Prevention of gastrointestinal infections in India

drzog

Thats right Zeppy. Swedish bitters ingredients in Australia anyway are gentian, angelica, Arctium, Hydrastis canadensis (golden seal), and they are pretty bitter, but are a reasonable over the counter example of bitter herbs (in alcoholic tincture).

On my travels I take a small bottle of Hydrastis or a near relative Berberis (Barberry) and use drop doses in my water bottles as a bitter preventer. If i get diarrhoea or any other infection (even cold sores or sore throats) I take Andrographis tablets and it clears up very quickly. Bitters are generally very mild laxatives, there are much stronger kinds of medicines including Cassia (senna) and Cascara which are not bitter but are irritating laxatives.

Some historical stuff is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitters

__________________
yours in health

http://drzog.blogspot.com

rose-b

Husband and I are leaving in 2 weeks for our first trip to India.
We got our shots a few weeks ago, were prescribed xifaxan and cipro(just in case) and advised to take pepto bismal before meals. My husband has gotten TD on trips to Central America and Mexico. I have read the threads but am confused. Is it worthless to start taking probiotics now? Is grapefruit seed extract helpful?
I am knowledgable about hygiene and diet precautions but I am confused about the best prophylactic strategies.

RakuSarah

Has anyone heard of Dr. Hulda Clarke's Formula? My mother bought it for me on the premise that it cleans out your whole system, but I am wondering if I should use it as a preventative measure and then supplement with some probiotics afterwards, or if I should wait and use it at the first sign of some gastro-intestinal unrest. Any ideas???

himadventures

I think following could help..

1. Always drink mineral water. And never used BISLERI- this was found infected in recent tests as per media reports. Aquafina was good besides KINLEY.

2.Do not eat from roadside shacks and joints.

3.Keep anti-amoebic medicine handy.

elsie

this-really-helped-me!-sorry-my-space-bar-is-not-working!

ElizabethNYC

I just purchased this probiotic:

http://www.naturodoc.com/mm5/merchan...Code=Digestion

It appears to be a really good one.

tazswing

So I am going to try some probiotic action this trip.
Daily-Dophilus
http://www.country-life.com/moreinfo...oduc t_ID=367

and Barberry. The daily-dophilus may not be as effective as the stuff from the fridge, but I am leaving for Japan two weeks before heading to India and the fact it does not need to be in the fridge is a huge bonus. I plan to take the Barberry daily, 7 drops in water (does not taste all that bad).

Two years ago when I was in Thailand and Burma I got some mild diarrhea but the stomach cramping was the worst. I hope this helps. and I realize I am starting my probiotics on the late side for this trip.

cheers.

drzog

yeah for India!!

3 weeks in and not even a squirt, just on my andrographis tablets and probiotics... mind you Delhi, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur isnt exactly the back of beyond, but i am eating plenty of local thali (priya hotel 55rp deluxe thali, one of the best!)

yours in health Dr Z

cosmo

When i was in Delhi I got the worst(relatively speaking) sickness I've had in a long time. Down for 3 days, couldn't get out of the room. Had to ask the room boys to get me water and fried rice. i normally have an iron stomach, as i only got ill a couple days in my year in India(except for this incident)

After a month of shits, I went to the pharmacy in Mumbai ands the pharmacist gave me RANTAC. 12 tablets, 2 times a day, 12 rupees. I have not been sick since(now over a year later). I don't know whats in it but it sure worked for me, blew it right out!!!

I also used andrographis when I felt something coming on and it kept it in check quite well, only minor flu for 1 day a couple times before this Delhi incident.

It sure is more fun when you feel good and don't have to worry about where the next toilet is...

See you next week in Mumbai, Round 2
Peace
cosmo

Mabelle

Dr. Z and others -

Getting ready to leave for a Rajasthan trip next week with girlfriend. Hitting most of the major locales like you (Jaipur, Bundi, Udaipur, Mt. Abu, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer).

I have a question about eating behaviors that maybe you could discuss here or point me to another more appropriate discussion. Dr. Z, you say in your post above that you ate the "local thalis". My guess is that there is every range of food purveyor from world class "modern" to that lacking the most basic sanitary standard.

My question: if one wants to enjoy the full range of eats, but wants to adhere to the rule of not eating at "roadside huts", can you be more descriptive about a good rule of thumb on what to avoid? Is any place that has a chair and table and separate kitchen ok? Just looking for some more specific dos and don'ts on menu selection. Thanks for chiming in and the informative discussion thus far.

drzog

one will generally see a sign for "vegetarian restaurant- rajasthani thali, gujarati thali, etc etc " with well lit interior, clean floors, and tables, and plenty of locals, many are listed in LP and i presume other guidebooks...

take some sopafree handwash, altho they all have a basin for washing, but not always soap.

funny thing happened, the day after proclaiming full health for the first 3 weeks- the mighty hath fallen, i arrived in udaipur and was too tired to go far. so i ordered enchillada from a tourist restaurant - Bharti in Hanuman Ghat. that night fever aches and nausea....i immediately took emergency action, high dose probiotics, andrographis and paracetamol, but it has taken me 24 hours to recover, makes ,me really angry they cant be bothered looking after their food properly....so i guess dont eat there is my advice, my guesthouse tells me the place is known for poisoning tourists....

Nick-H

Just goes to show it can happen to anyone --- and it also goes to to show that those wavers of the Hey, all you need is a strong immune system are wrong! (not at all directed at you, doc; you know the sort of people I mean).

But I'm sure a strong immune system helps where recovery speed is concerned, and that yours will put it behind it pretty quick.

Mabelle, Common sense will give you a lot of clues. Noticed a place the other day, small hut, Chicken Biriani, Rs15. Errr, no.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Zeppy

How long after eating the stuff did you come down with symptoms?

I'm curious to compare this with our story.

drzog

about 6 hours i think, woke during the night thinking all was not right...

but yes it is in the speed of recovery that ones immune system does definitely make a difference, i mean nausea is nothing on full technicolor vomiting and diarrhoea after all

Zeppy

Hmm, interesting...I've been wondering whether to denounce the restaurant, which our guidebook called "most hygienic," for the technicolor that started around 3 hours later. But it's so mysterious that each of us ate half of one dish, and one of us became violently ill, the other not at all. Before that, the one who got sick ate some sweets out of a box--a gift that had presented sealed--but that had been sitting around open for a couple of days. Can boxed sweets "catch" bacteria?