06 Dec How To Avoid Parasites While Travelling
Nothing is worse than ruining your vacation by being glued to the toilet or not being able to trust a fart. All I can say is, I feel you. After traveling in Africa and living in Ecuador, I have experienced parasites and stomach flu.
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A few months after I moved to Ecuador, I felt it coming unexpectedly. Strangely, I thought I had built immunity against it, since I have lived there for four months already.
Skinny me, lost probably 2kg after dealing with parasites for two weeks! Two weeks is too long. Everything I ate came out shortly after, it was horrible.
If you see changes in your digestion, you should go to the doctor if it lasts more than three days. I went to the doctor after two weeks and almost before I entered he said. “You have a parasite.” I didn’t need to hand in samples.
The doctor looked at my eyes, tongue and pressed my stomach. He gave me antibiotics and a pink syrup to drink three times a day. The symptoms of the parasite went away after two days.
What are the symptoms of parasites?
- Diarrhea
- Feeling tired
- Abdominal pain.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Gas or bloating.
- Dysentery
- Rash or itching around the rectum or vulva.
- Stomach pain or tenderness.
The differences with food poisoning and parasites is that food poisoning usually happens shortly after you ate something and parasites can take some time to show the symptoms.
How to prevent parasites
The most important thing you should do before traveling is getting a valid travel insurance – you never know what could happen while traveling. Doctor visits, tests or hospital stays can be really expensive. It is not worth the risk. If you need a flexible travel insurance I recommend World Nomads . I am sure your country has good insurance deals. You have to make sure you read the policy.
A thing you should be aware of is that you can build up your immune system before you go by eating healthy food.
Here are some tips to avoid getting parasites when you are traveling:
Wash – peel – cook
The best thing you can do to avoid parasites is to cook your own food. Remember to wash and peel the vegetables before you cook it.
Avoid meat and chicken
This is the hardest one unless you are a vegetarian. It is proven that uncooked meat especially pork can give parasites.
Always ask for well-done meat and properly washed fruit and vegetables. After experiencing parasites multiple times I have learned it is a good idea to not eat eggs or at least eat it well cooked and dry!
Eat at the best places
If you know you have a sensitive stomach, I would avoid running to the small street BBQs around the corner or at a restaurant where no one goes to. Look at Trip Advisor or ask locals about the best restaurants to go to.
Wash your hands
While you travel you might experience that you can’t always wash your hands. Therefore, you should always bring antibacterial wipes or a tube and use it every time you go to the toilet especially. I would also suggest to use it after you have touched something that many people have touched, like doorknobs or handles etc. Using it before you eat and cook is essential.
Need more tips on health and wellness, check out Positive Health Wellness
Only drink bottled water
When you travel to developing countries, you should only use bottled water. I have realized that I should use it whenever I need some liquid. I even use bottled water when I brush my teeth or drink juices. Be aware of that restaurants usually, use tap water in their drinks and ice cubes.
I have also experienced getting sick just after swimming in a pool while traveling. Make sure you don’t drink the pool water or from the shower.
Vaccination?
It is recommended to get vaccinated before you go to some developing countries. This is especially needed in African countries and some places in Asia and South America. Be aware that vaccination can give you side effects that can remind you of the stomach flu.
What to do if you already got the runs?
If it has been more than three days – you should go to the doctor. Before that, you can also ask at the pharmacy and they can give you something for dehydration or medications that don’t need a prescription. If it is really bad, where you are throwing up and everything you eat and drink you need to go to the doctor or emergency right away. It can be dangerous. For many of the worst cases the doctor will give you antibiotics, but it might be the only way to get rid of it.
You can also take a parasite cleanse after you have traveled to a country or if think you might have a parasite but no diarrhea yet.
Natural antibiotics that I swear by is garlic, raw garlic. Yes, it sucks and it is super spicy and your breath will stink for days. However, it is proven to be natural antibiotics. See link Here.
I have used it many times for upset stomach and it works for me!
How do you eat garlic?
I eat one or two feds that I cut in small pieces RAW. If it is impossible to eat it raw, you can mix it with honey, put it in tea or even have it on a toast. My stomach is insanely sensitive, so I choose to eat garlic every morning on an empty stomach at least a week before I travel. Garlic is more preventing parasites. I wouldnt recommend eating it if you are already throwing up.
Foods to avoid when you have parasites
You should avoid carbohydrates, lemon, coffee, spicy food and dairy products.
Food you should eat when you have parasites
Garlic, oregano, bananas, carrots, beets, honey, apples, probiotics and lots of bottled water!
If you already have a parasite, I recommend this book for learning more about how to get rid of parasites
I hope this article helps you to prevent a parasite on your travels! Parasites suck!
Have you experienced parasites while traveling, what did you do? Write a comment below.
Miguel travelsauro
Posted at 03:29h, 07 OctoberHi Vibeke, yes, I know that feeling.. I got parasites in the Philippines for almost two months.. they were called Larvae migrans.. and they were literally moving under my skin.. pretty awful haha
Another good recommendation is try to avoid walking barefoot on certain places… you can step on their eggs (rests of dog’s feces) and they get through your skin.. little fuckers! 🙂
Thanks for the post,
Miguel.
thevikingabroad
Posted at 15:24h, 07 OctoberHey. Thank you for the comment. Two months sounds scary and crawling under your arms 😮 must be a horrible feeling.
Yes that is a great advice!
Thank you
Vibeke
Chasa Fulkerson
Posted at 17:12h, 07 OctoberThat sounds terrifying.
Chasa Fulkerson
Posted at 17:17h, 07 OctoberGreat tips. So far I haven’t visited any countries where this could be a potential problem. But this sounds awful. Who do you suggest to go through to get travel insurance? People always say you should get it, but they never explain the process. Do you have an article on it?
thevikingabroad
Posted at 17:39h, 07 OctoberI have used World Nomads – they are quite flexible and have no limited stay and specific countries etc. I have also used different travel insurances from my Home Country, but they expire if you travel more than 40 days, I dont have an article about that yet, but it is a good idea to write about that.
Thank you so much for the comment Chasa 🙂
Chasa Fulkerson
Posted at 20:16h, 17 NovemberThanks! I actually inspired myself to write a post about travel insurance as well because I have always wondered about it. World Nomads seems to be at the top of the list for most travelers!
thevikingabroad
Posted at 21:33h, 17 NovemberYea, it is recommended by Nomadic Matt as well. I will use it for my next travels 🙂
Rachel
Posted at 11:56h, 10 OctoberParasites are the worst 🙁 I’ve been fortunate not to get sick during my travels, hoping to continue down that path!
thevikingabroad
Posted at 12:25h, 10 OctoberYes, It really is horrible. You probably got a strong Immune system 😀 Lucky you!
Share Yvon
Posted at 10:08h, 20 OctoberThis is a great article, I’m going to Korea and Thailand this December and I’m kind of worried about the street food. Not sure if I should just live in the moment or pass. Thanks for the travel insurance info.
Share Yvon
http://www.MyStyleMyVibe.com
thevikingabroad
Posted at 10:49h, 20 OctoberIt is hard to resist the street food, if you know your stomach is strong you should go for it 🙂 Thank you for the comment.
Susan
Posted at 10:21h, 02 NovemberI got sick when we travelled to Mexico years ago. But our most recent bout with parasites was at home! My son somehow contracted them and had them for a week before being diagnosed (we thought it was just a flu). Exactly the symptoms you mentioned. Wish I had seen a copy of that book you recommended! I’m going to share your post with my niece, who is travelling to the Philippines this winter. (Miguel’s comment above was freaky-deaky…crawling under your skin! Yikes!!)
thevikingabroad
Posted at 20:39h, 05 NovemberThank you for your comment and that you will share! It is really scary when you get it and luckily it can be prevented 🙂
Michael Noker
Posted at 13:44h, 02 NovemberOh my god! In a horrible way, this post made my day, but I’m so sorry this happened to you! Thanks for providing some helpful ways to stop the tragedy from striking in someone else’s life. That’s one way to turn a negative into a positive!
thevikingabroad
Posted at 20:33h, 05 Novemberhehe, that is good. Thank you 🙂
heidi
Posted at 19:00h, 02 NovemberWhat a great post and great tips. I bet it’s a subject people don’t think about when planning a trip or traveling.
thevikingabroad
Posted at 20:36h, 05 NovemberThank you ! Exactly, it really sucks if it happens.
stephanie
Posted at 08:51h, 06 DecemberGreat article!
Last year when I was in Cambodia I was sick (really bad and ate nothing) and waited a week before I went to the hospital/doctor.
God it suck when youre sick while traveling, but usually it is easy to fix.
x
thevikingabroad
Posted at 09:19h, 06 DecemberThank you ! That sounds horrible. It really sucks ! Good that it was easy to fix 🙂
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Fit Traveler
Posted at 19:29h, 17 MarchThis is such an important post for travelers! I know we all want to think our trips will go well, but a parasite will certainly put a damper on things.
thevikingabroad
Posted at 17:35h, 18 MarchThank you so much. It really sucks yea :/
Jean
Posted at 22:24h, 17 MarchOh love this! Thank you for being so open and honest about how much ‘fun’ travel life can be.
thevikingabroad
Posted at 17:35h, 18 MarchThank you for stopping by 😀
tracy collins
Posted at 15:31h, 18 MarchGreat article – we are going to South East Asia soon and parasites are something that is worrying me a lot! We will be getting good insurance thats for sure!
thevikingabroad
Posted at 17:35h, 18 MarchThank you! That is awesome 🙂
tammy
Posted at 15:05h, 20 OctoberGreat Post! Thanks for sharing
thevikingabroad
Posted at 14:18h, 22 OctoberThank you 🙂