Traveler’s Diarrhea · Travel Vietnam

Traveler’s Diarrhea

Symptoms:

Suddenly passing three or more looser watery stools a day.
An urgent need to pass stool.
Stomach cramps.
Nausea.
Vomiting.
Fever.

Southeast Asia (including Vietnam) frequently has travelers experiencing this problem. You can probably prevent it if you consume only major manufacturers’ bottled/canned drinks and packaged foods. If you want to dive into the culture and eat the local food, you will probably get it sooner or later.

It’s difficult to pinpoint where the infection comes from, because it can be from the previous day or two. People will often blame what they ate or drank prior to getting symptoms.

Don’t drink the water, but the water is used to wash dishes, fruits, and vegetables. I read ice mostly comes from major manufacturers, but I’ve never seen any ice transport going on. I used to try avoiding ice, now I just avoid drinking melted ice.

As someone from a food science background (mostly applied microbiology), the handling of raw meat here is disturbing. They are so ignorant and careless. They even let you cook your own food at the table at Korean buffets (they seem to be popular here). People just aren’t careful keeping the raw meat and raw meat utensils separate from food that’s ready to eat.

I got a case on my first trip on day 5 that lasted about a week. It was mostly severe cramping with mild diarrhea. I tried using honey and turmeric and probiotic yogurt to fight it, but I don’t think it helped much.

On my second trip I started getting it, and my gf got me several medicines for it. One was called Yumangel, which I kept seeing as Yum-angel when it’s probably Yuman-gel.

The third trip I brought a probiotic supplement, and I think I didn’t get it at all. I did get a case of gastroenteritis, though, but maybe that falls into the same category. The symptoms were way different, though, with serious diarrhea and two episodes of vomiting. In the past 10 years vomiting makes the lights switch off. I am sitting, standing, or kneeling. Then I’m on the floor (in one case a small ditch) not knowing how I got there. This time I was standing in a small bathroom and ended up on the floor was a long scrape on my back that my wife noticed before I did.

Someone told me colostrum (milk for newborn or infant cows) can prevent it and is available in capsule form. I would recommend taking probiotics, consuming probiotic yogurt or similar products, and be ready with the meds before it happens. You might even bring some with you, so you don’t have to try to get it locally.

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