Stomach upsets

wanderin_star

Would be interested in travellers personal tips for keeping stomach upsets to minimum. I realise you have to abide by the basic do's and dont's such as only drink bottled water etc... One tip I spotted was to take Citricidal tablets each day - supposed to kill off any parasites in stomach. Any other tips.

seventies'hippy

No tips, just take the basic precautions & don't worry unduly, If/when you get an upset, deal with it then, letting it run it's course naturally if you can is best,,,,,,,,,,

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Merchant

You need to make a distinction among acid indigestion, dehydration, food poisioning, and microbes in the water.

If you eat spicy food all day, drink coffee and tea, and not enough bottled water, you are asking for acid indigestion. Tums, Rolaids, Zantac, etc. are the meds.

If you do not drink enough bottled water, you can very easily become dehydrated in India. It's hot, and most people don't drink enough water anyway. In India, you need to make a conscious effort to stay hydrated, as if you were an athlete in trainining, else dehydration can sneak up on you, leaving you weak and queasy. The solution here is bottled water, fruit juice, and rest.

If you eat some dodgy food from a street vendor or otherwise consume something bad, you can get food poisoning. Usually, this is not the end of the world, but can leave you stuck in the loo for hours on end--and at risk for dehydration.

If you are not careful about your water, you can get sick because your stomach is not able to handle India's particular set of water-borne microbes. This can confine you to the loo, too.

Only these latter two qualify as the famous Delhi Belly, and really only the microbe bit is unique to India (or anywhere else in the tropics). There are plenty of pitfalls to avoid regarding your stomach, but just because it churns once or twice after you have consumed 15 iddlis with coconut chutney, don't assume that there's anything abnormal going on. An actual, demonstrable case of Delhi Belly is pretty rare--most people just get indigestion and assume the worst.

Indojingai

Wow Merchant.. thats very precise Dr. Phil (Oprah) style advice.

OP:
I hate to say it, but even when you will take all precautions... a stay in India longer than a week will introduce you to stomach troubles. Be the most ready you can be.

Great travels!

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Callous

I would like to suggest eat curd and drink lassis.We were in India twice this year and luckily escaped any illness,we did buy bottled water to drink but brushed our teeth in the guest houses we stayed in.We ate off the street at times,I think it depends on the type of constitution you have.Our children also escaped any illness,they have been reared on a property so no doubt have been exposed to more dirt and germs than a lot of other children.Have a safe and healthy trip.

guerik

Lick the street when you first arrive - then you'll expose yourself to everything and start building your immunity immediately!

The curd and lassi thing seems to have worked for me so far though, and if you're not used to spicy or oily foods it's worth easing yourself into that a bit too - can cause a bit of tummy trouble anyway.

jjacquemain

I had pepto with me and seemed to ward off anything. Be careful as Merchant has prescribed and you'll be fine.

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Nick-H

Now there's powerful immune systems!

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MissTee

I had Delhi belly, but I must say that it took me about 12 days before I got it. I think every where u go u always end up with some tummy trouble. diff water, cooking styles, food etc. Just face the fact that you will get something ... just follow the rules and u should be ok... and pack something to help u out if u get some tummy troubles...

shanthi

lonelyaztec

Eat idly as much as possible...coz it is steam cooked..and oil is not used to make it.

Always ensure that u drink only bottled water....if, the water is not bottled, ensure that u filter it, boil it and then drink it.

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loopylou

I go to India in three weeks time and have been advised to take some good probiotics two weeks before I travel and also when Im there - this increases the digestive systems "friendly" bacteria whiich will hopefully help ward off any nasty tummy bug. I can handle a bit of travellers diarrohea but last time I was there I fell victim to dysentery and giardiasis - not nice .

sailor

This all sounds like good advice What are curds and lassi?

sunilg

hi wanderin_star: ........recently on our trip to Leh-Ladakh, we had glucose supplement drink (Glucon-D or Glucon -C in india) Plus the Electral (another dehydration-preventing powder) and mixed 1 pack of each in 1-5 L of water bottle. This was enough for 1 day's glucose suply for 1 person.

this way, we didn't face any AMS (acute mountain syndrome) or Dehydration even at the altitude of 18000+ meters.....(mind u, dehydration hits u ealier on heights than in planes coz u don't often feel thirsty at such low temperatures)........

see if it works for you

N yes, lots n lots of water daily is a must.....

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crvlvr

Anything that kills off the parasites, will also kill off the good bacteria that is responsible for digestion. I would not take any "poisons" unless absolutely essential.