Traveler's Diarrhea: Symptoms & How to Get Relief

2023-06-14

WEDNESDAY, June 14, 2023 -- A bout of traveler's diarrhea can really put a damper on your vacation.

Here, experts break down what traveler’s diarrhea is, including its causes, symptoms and treatment, so you can get back to enjoying your trip as quickly as possible.

What is traveler's diarrhea?

Put simply, traveler’s diarrhea is frequent, loose, watery stools that occur after travel to an area with poor public hygiene. Unfortunately, it is the most common illness among travelers, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Traveler's diarrhea causes and risk factors

Although traveler's diarrhea could be the result of stress from traveling or a change in diet, it is usually caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites. According to the Mayo Clinic, you typically contract traveler’s diarrhea after ingesting food or water contaminated with germs from feces. People that are local to the area have often developed an immunity to the bacteria and are unaffected.

Traveler’s diarrhea symptoms

The Mayo Clinic lists the following symptoms:

Abrupt onset of three or more loose watery stools in a day

Urgent need to defecate

Abdominal cramps

Nausea

Vomiting

Fever

Severe symptoms indicate you should see a doctor; these include:

Diarrhea lasting longer than two days

Dehydration

Severe abdominal or rectal pain

Black or bloody stools

Fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit

In children, traveler’s diarrhea can cause severe dehydration in a relatively short time; call your child’s health care provider if the following symptoms are occurring:

Persistent vomiting

Fever over 102 degrees F

Dry mouth, crying without tears

Unusually sleepy, drowsy or unresponsive

Bloody stools or severe diarrhea

Decreased volume of urine, including fewer wet diapers in infants

How to lower the risk of traveler’s diarrhea

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the following high-risk destinations for traveler’s diarrhea:

Asia (except Japan and South Korea)

Middle East

Africa

Mexico

Central America

South America

When traveling to these areas, it is advised that you:

Choose your food and drink carefully

Drink only beverages in factory-sealed containers

Avoid ice

Peel or wash all fruit and vegetables

Avoid food that has been sitting out at a buffet

Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer

Brush your teeth with bottled water

Avoid swimming in contaminated water

How long does traveler’s diarrhea last?

Dr. Alexander Leung noted in Travelers’ Diarrhea: A Clinical Review, “Travelers’ diarrhea is usually self-limited. If left untreated, approximately 50% of the patients are spontaneously cured in 48 hours and, in the majority of patients, the average duration of diarrhea is 4 to 5 days.”

He does add that “the clinical course tends to be more severe and prolonged in children, especially those younger than 2 years of age.”

Traveler’s diarrhea treatment

The Cleveland Clinic has several suggestions for treatments for traveler’s diarrhea:

Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) can reduce the duration or frequency of your stools, although it is not recommended for children or pregnant people.

Antibiotics may be prescribed for severe cases or if you have a compromised immune system. Your health care provider may request a stool sample to see what organism is causing your illness, so that they can prescribe the appropriate antibiotic. The most common antibiotics used for traveler's diarrhea are ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), azithromycin (Zmax), rifaximin (Xifaxan), metronidazole (Flagyl) and nitazoxanide (Alinia).

Antidiarrheals such as loperamide (Imodium) or atropine diphenoxylate (Lomotil) may reduce your symptoms, but they could also prolong the infection because they slow down the motility of your gut which may allow the infectious organism to stay in your bowel longer.

If you are infected, you should:

Hydrate frequently with low-sugar sport drinks or Pedialyte

If you can’t tolerate solid food, then try soups or popsicles

The BRAT diet may be helpful, which is bananas, rice, applesauce and toast

Eat small amounts at a time

Call your doctor for any of the severe symptoms above, or if symptoms last longer than two days

It is possible to be infected more than once while you are traveling, and therefore important to continue to use the preventive steps listed above.

Posted June 2023