How do you get traveler’s diarrhea?
You may be exposed to illness-causing bacteria, viruses or parasites through contaminated water or food. Many developing countries lack the resources to treat water and kill these contaminants. Residents of these countries grow up drinking the water and may have developed immunity to the organisms that make travelers sick. Food handlers might not realize the risk or practice rigorous hygiene.
What types of infections cause traveler’s diarrhea?
The most common causes are bacteria, especially E. coli.
Other common bacteria include:
Viral infections may include:
Parasite infections may include:
Is traveler’s diarrhea contagious?
The infection can spread from you to another person if they come into contact with your germs. The germs would have to travel from your gastrointestinal tract to the other person’s. Germs can spread through tiny particles of vomit or poop that linger on surfaces or transfer to food. Another person can become infected by ingesting that food, or by touching those surfaces and then touching their mouth.
What are the symptoms of traveler’s diarrhea?
Symptoms typically appear within six to 24 hours after a bacterial or viral infection. It may take one to three weeks for signs of an intestinal parasite infection to show up. This may explain traveler’s diarrhea that occurs a week or more after returning home. Symptoms are usually mild. You may have traveler’s diarrhea if you experience three or more loose stools within 24 hours. You may also experience:
How long does traveler’s diarrhea last?
Most of the time, your symptoms will start to improve on their own within two to three days. If you have a bacterial infection, which is the most common kind, you may continue to have diminishing symptoms for up to a week. Parasite infection is trickier and can last for weeks to months without treatment. If your symptoms don’t appear to be improving, you might have a parasite infection.
Can I get traveler’s diarrhea twice?
Yes. Having traveler's diarrhea once or even twice doesn’t appear to make you immune to infection. You can get the same infection twice in one trip. You can also get two different infections on the same trip, or even at the same time. You can get the same infection again when traveling to a different place. And you can get the same infection or a different one when traveling again to the same place.
What are the possible complications of traveler’s diarrhea?
Dehydration
The most common complication of persistent diarrhea is dehydration from loss of fluids. Mild to moderate dehydration can cause uncomfortable symptoms, but severe dehydration can be dangerous, especially for children. Children become more severely dehydrated more rapidly than adults, and they don’t recover as easily. They may need to go to the hospital to have their fluids replaced intravenously.
Signs of dehydration may include:
- Dry mouth, tongue and lips.
- Sunken eyes.
- Dark urine or too little urine.
- Headaches.
- Dizziness.
- Confusion.
- Fatigue.
- Weakness.
- Muscle cramps.
- Crying without tears.
Postinfectious conditions
Less commonly, healthcare providers have occasionally observed that traveler’s diarrhea can trigger an underlying gastrointestinal disease. In some people, symptoms of traveler’s diarrhea persist after the infection is gone. When no other cause can be found, they are diagnosed with post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS). In other cases, people who were already genetically predisposed to inflammatory bowel disease may develop their first symptoms after a bout of traveler’s diarrhea.
