Be careful of what you eat. This is the watchword to prevent diarrhoea, particularly infectious. In summer, therefore, care creams are not well preserved or eggs. For the rest it is very difficult to prevent diarrhoea Much easier is the cure, which, in addition to a constant supply of fluids (especially citrus juices), but a few simple dietary rules. Stop milk and green rice and boiled potatoes, with astringent. And also to products available in pharmacies (such as lactic acid bacteria) capable of restoring the normal intestinal flora and accelerate healing.
Prevention
Bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause diarrhoea, typically, come from the feces of infected subjects, then, the practice of some simple hygiene measures to avoid contact of bodies, food, hands or anything that can enable them to reach the mouth, is undoubtedly an important form of prevention. Here are some useful tips:
* Personal hygiene: it is good to wash your hands frequently, especially after the completion of biological functions, but also in the kitchen when you touch food, especially fish or raw meat and eggs, or when there are frequent contacts with other people (for as when you shake hands frequently), or after contact with animals.
* Environmental hygiene: it is good to keep properly clean the premises as kitchens and bathrooms.
* Food Hygiene (in particular to prevent traveller’s diarrhoea): Avoid raw or undercooked foods and beverages not packaged.
* In the case of food intolerance, follow a diet that provides for the exclusion of the substance to which you are intolerant.
* When used with the particular conditions of stress, the best prevention is, of course, try to avoid or at least to contain the emotional involvement.
When you are ready to travel to exotic destinations, they often take little account of the health risks that may lead to stay, partly because unfortunately not always travel agencies emphasize this aspect of the holiday. One of the most common medical problems they face those who go on the road to ‘foreign, mainly in tropical and sub-tropical, it is the traveller’s diarrhoea, called by the press “Montezuma’s revenge” or “the curse of Tutankhamen.”
Traveller’s diarrhoea (traveller’s diarrhoea, also abbreviated “TD”) affects 20-50% of those who go to countries with lower sanitation standards than the area of origin. One of the most significant factors is the region of the world that is half the journey. The areas of the world that pose a high risk are South America, sub-Saharan West Africa and eastern Europe, South Asia. There is also a second band in which the risk of traveller’s diarrhoea is average and includes some Caribbean islands. Northern Mediterranean countries, those in the Middle East and South Africa. Finally there is the low risk area which includes the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
The risk of contracting traveller’s diarrhoea also varies greatly according to the foods consumed. The foods most at risk are those with high water content and that are served or maintained for some time at room temperature, especially undercooked or raw meat, seafood, fruits and raw vegetables. Another important factor seems to be the place where food is prepared: the risk increases ranging from private home, in restaurants, retailers of road. Who does adventure trips or comes into contact with the local population, presents a higher risk than those who stay in hotels best.
The major cause of traveller’s diarrhoea is represented by infectious agents, which are usually bacteria (Escherichia coli-ETEC, Vibrio cholera, Salmonellae) and less parasites (Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica) and viruses (Rotavirus, Calicivirus, Enterovirus) and who as a vehicle of transmission contaminated food and water.