Stopping the runs.

steven_ber

I hope I find it easier to stop the runs than the Indian cricket team!!

Can someone help?

In the illness section of the Lonely Planet India guidebook they recommend a tablet to take to stop the runs if you need to travel, the tablet is pink and quite large and ovel shaped, can anyone find out the name of the tablets for me?

I'm in Silchar at the moment, have tried explaining to a few 'Chemists', but by the time I've explained, I normally have to run to the nearest toilet.

Must travel to Ledo tommorow.

Any help appreciated.

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freemanx

if you have normal diarrhoea, than it is loperamide or diphenoxylate.

hope thats what you meant.

but if it is bacterial diarrhoea than lp rec. norfloxacin 400mg twice daily for 3 days or ciprofloxacin 500mg twice daily for 5 days.

cant find anything about a pink tablet

hope you feel better soon!

steven_ber

Thanks freemanx, I don't feel bad in any way, it's just kind of embarrassing having to run off to the nearest toilet/bush when I’m in the middle of a conversation, the locals find it amusing though.

The owner of the internet cafe I was in when I posted this thread has a wife who is a doctor, she recommended Spasoyl or Gramonog, I bought 6 Spasoyl (Rp 8) and will see how they go.

I guess I must stop drinking the local water.

Now I'm hopefully sorted out, what can we do about the Indian cricket team?

vistet

If you can find a sympatetic cook , try drinking rice water , the water the rice has boiled in.

Hope you feel better soon.

Alan D

Depends what you've got Steve!

If it's just a common stomach bug then it may clear up in a couple of days. In the meantime what the doctor has prescribed may work - local doctors usually know what they are dealing with.

My wife Caroline says Loperamide did the trick for her!

I've found that eating plain boiled rice and yougurt generally firms things up but hot drinks usually make things worse. Please stick to bottled water.

If its amoebic dysentery then you will need to use strong antibiotics but remember that with some of these you cannot drink any alcohol

If everything is still not right when you get back to UK then have a stool test - in fact have one anyway as you've been drinking the local water. Sometimes amoebic dysentery doesn't have very strong symptoms, as I found out last year.

Apart from having to sprint around Assam I hope you're having a great time

Sadhu

Regular ol' runs can usually be stopped with immodium, that is the common oft LP mentioned drug that I use, as I bring it with me. Sometimes it id indeed large and pink.

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Tomi

Hi Steven, I agree with everything Martin (freemanx) recommends. Loperamide is the same as Imodium, which Sadhu recommends. It just stops the runs, doesn't cure anything, but is useful. You often take hydrating salts as well.

Ciprofloxacin is something you can buy very cheaply in India and, besides curing some of the more common stomach bugs (bacteria, not amoeba), can come in handy in case of anthrax in the London tube, and after the Madrid incidents I hope you can tell I'm not kidding.

The pink stuff could also be Pepto-Bismol (bismuth salicylate, bismuth subsalicylate, or bismuth citrate), which is known to prevent getting stomach bugs, it being anti-bacterial and anti-diarrheal. But that's something which is more useful before the fact, from what I understand.

LuAnnandJawahar

Dear Stephen--If you still have the runs tomorrow take a stool sample to a clinic. Don't have your trip spoiled. Loperamide / Immodium is usually available at the chemist, and it will definitely stop you up, but you shouldn't take it if you have something other than the run-of-the-mill travelers diarrhea.

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shere

Is it wothwhile taking Pepto-Bismol to prevent getting such bugs ?

Does it have any serious side effects ?

Thanks

SHIMLA

Steven,

The ayurvedic tablet Bi-Quinol is a safe medicine for stopping diarrhoea. Plain curds and luke-warm black coffee also help.

The Indian cricket team will have to mix the above in the Pak. team's meals; to stop their runs!

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Sadhu

shere - I have found Pepto helps stop the runs, but it stops you completely, so I would't take it to 'prevent' anything, or you're likely to stop everything! I find it good for all kinds of stomach upset, like vomiting etc., provided of course you don't have something serious. It was a staple medicine in my house growing up.

indiadreamn

If you take to much pepto, your tongue is likely to turn a lovely black colour! :P

Serena

And what about milk enzymes? It's a natural and safe way to recover.

Also I think boiled rice (and the water where it's cooked) is good for stomach upset.

And don't forget to eat bananas (I don't like very much so when I was in that situation I always eat lemons)!

Tomi

Shere, since you quote me I'll respond that I agree with what Sadhu and indidreamn say about Pepto-Bismol --the effectiveness, the stopping everything, the tongue. The general wisdom is definitely not take it for a long time.

But my knowledge here is only second-hand (other travelers, travel nurses, medical books, etc.). I have taken Pepto-Bismol a few times myself as a preventive measure, but never long enough to notice side-effects. I have a strong stomach and hardly ever get sick, with or without it. My personal rule is to take it if I know I am going to be in the boonies, or forced to eat and drink strange stuff for a few days.

rab

No-one has mentioned Giardia. I had exactly those symptoms, only mild stomach problems but sudden urges which went on for days and started to get me down in the end.

Do your creations smell of sulphur and have the consistency of mashed banana?

If it is Giardia you are going to need antibiotics to clear it up.

To cheer you up: Newcastle 3 - Charlton 1
Get well soon Stevie