Travelers must take considerable care to avoid “diarrhea”. If you do succumb to diarrhea, its intensity will depend on how much contaminated food or drink you consumed. If you get the “runs” after eating lunch at one place, it’s not a good idea to go back there and eat again for dinner.
To minimize the risk, eat food served steaming hot and cooked to order rather than food left out on trays or in chafing dishes. Choose fruits that have to be peeled rather than those you consume with the skin intact. Bread is usually safe. Drink bottled water. Avoid “nam oy” (sugar cane juice). Avoid homemade rice wine or whiskey. Buffets are one of the ways to contact diarrhea. Avoid salads, uncooked fresh vegetables and all shellfish.
Microorganisms clinging to people’s hands are a major source of contamination.
Drinks with cube ice or tube ice are safe but drinks made with crushed ice or chipped ice from blocks are not safe.
IMPORTANT: If you get a persistent case of diarrhea, remember to drink lots of fluids because dehydration is a problem. If children come down with diarrhea, it can be very serious and a physician should be contacted. You should contact a physician anytime you pass blood, have violent diarrhea and vomiting because these are symptomatic of Amoebic Dysentery and haemorrhagic fevers like Cholera or Yellow fever and these can be life threatening.
|
