Traveller’s Diarrhea is all too common among those who go head for sunnier climes, and water is often the cause. Here’s how to avoid being laid low by H2O when abroad.
By Robert Carry
- Sticking to bottled water is the basic rule, but what you pay for might not always be what you’re getting. It’s not uncommon, particularly in poorer countries, for venders to refill empties with tap water so you should always check the seal and turn the bottle upside-down to see if it leaks before you take a swig.
- Avoid un-cooked vegetables such as salads which may have been washed in tap water. It takes just a tiny amount of contaminated water to leave you ill, and a few drops on a lettuce leaf could well be enough. Opt for cooked veg.
- Many travellers have heard the story of locals piercing holes in the melons and putting them into rivers to make them swell. While this has probably happened to someone somewhere, under normal circumstances when a tourist spots a local popping a bag of melons into a river, it’s being done to keep the fruit cool and fresh. Anyway, the lesson should be the same – only eat fruit that has not been chopped or peeled. Clean and peel all the fruit you intend to eat for yourself.
- Bacteria are not killed by the freezing process and tap water frozen into ice cubes is not safe. Always tell bar and waiting staff to hold the ice.
- Avoid drinks that have been diluted. This includes the obvious such as diluted orange, but also cartons and cans such as reconstituted fruit juices.
- Brush your teeth with bottled water.
- Take Pepto-Bismol when in high-risk areas. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the US reckons its active ingredient (Bismuth subsalicylate) helps stave off Traveller’s Diarrhea.
- If you don’t have easy access to bottled water and have to use the piped stuff, then you will either need to either use a purification tablet (which taste disgusting) or else boil the water first. As a guideline, you should boil tap water for one minute if you’re at sea level, adding another minute for every additional 1,000 feet. As a fail-safe, you should boil water for 10 minutes if you are not sure of your altitude.
