Havana omelet. Hershey squirts. Montezuma's revenge. Call it what you like; it ain't pretty. It's...
TRAVELER’S DIARRHEA
What to expect: The doc said it quite succinctly to me: Traveler’s Diarrhea—is any diarrhea when you (she meant me, a suburban girl) travel in South America.
What to try: Cipro [Ciprofloxacin Rx—get in advance from doc]. Take at the first sign of diarrhea along with Imodium (OTC).
My pal Leah, who frequents remote places for her research, explained this to me: Cipro will kill the bug, but won't stop the flow. Imodium, meanwhile, will slow the ass quake enough for you to comfortably continue with the trip. Without the Imodium, you'll be stuck in a bathroom, even with Cipro. What's ideal, says Leah, is to not take anything and let the bug work through your system, uncomfortable as that may be. But--huge caveat--that's if you're doing research in India for 6 months, and you have the time to lose. This isn't our trip.
Of course: Rehydrate. Seasoned travelers bring individual powdered Gatorade packets to put in bottled water. Carry an emergency high-protein bar, in case you have a day where you don’t feel much like eating. Read my related blog post [The 'NO' Post"] on eating in Peru, and I hope we can avoid all this.
When to worry: Once you have taken Cipro for three days (you shouldn't have to), you need to see a doctor.
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