Quote:
Originally Posted by phillyraqs
You might want to ask your doctor if they'd write a prescription for you to fill before your trip. This way, if you do start to feel ill, you can immediately start some medicine.
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Just a caution - so many of the GI-distress bacteria have become antibiotic resistant that I would urge anyone whose health is NOT fragile to resist the temptation. Doxycycline and Cipro are about the only two that still are effective, and even they don't work all the time because of the resistance.
If someone's immune system is delicate (for example, compromised by cancer chemotherapy), then of course they should try the antibiotic if their doctor says it's okay to. So Phillyraqs, I'm not faulting your husband at all for using it. I'm just saying that people with normal immune system health should try to get by without so that we don't destroy its effectiveness for those whose immune systems REALLY need it.
A few things some people don't know about using antibiotic to treat a fussy gastrointestinal (GI) tract:
- One of the side effects of taking antibiotic is that it can cause diarrhea. This is because it kills not only harmful bacteria but also the beneficial ones that normally live in the gut. If you must take antibiotic, then I'd advise eating yogurt or taking acidophalus to repopulate your gut. So, if your gut is rebellious, why would you take a drug that causes guts to be rebellious?
- One of the side effects of taking antibiotic is that it can cause a yeast infection.
- In people with healthy immune systems, food poisoning typically goes away on its own within 8 hours, and e Coli gut trouble typically goes away within 3 days. So if this is your problem, it'll go away on its own even if you don't take antibiotic.
- If your GI distress is caused by coffee, sorbitol (an artificial sweetener that is used A LOT here in the US and could be in sugar-free snack foods that you take with you), alcohol, lactose intolerance, eating vegetables such as beans that you lack the enzyme to digest fully, celiac disease (ie, gluten intolerance), antibiotic will do absolutely nothing to help you.
- If your GI distress is caused by amoeba parasites (a real possibility in Egypt), antibiotic won't help. Instead, drink a glass of vinegar or lemon juice - the acid will get the results you want. (Don't read the rest of this paragraph if TMI makes you squirm, though I'll try to express it as delicately as possible...) The symptom of amoeba parasites is that your trip to the bathroom will involve a very strong, foul smell, more so than typical, with a fishy overtone.
- Some intestinal illnesses are caused by the norovirus (this is the one linked to cruise ship outbreaks of unhappy guts). Because this is a virus, antibiotic doesn't help.
- Even Cipro and Doxycycline have problems with bacteria resistance. There's a chance that if you have a bacterial cause and take antibiotic, it won't help anyway.