No one wants to spend their vacation on the toilet. Here are a few home remedies you can try to avoid traveler's diarrhea.
Give up ice cubes for the duration. They're made with tap water, and despite some people's beliefs, freezing will not kill the bacteria. Neither will floating those cubes in an alcoholic drink; the alcohol isn't strong enough to kill bacteria.
Drink bottled water. Don't drink water delivered to your table in a glass and don't drink water straight from a tap. And if you don't like the looks of the water in the bottle, don't drink it.
Open your own bottles. Whether it's water, a soft drink, or beer, open the bottle yourself. That way you'll be sure that nothing has been added to it, or that the mouth of the bottle hasn't been touched by dirty hands.
Use caution with other beverages. Fresh lemonade may sound appealing, but you don't know the source of the water. Tea and coffee are more likely to be safe since they're made with boiled water, but only if the water has been boiled thoroughly.
Know your dairy products. Don't consume unpasteurized milk and dairy products.
Stick to cooked foods. This is not the time to indulge in raw oysters. You'll have to pass on that green salad, too. Avoiding raw vegetables is one of the most important things you can do.
Eat your cooked foods while they're hot. If they have time to sit around and cool off, bacteria-carrying flies have time to visit your food before you eat it.
Eat only fruits you peel yourself. The same advice goes for hard-boiled eggs. Sometimes bacteria isn't in the food, it's on the food, inadvertently placed there by the unwashed hands that so graciously peeled the orange for you.
Take your own care package. Pack granola bars, cereal, and other sturdy food. You can make your own tea, for example, if you boil the local tap water thoroughly.
