and fever.

These both symptoms are not good and should not be avoided.

Lugubert

On my first to India, I was hit by some kind of bowel problem. When I finally realized that it wouldn't subside, a mere 8 hours of assorted I.V. infusions was suficient to fix it. I think the cause was "filtered" water, promised to be safe, at the guest house where I lived. For the whole month, before the problem and afterwards, I only had meals at restaurants that looked as European as possible.

Now, the only precaution I took in India was to drink only bottled water (and tea and when lucky, a beer). This time, thanks to my much younger and more experienced travel partner, I was much more daring in choosing what to eat where. And had no intestinal health problems.

The cholera vaccin for preventing tourist diarrhoea was mentioned. I had taken it, and so had my partner. So had mother before her trip to Egypt last year (at 89 years of age!). At least, we had no problems from it. But just before my leaving Sweden in October and after having bought the vaccine, the papers reported that the manufacturer had been heavily fined by the Swedish authorities, because they hadn't proved their marketing claim that it protected against "tourist diarrhoea"! (The claim regarding cholera prevention wasn't contested.)

SilverTab

Just a quick post, for those looking for some probiotic that dont need refrigeration, check out Bio-K ( http://www.biokplus.com/ )

My mom works in a health food store and apprently its one of the best brand you can get...

It only contains 2 strains of bacterias (Lb. acidophilus & Lb. casei) but it has a minimum of 50 billion live cells per serving of 100 grams...

Its kinda expansive though (but most brands are).. and the good thing is that, you dont have to keep them refregirated...I bought 3 boxes for my India trip

zennn

I saw those Bio-K at 25$ for 10 pills. This is much too expensive! Anyone knows heat stable probiotics at a cheaper price?

SilverTab

zennn: yeah I know they are pretty expansive! but I did get a discount since my mom works there

and, it was the only heat stable probiotics they were carrying
sorry I cant help you more ...

SilverTab

also to consider is the fact that they carry 50billions live cells... while the other brand i've seen were only up to about 10 billions (so 1 bio-k = almost 5 pills of the other brands)...

but, I probably would've chosed a different brand if I didnt had a discount as they ARE extremely expansive....

Zeppy

Back from our 3 1/2 week India trip now. Both of us took every precaution to avoid gastrointestinal infections. We both took the Swedish medicine Dukoral prior to departure. We took probiotics. We became vegetarians and moreover drank no milk except for an occasional lassi in upscale restaurants, ate no paneer or cheese, no eggs unless hard boiled, no uncooked vegetables, no unpeeled fruit. We filtered our own water except in Madurai, where the water tasted so bad that we resorted to bottled water.

I remained healthy except for a dust mite allergy (on which I think I'll post a separate thread). But seemingly I have a cast-iron stomach. Poor Mlle Z, though, has a delicate stomach. First she caught a viral gastroenteritis. Then, about a week later, she got an acute bacterial gastritis with vomiting, high fever, and diarrhea. It set in around 3 hours after lunch. Mysteriously, we had both eaten exactly the same lunch. In fact, we had ordered one single plate of Manchurian vegetable with plain rice and had each spooned half of it onto it her plate. The only "slight" difference was that the banana leaf that lined her plate was wet. (Could this small amount of water poison somebody? Doctors, what do you think?) The illness didn't seem traceable to breakfast either, because we had both eaten the same highly safe hotel breakfast, consisting of toast and a hard-boiled egg. So, a mystery illness. The doctor, whom the hotel immediately summoned, actually asked, "What medicines did you bring with you?" We offered imodium and ciprofloxacin. He was pleased with these, prescribed 3 days of cipro, and imodium till symptoms stopped. He sent the hotel boy out for another drug to stop the vomiting so that the other two drugs would be absorbed. She took ORS too, naturally. The cipro kicked in after 24 miserable hours--and brought with it a body rash as an allergic reaction. But she continued taking it anyway, and it cured her in the end.

Before any of this gastrointestinal stuff happened, Mlle Z fractured her ankle on day 12. Of course this changed our trip...mainly by forcing us to stay in more expensive hotels with more conveniences. We were very positively impressed by the medical treatment for this ankle fracture. It took less than an hour from the time of the accident to see an orthopedic surgeon in his office, get x-rays, and have a soft cast put on. In the US it would have taken 3-4 hours, maybe more; you always have to wait at the ER. This initial treatment plus the medications plus the final hard cast cost less than USD 100. We were also very positively impressed by the helpfulness of people. It wasn't a touristy town, and better that way, I think, because people were incredibly helpful, expecting nothing in return for their trouble.

not normal

can anyone please answer how swedish bitters can be good for diarrhea when they are a laxative?

drzog

Actions and uses of bitters are more preventative, but they are also useful antimicrobials (in particular Andrographis) if the diarrhoea is from infection. Their laxative action comes from them stimulating upper digestive secretions, in particular bile. However because the bodies primary immune regulation is in fact via the gastro-intestinal tract (gastrointestinal associated lymphoid tissue) and bitters are immune stimulating via their ability to increase glutathione in the gut (glutathione is the bodies numero uno antioxidant and generally determines our ability to stay well), bitters are the ideal tonic for treating infections including diarrhoea via our gut.

Many herbal traditions use bitters for :
Treatment and prevention of bacterial and viral respiratory tract infections including
common cold and pharyngotonsillitis.
•
Treatment and prevention of urinary tract infections.
•
Treatment of other infections including hepatitis, enteric infections and intestinal worm infestation.
•
Digestive disorders such as loss of appetite, dyspepsia, flatulence, diarrhea,
dysentery, gastroenteritis and bowel complaints in children.
•
In Ayurvedic medicine the herb Andographis is used for its bitter tonic, stomachic, antipyretic and laxative properties. It is often used for liver conditions.


In traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Andrographis is bitter and Cold, and is used to clear Heat from the Blood (especially in the lungs, throat and urinary tract) and to detoxify Fire Poison (manifesting as skin sores and carbuncles). In addition to gastrointestinal infections, it is prescribed for throat infections, cough with thick sputum and snake bites.

for example: Clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of Andrographis or
andrographolides in treating the following:
•
Respiratory tract infections.
•
Enteric infections.
•
Urinary tract infections.
•
Cardiac and cerebral vascular diseases (reduction in platelet aggregation).
•
Infective hepatitis.

The distinguished Australian herbalist Kerry Bone writes " Galenic tradition applies gentle cooling remedies (cold in the first degree) to contain excessive vital responses such as pain, 'choler', and defluctations; The archetypal cooling digestive stimulants are the bitters. Bitter in taste, improving gastrin secretion and its activity, they improve mucosal competency, biliary and pancreatic function, and by cooling but not depressing, they reduce heat by activating increased upper-digestive activity (motitlity and secretion) and moving blood from the periphery. Therefore improving digestion, assimilation, elimination (alteratives), and nourishment, generating an improved outcome in convalescese, being useful for anorexia, hypochloridia, diabetes, hypercholesterolaemia, poor hepatic detoxification (esp. hormonal), gastritis, food intolerances, liver and gallbladder disease, and any associated debility. They also appear to reduce immunological load on the digestive immune system,and tonify many activities of the body when debilitated, including the nervous system and heart. There may also be a secondary beneficial action on the health of the microflora in the gut.

Walker classifies them into four groups, Tonic (with primarily simple bitter properties eg.Gentian), Aromatic (with volatile oils eg. Chamomile), Pungent (spices), and Astringent (tannin containing) bitters. Bitter properties are contained in a range of plant constituents and hence across a variety of medicinal plants and indications. Certain plants are famous for their bitter properties however, including Gentian lutea, Bogbean, and Artemsisa absinthum. many other bitters have long distinguished traditions. Andrographis paniculata, Bupleurum, Rue, Arctium lappa, White horehound, Taraxacum officinalis rad, and Angelica archangelica.


hope that helps

DrZ

Zeppy

I was wondering that too, Not Normal. It says in the instructions, "Do not take in case of diarrhea."

Can anybody defend Swedish Bitters as a TD remedy?

Lugubert

I don't remember anyone referring to "Swedish bitters". What would that be? The one potion I can think of is a wormwood extract in alcohol, used as an apéritif, Bäska droppar (bitter drops). From extensive use of it by me and my friends in my youth (normal dose one or two times 60 ml before a main meal), I can testify that it has no laxative effect. If anything, it might be good for you:

Me and my then fiancée were travelling Mexico. One day, on a bus tour, we felt an internal catastrophy approaching. We made it to the goal, and then as qick as possible, we had each two large shots of tequila. Our intestines promptly calmed down.

As an afterthought, I have to ask: do you mean the Dukoral? That's no "bitter". The granules are dissolved in a solution of sodium bicarbonate, the taste of which might be experienced as bitter. The granules consist of inactivated cholera causing bacteria.

The pharmaceutical I referred to in my post #65 was, indeed, Dukoral.

Zeppy

"Swedish bitters" is a liquid sold in bottles over the counter in places like the U.S. and France. (Maybe not in Sweden? Just the way "French toast" in unknown in France?) The exact contents are a "secret"; reference is made to an "old Swedish recipe." The reason why it keeps coming up on this thread is that Drzog mentioned it as a preventative and possibly remedy for gastrointestinal troubles.

The Swedish anticholera vaccine Dukoral is something totally different.