I've caught a fairly standard and inevitable travel tummy bug. I was warned and did all I could to prevent it, short of wearing one of those plastic full body radiation suits. I haven't eaten anything suspect, I have only drank bottled spring water, I've carried around packets of those anti-bacterial hand wipes...I fail to see what else I could have done. This just proves how easy it can be to catch one of these travel bugs.
I'm annoyed to have spend hundreds of dollars on pills, shots, books and advice, only to get ill! Doctors can prevent the complicated afflictions - hepatitis, malaria, typhoid - no worries! But when it comes to your garden variety colds or tummy bugs, there's not much they can do when it comes to prevention. And then to fix the problem they give you the antibiotic equivalent of a nuclear bomb.
It's a deceptive sickness as well. You wake up and think: "right, I'm okay today. Might pop out and do some sight seeing!" One hour later you get a cramp and...well no one likes to have a tummy bug in a city with toilets you have to squat over. It's not pleasant. It's not the making of a perfect holiday.
It's funny because most travelers get a bug within the first week or so of the trip. Then BANG, you deal with it and when it's over your immune system is better for having dealt with it. But I've been here for almost a month! I was lulled into a false sense of security! WAH!
Anyway, after a week or so of trying to get better, I'm on my scary high dosage medication that the travel doctor gave me. I'm also on a simple high carbohydrate and potassium diet, I'm trying to drink at least 2lts of water a day and I'm not eating acidic foods, dairy products or meat. Anything that's hard to digest is a bad idea.
I know it sounds stupid, but I really wanted to avoid going to the doctor. I mean, you try explaining "irregular bowel movements" to a doctor who not only doesn't speak a word of English, but also has never seen a westerner in his life. I knew this was not going to be easy and in China everything seems to take longer. The Chinese seem to be a very patient people; I've never seen any road rage and people have no problems with standing in ques for hours. I on the other hand, being a product of the society I was brought up in, believe that standing in ques is boring and I would rather not be doing it.
Anyway, I'm already starting to feel better thanks to the meds that I bought with me. I would reccomend to anyone coming to Asia for an extended holiday to remember to bring a remedy for EVERYTHING it's possible to get.
