BootsnAll Travel Community

This might sound like a joke, but it isn't. I am honestly very curious about this, and who knows, I might (but hopefully not1) have to face it in the future:

How do you handle diarrhea in "public" lodging (e.g. youth hostels, inns / hotels with public bathrooms, etc.)?

I can imagine it would very much NOT be a fun experience!

How do I handle it? I do what I have to doo...If you gotta go, you gotta go...it's better than crapping in your pants!

If I have a bad case, I immodium up to get some control over it, and hope to feel better. Many travellers have experienced "Delhi belly", "Montezuma's revenge", or whatever you want to call it..so it's really not a big deal. You may get some sympathizers or even hear some good stories!

The worst thing about diarrhea is being away from a toilet when it happens...like if you're on a bus with no bathroom...or literally, in the middle of nowhere hiking around...or climbing a mountain...or...you get the picture...

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Originally posted by Marisa:
The worst thing about diarrhea is being away from a toilet when it happens...like if you're on a bus with no bathroom...or literally, in the middle of nowhere hiking around...or climbing a mountain...or...you get the picture...

the bus is my nightmare. middle of nowhere hiking, that's no problem, but i do have a particular terror of bathroom-less buses for this very reason. what do you do in that situation? ask them to pull over? shudder, hope i don't have to find out...

as for public lodging, not really a big deal, but if you're really self-conscious you can always get a room with a private bath. when i'm somewhere with skanky bathrooms, i often just wait until i walk by a nice hotel, then wander in, pay the loo a visit, and make my exit. once, i was right next door to the hyatt and i visited daily- they'd open the door, say good morning, they thought i was a guest.

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what do you do in that situation? ask them to pull over? shudder, hope i don't have to find out...

If you have no other option, not much else to be done and hope there's somewhere to go, a roadhouse or if in country, you have some bushes handy and hope no nosey creatures are sharing.

bathroom-less buses and bad tummy - oh god that is frightening.

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what do you do in that situation? ask them to pull over? shudder, hope i don't have to find out...

The first thing would be just to stay another day so as not get yourself in this situation.

If thats not possible than immodium may work

If that doesn't work, yes, ask the fare collector or driver to stop

If that's not effective, personally I would beginning dropping my pants and threaten to release on said fair collector or driver. I would imagine they would stop at that point.

As far as where to go when you get off. If you'd like a little privacy I'd suggest bringing a rain poncho along and throw it on. One of the many useful features of a poncho.

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As far as where to go when you get off. If you'd like a little privacy I'd suggest bringing a rain poncho along and throw it on. One of the many useful features of a poncho.

That's novel, but hell I'd not be worrying too uch as like all they may see is some hairy or hairyless cheeks with some spurting going on and that ought to be enough that you'll have them looking for something else to do.

ill drop and go wherever I am whenever...

I actually got really sick in Israel and was stuck in the desert on a hike with no where to go...

But hey, its biodegradable so I didn't feel so bad.

Anyone take Cipro along? I've been advised to by the Travel Nurse at my clinic. That might be an option - supposedly it stops the diarrhea within a day.

Cipro is an antibiotic and as we all (should) know by now just throwing a day's worth of antibiotic in your body doesn't help you in the long run. It allows for the un-natural selection of cipro resistant bacteria to proliferate eventually screwing over yourself and everybody else, thanks. In addition antibiotics also attack the beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract which can lead to a different kind of diarrhea and bowel irritation. In can help in the short term but not a preferred way to go.

Antibiotics are not something to be trifled with nor are they a cure-all that people should take at the slightest discomfort. Please do not over/misuse antibiotics!

Sing it, Calli!

The abuse of antibiotics (including the abuse of antibacterial soaps, etc.) will lead to new, resistant bacterias that will harm us in the long run.

As for going to the bathroom while traveling...If I am sharing a bathroom, I often can't go in there. I'll go to a McDonald's (they have surprisingly clean bathrooms abroad). I don't like people banging on the door while I am going, and that seems to happen whenever I have to use those shared BRs at hostels.

hi

I think some of this might be relevant,

Office Poop Survival Guide

bye

adult diapers.
at least for the long bus rides after some sketch chow.
why not!

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I'll go to a McDonald's (they have surprisingly clean bathrooms abroad).

I've come across a few in Europe that wouldn't pass Ronald McDonalds inspection! One was in Rome... it had no lock on the door, no toilet seat, and a blue light (to ward off heroin users?) Oh... and no toilet paper. Good thing I brought some along with me!

But, as it was said above, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

ROFL>>>> Thank you goter for that Office Poop Survival Guide. That was pretty amusing!!

Ah yes, there is no greater fear than those expressed in this thread. What exactly CAN you do when you're locked up in a bus sans toilet? I've been in situations like that; a 12 hour bus ride from india to nepal along steep mountain roads, river boat on the Ganges, I was very fortunate I didn't have any problems. Here are some general precautions I take:

-don't eat too much the night before and take some metamucil before going to bed. The metamucil will help you go in the morning and "clean out" your system.

-in fact, if you're really paranoid, don't eat anything for dinner at all, maybe just some juice or something really light.

-as an overall preventative measure, eat your meals regularly, don't overindulge on any one food.

-don't eat a big breakfast. Maybe just some juice and crackers or oatmeal (no dairy!). I like the "Digestive" brand crackers (the round ones that come rolled in a red plastic wrapping).

-if you already know you're stomach could cause you trouble because of something you'd eaten earlier, wake up early to get your stomach acclimated and have plenty of opportunity to use the facilities before embarking on your journey. The worse thing to do on an iffy stomach is jump right out of bed and onto the bus. Its in interesting thing. I could be lying around in bed for hours and not feel the need to go, but the minute you stand up vertically, your bowels will "adjust" and suddenly you'll need to go. So you want to give your body/stomach/bowels plenty of time to "wake up".

-also, if you have an iffy stomach, pop a couple of immodiums before jumping on the bus. Unlike pepto, immodium paralizes the bowels from moving and so you basically can't go (even if you wanted to). I'd say take it at least an hour or 45 minutes from departure. The extra time will allow for any "extras" to make its way out of your body before the immodium sets in. Granted, immodium will make you constipated later on, but that's where the metamucil comes in. If I'm taking immodium, I'll usually take some metamucil (the kind you mix with water and drink) shortly after. So that by the time the immodium wears off (and constipation sets in), the metamucil will have made its way through your system and should help relieve the effects of the immodium.

-lastly, a tip on water. in all of your travel excitement don't forget to drink plenty of water. this is another key to staying healthy. Make sure you always have a water bottle on you and drink it regularly throughout the day. Here's a tip though. Don't "gulp" your water. For instance, if you realize you haven't had some water in a while and are feeling dehydrated, don't down half a bottle and jump on the bus/boat. You're going to be in big trouble. Instead, take ocassional sips. I've found that 2-3 sips every 5 or 10 minutes will allow you to drink an ample amount of water without having it go right through you (and therefore creating an unpleasant situation).

As disgusting as some of this stuff sounds, all of this is from actual experience. A little extra care can go a long way to preventing an otherwise unpleasant situation. Ironically though, when I went to Africa last year I was on a bus/camp trip where we had a cook travelling with us that would cook all our meals for us. These meals were basic and usually consisted of anything from sandwiches to pasta. Even though the ingredients, utinsels, and cooking environs looked suspect, I ate whatever was served to me and never got sick. In fact, I never felt better nor ate better in my life. A lot of this had to do with the fact that because the meals were so regimented, I was eating 3 square meals a day at all the right times and never overate (there wasn't enough food for you to overeat anyway), and slept well. I ate when I was suppose to and went to the facilities when I was suppose to. So, if you're stomach is healthy to begin with, then keep it that way with a good normal diet and restrain yourself form over indulging.

Good luck and happy travels.

I say don't take anything or DO anything to prevent the poops. You get them for a reason. Just deal, even though it sucks. Local people on buses in far away places get the shits just as easily- they know the drill. Heck, I've seen women stuick their pooping kids out the windows of buses. The only time I would get worried is if its long term hershey squirts, if you know what I mean.

PhotoChick

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You get them for a reason.

Voting for the incumbent?

That is my nightmare beyond nightmares. Being on a long distance bus with no bathroom, say some place like the Bolivia altiplano in the middle of the desert where even if the driver did pull over, it's barren desert and nothing to even hide behind to do your business...unless it's night time.

oh goodness! Immodium was a godsend - cleared my bout right up after 2 days of being sick - don't know why I didn't use it earlier.

And because you are losing so much fluid, drink lots of water (preferrably with rehydration salts. yes, they taste gross) to compensate.