Diarrhoea on a trip: drinking enough and knowing the warning signs
Diarrhoea is common on travels and trips – usually from contaminated water or food. The biggest danger is not the diarrhoea itself but the loss of water and salts. Here you learn how to replace the loss, when a ready-made rehydration solution from the pharmacy helps, how to protect others and which warning signs need medical help – especially in children and older people.
- Drink spread over the whole day
Explained simply
With diarrhoea the body loses a lot of water and salt. So the most important thing is: drink, drink, drink – best in small sips often.
The pharmacy has ready-made rehydration solutions. You mix them exactly as the pack says.
Children and older people dry out faster. If someone is very tired, confused or hardly needs the toilet any more, they need medical help quickly.
How it works
Normally the gut takes most of the water back from food. With an infection that does not work, and water and salts are lost.
Salt and sugar together help the gut absorb water. That is why ready-made rehydration solutions work better than plain water when a lot is lost.
What matters
Only drink safe, treated water.
Small amounts often, even if you feel sick.
Wash hands so others do not catch it.
Safety: what to watch out for
Blood in the stool, high fever, severe pain or diarrhoea for more than two to three days: medical help.
Confusion, great drowsiness or almost no urine: emergency number.
A first-aid course with the Red Cross or another aid organisation shows you all of this in practice. In an emergency: 112 (in Austria also 144).
Step by step
- 1
Drink small sips often
After each bout of diarrhoea and in between, drink small sips of safe water, tea or clear broth again and again.
- 2
Ready-made rehydration solution
If you have a rehydration solution from the pharmacy with you, prepare it exactly as the pack says with safe water.
- 3
Eat lightly when possible
As soon as you have an appetite, light food such as rice, rusks, bananas or soup. Avoid fatty and spicy food and alcohol.
- 4
Protect others
Wash hands thoroughly after every toilet visit. Do not prepare food for others, use your own towel and bottle.
- 5
Watch for dehydration
Warning signs are a dry mouth, very little and dark urine, dizziness when standing up, great tiredness. In children also: no tears, sunken eyes.
- 6
Get help in time
With blood in the stool, high fever, persistent vomiting or signs of dehydration: medical help; with confusion, call the emergency number.
Common mistakes
- Drinking little so there is less diarrhoea
- Drinking large amounts at once
- Drinking unsafe water
- Taking warning signs in children seriously too late
- Cooking for others
Quick view
Materials
PET bottle (clear, max. 2 litres)
Safe, treated drinking water
Do not heat or place in a fire.
Suitable for
- Mild diarrhoea in otherwise healthy adults
- Travellers' diarrhoea
- Stomach bug on a trip
Not suitable for
- Infants and small children – get medical advice early
- Blood in the stool, high fever, severe pain
- People with pre-existing conditions or pregnant women – get medical advice
Prerequisites
- Safe drinking water
- A way to wash hands
Safety
- This text does not replace a first-aid course. First aid is learned through hands-on practice under instruction. In an emergency always call professional help – via the local emergency number (112 in the EU) – and follow the dispatcher's instructions.
- No medication is covered here. Whether and which remedies make sense is something to clarify with a doctor or pharmacist before the trip.
How it works
With diarrhoea the gut loses a lot of water and salts such as sodium and potassium. Without both, circulation and brain are less well supplied: dizziness, weakness, confusion. Small sips spread over the day are more likely to stay down than large amounts at once. Ready-made rehydration solutions contain salts and sugar in the right ratio so the gut absorbs the water better.
Advantages
- Simple measures
- Prevents dangerous dehydration
Disadvantages
- Does not replace medical treatment in severe cases
Deep knowledge
Background
Worldwide, dehydration from diarrhoea is one of the most common causes of death in small children. Rehydration solutions with salt and sugar are considered one of the most important medical discoveries of the 20th century because they save lives so simply.
Variants
- In children
- Children dehydrate much faster than adults. Give small amounts to drink often, keep breastfeeding or bottle-feeding infants, and get medical advice early.
- Prevention
- Treat water of unknown origin, wash hands before eating, prefer cooked and hot food when travelling.
Common mistakes
- Drinking little so there is less diarrhoea
- Drinking large amounts at once
- Drinking unsafe water
- Taking warning signs in children seriously too late
- Cooking for others
Limits and risks
- Does not replace a first-aid course
- No medication or doses
- No home-mix recipe
Sources (2)
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) – Global First Aid Reference Centre (2020): International First Aid, Resuscitation, and Education Guidelines 2020 · Diarrhoea and dehydration: drinking, rehydration solution, warning signs
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel · Travellers' diarrhoea: replacing fluids, warning signs, prevention