Antibiotics are not routinely recommended as a preventative due to side effects and resistance. However they are sometimes considered for travellers who are at increased risk and as a standby to treat more serious infections.
Note this does not offer complete protection against all causes of travellers diarrhoea and adequate precautions should still be carried out.
1. Identify the severity of diarrhoea. Passing frequent loose stools accompanied by cramps suggests a normal attack of diarrhoea. You should seek medical help if you have:
 | blood or mucous present in the stools
| watery and profuse diarrhoea leading to dehydration | severe diarrhoea accompanied by vomiting. | a fever | |
These signs and symptoms indicate a more serious invasive organism, which will require medical treatment. A rapid loss of fluid leads to dehydration that can be life threatening, particularly in vulnerable groups.
2. Preventing dehydration is the first priority in self-management. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids. A sign of dehydration is dark urine .Drink plenty until the urine becomes pale yellow.
3.It is a good idea to take Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) with you. This helps to maintain the body's fluid and electrolyte balance and should be taken after each loose stool
4. Antidiarrhoeal preparations such as loperamide, kaolin & morphine are useful if diarrhoea will be a severe inconvenience. They can be taken when attending business meetings, special events, sporting activities or when travelling on long journeys where access to a toilet is difficult. They should be part of the medical stand-by kit for all travellers, except certain groups of people such as asthmatics. They should only be taken for short durations and only if the symptoms aren't indicative of a more serious infection.
5. Introduce food gradually, trying to avoid solid food in the first six hours to prevent painful cramps. Nourishing clear soups or consommé drinks can be taken initially gradually progressing, as the stools become firmer, to bland foods such as bread, rice, potatoes or biscuits. Fruit, dairy products and spicy foods should be avoided until stools return to normal.
6. Hygienic measures are paramount such as washing hands, not sharing water bottles, food utensils, towels or tooth brushes .
7. Persistent diarrhoea that is not severe but lasts longer than a week requires a medical consultation.
8.Probiotics such as Acidophilus can help safeguard the
balance between beneficial and harmful pathogenic bacteria
in the digestive system. Lactobacilus transform sugar to
lactic acid in the gastro-intestinal tract which inhibits
the growth of pathogens such as e coli
At risk groups, include young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with current chronic conditions.
Dehydration in these groups can be more severe, therefore it is extremely important that oral rehydration therapy is taken and if accompanied by vomiting prompt medical attention is sought.
Nutrition is important and helps maintain fluid balance. Babies should remain bottle-feeding or breast feeding
Drink plenty of fluids, such as sealed bottled mineral water. When using bottled mineral water for young children, check the mineral content to ensure salt and mineral levels are low.
Diarrhoea can affect the efficacy of malaria drugs. Therefore, travellers to malarial zones need to take measures to avoid mosquito bites until normal stools return. It is important not to take additional medication to compensate for this lack of efficacy.
The efficacy of the Oral contraceptive pill can be reduced in women with travellers diarrhoea so extra precautions should be taken.