Traveler's Diarrhea

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Traveler's diarrhea causes your bowel movements (BMs) to become loose and watery. It is often caused by bacteria (bak-TEE-ree-ah), viruses, or parasites in food and water infected with bowel movements (BM). It most commonly occurs in certain areas of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Mexico, and Central and South America. Traveler's diarrhea usually lasts a few days.

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

RISKS:

Without treatment you may lose too much water and electrolytes (salts) from your body. This is called dehydration (dee-heye-DRAY-shen). If you take medicine to treat your diarrhea, you may have side effects from the medicine.

WHILE YOU ARE HERE:

• Informed consent: You have the right to understand your health condition in words that you know. You should be told what tests, treatments, or procedures may be done to treat your condition. Your doctor should also tell you about the risks and benefits of each treatment. You may be asked to sign a consent form that gives caregivers permission to do certain tests, treatments, or procedures. If you are unable to give your consent, someone who has permission can sign this form for you. A consent form is a legal piece of paper that tells exactly what will be done to you. Before giving your consent, make sure all your questions have been answered so that you understand what may happen.
  
  
• Intake and output: Your caregivers may need to know the amount of liquid you are getting. They may also need to know how much you are urinating. Men 19 years old and older should drink about 3.0 Liters of liquid each day (close to 13 eight-ounce cups). Women 19 years old and older should drink about 2.2 Liters of liquid each day (close to 9 eight-ounce cups). Certain foods also contain liquid. You may need more or less liquid each day. Ask your caregiver how much liquid you should have each day. Ask caregivers if they need to measure or collect your urine before you dispose of it.
  
  
• IV: An IV is a tube placed in your vein for giving medicine or liquids. This tube is capped or connected to tubing and liquid.
  
  
• Medicines:
  
  
  • Antibiotics: Antibiotics may be given to help treat or prevent an infection caused by germs called bacteria.
    
    
  • Antidiarrheal medicine: This medicine is given to decrease the amount of diarrhea you are having. Some of these medicines coat the intestine (bowel) and make the BM less watery. Other antidiarrheal medicine works by slowing down how fast the intestine is moving.
    
    
  • Antinausea medicine: This medicine may be given to calm your stomach and control vomiting (throwing up).
    
    
  • Antiparasitic medicine: This medicine may be given to kill parasites. Parasites are living things that feed or eat off of other living things.
  
  
• Tests:
  
  
  • Pulse oximeter: A pulse oximeter is a machine that tells how much oxygen is in your blood. A cord with a clip or sticky strip is placed on your ear, finger, or toe. The other end of the cord is hooked to a machine. Caregivers use this machine to see if you need more oxygen.
    
    
  • Stool Sample: A sample of your BM is sent to a lab for tests. The BM may show what germ is causing your illness. This helps caregivers learn what medicine is best to treat you.
    
    
  • Vital signs: This includes taking your temperature, blood pressure, pulse (counting your heartbeat), and respirations (counting your breaths). To take your blood pressure, a cuff is put on your arm and tightened. The cuff is attached to a machine which gives your blood pressure reading. Caregivers may listen to your heart and lungs by using a stethoscope. Your vital signs are taken so caregivers can see how you are doing.
  
  
• Weight: You may be weighed each day. Caregivers compare your weight from day to day. This helps caregivers see how much body fluid you have. When you lose too much body fluid you can become dehydrated (dee-HEYE-drayt-ed). If you have too much body fluid, you may have trouble breathing and get swollen ankles. Your body cannot work well when it has too much or too little fluid.

Copyright © 2008 Thomson Healthcare Inc. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.

The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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