During the National Day holiday, when we toured the great scenery and tasted the food from all over the world, there was a group of friends who had to endure the troubles caused by the insubordination of water and soil.
Water and soil are not satisfied, also known as traveler's diarrhea, its prominent manifestation is diarrhea, may also be accompanied by vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, poor mental appetite and so on.
The vast majority of traveler's diarrhea is contagious, and its causative factor is intestinal pathogen infection, pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, etc., and occasionally protozoa and worm infections.
Causes of diarrhea in travelers
Traveler's diarrhea is not a gastrointestinal maladaptation after arriving in a new environment, although the rush during the journey, environmental climate change and dietary changes will affect people's subjective feelings, but it is not the culprit that causes traveler's diarrhea.
In fact, intestinal pathogenic infections are the real cause of diarrhea, with enterototoxic E. coli being the most common, and about half of the world's cases of traveler's diarrhea are caused by this bacterium.
In developing countries or regions, the pathogens of traveler's diarrhea are, in descending order of importance: Enterototox Escherichia coli, intestinal invasive Escherichia coli, diffuse adhesion E. coli, Norwalk virus, rotavirus, Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni, Shigella spp., Aeromonas spp., Proxima shigae, Enterotoxin fragile bacilli, and Vibrio cholerae.
Parasites (Duodenal Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Amoeba dysentery, microsporidium, etc.) can also be pathogenic for diarrhea in tourists, but there are regional differences. Toxoplasma gondii plays an increasingly important role in the onset of traveler's diarrhea and is often accompanied by co-infection.
Enterototoxic E. coli is the most common causative agent of traveler's diarrhea in many regions, but this is not the case in Southeast Asia (Campylobacter and Aeromonas are common in the region). Cases of unexplained diarrhea may be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites.
How to avoid traveler's diarrhea
First of all, be sure to pay attention to the hygiene of eating and drinking water: drinking water can be purchased, boiled or disinfected before drinking; choose a restaurant with good hygiene and eat completely cooked food. Second, washing your hands frequently may help.
What if you are unlucky enough to get caught
Traveler's diarrhea is a self-limiting disease, which usually improves spontaneously without treatment for 4 to 7 days, but it is necessary to drink oral rehydration salts to prevent frequent diarrhea and dehydration. However, if the diarrhea symptoms are serious: diarrhea more than 4 times a day, or accompanied by fever, mucus stools, pus and bloody stools, etc., it is necessary to see a doctor in time.