Traveler's Diarrhea Food & Beverage Checklist!
Food Do's
Food Don'ts
Beverage Do's
Beverage Don'ts
Eat foods that are well cooked and served steaming hot.

Eat food from street vendors or market stalls.

 
Use only water that is sealed & bottled, chemically treated, or boiled - for drinking & brushing teeth.
Drink Tap water OR rinse your toothbrush in tap water.

Eat breads, tortillas, crackers, biscuits & other baked goods.

 
Eat leafy or uncooked vegetables.
Drink beverages made only with boiled water (hot tea/coffee).
Use ice unless it is made from boiled, bottled, or pruified water.

Eat fruits, nuts & vegetables with thick skins, peels or shells that you remove yourself.
Eat undercooked, raw or cold meat, seafood or fish.
Drink canned, boxed or commercially bottled carbonated water & drinks.
Assume that water is safe because it is chlorinated.

Eat canned foods.

 

 
Eat/drink unpasturized dairy products such as cheese, yogurt or milk, mayonnaise, salad dressing, salsas, creamy desserts, custards.
Carry safe water with you if you are going out for the day.
Drink fruit juice unless it comes directly from a sealed container; otherwise it may have been diluted with tap water.

Prevention of Traveler's Diarrhea
You can decrease your risk by about 60% by using Pepto Bismol on a daily basis when you travel. Do not use for more than 3 weeks. Do not use if you have an allergy to aspirin, renal insufficiency or gout. Do not use if you are taking anti-coagulants, probenecid, or methotrexate. Do not take with Doxycycline. Side effects are minimal and may include temporary black stools or a black tongue.

Pepto Bismol
(bismuth subsalicylate)
2 ounces of liquid
-OR-
2 tablets
Take 4 times per day
(4-6 hours apart

Treatment of Traveler's Diarrhea

Mild loose stools
(3-4 in 24 hours)
Immodium (loperamide)
as directed per package.
Seek Medical Care if not resolved in 48 hrs or development of fever &/or bloody stools
Severe Diarrhea with intense cramps, nausea, bloody stools and/or fevers.
Do Not Self-Treat!
Do Not Take Imodium
Seek Medical Care!