Hi Beth
You may find the cramps and running to the loo lasts for a week/two weeks when you get back, its the change in food and water. If this goes on longer, please take a specimen to your GP as it could be something else. Even when i was at my worst i never experienced it 8 days into my holiday how sad for you to loose so many days. We got fed up experiencing cramps, so switched to November, a lot better, still hot, but cooler in the evenings.

I too had the injection twice, but that cured it, so i am a little surprised this didn't work. Hope it wasn't food poisoning or something else.

I will add the air crafts are notorious for bacteria, they do not clean out the air ducts often enough, some many times i have come back with flu legs, or headaches and sickness, especially from the USA a few weeks ago.

Pleased you took out the excess waiver, nothing worse than paying out your own pocket

Michelle x

OH Beth. What a shame. I am sure it must be connected to the hot weather as I went there end March/April and apart from once (when I think I ate a cream dessert that had been hanging about at lunch) when I had a sharp pain and had to dash to the loo, we were fine. Nothing as bad as 8 days. It's so upsetting as it really is a great place to holiday.

I hope you are feeling better now.

Doe

Hi i am off to sunrise Makadi bay in Jan with my hubby who has cystic fibrosis ( touch wood he is very well ) however he gets upset tummys often. Can you please give me some tips on how not to get a tummy upset and what is the best thing to take if you do. Thanks

hi Mooby

You may be and Environmental Health Officer but i can assure you that the probiotic drinks do work. This coming from my GP. My family and i went to sharm in september 2006 and out of four of us my mother-in-law was the only one who did not have the probiotic drinks and she was the only one who was ill. The other three of us were absolutely fine.

I can also assure you that i have ice in my drinks and also eat the fruit and salads and veg.

The dive instructors inform everyone at the welcome meeting that the first sign of having the runs is because people become dehydrated and are not drinking enough water and are spending too much time in the sun.

My family and i are going back to Egypt for the third time in july this year only fourteen more sleeps to go and are going back to the coral sea resort for our second visit.

I would advise everyone who is going to egypt or any where abroad to just take the probiotic drinks for about a month before you go away you only need to take one a day.

I am a nurse also and i know that trials have been done on these drinks on elderly units who have had a bad time with vomiting and runs, they started to give the patients these probiotic drinks twice a day and results showed that the vomiting and runs began to improve greatly i read this in one of my nursing magazines.

anyone who is going to Egyt go out and enjoy yourself but just take the drinks as there is nothing to loose.

Happy Egyptian holdays to all XXXXXXX

Flozbit XXXXXXXXX

Hi please give me some advice and help

Every year I go abroad with family in summer months, and I always get tummy cramps and the runs. I'm always careful with bottled water etc but always get it.

So we're off to Egypt this year in Aug with the kids. I'm really nervous. We're going all inclusive to Sharm at Three Cornerz Palmyra. Any good?

So what can I do prior to going? What should I take with me? What should I ask for when I'm there regarding treatment at the Docs?

We're taking antiseptic wipes, hand gel, oral hydration, immodium etc anything else?

I've been reading the forums, and I have to say I normally have the air con on all the time (normally switch off just before sleeping), so is this a no no?

I don't love the heat that much, so tend to be in pool with kids, out for a walk or sitting in shade.

Anything you can all help me with, prior to going, at the Palmyra or anything else would be gratefully accepted

Cheers

You can also buy a probiotic capsuel called acidophilus
which is recommended for travellers. x

We toured Egypt last year. 3 hotels, 2 sleeper trains & Nile cruise to give you a vague picture. I drank the tap water (to take pills, do teeth etc), ate salad & fruit at every meal, barely used my anti bac hand gel, petted local cats & camals-not a stomach upset in sight. My 12 yr old boy hates salad & fruit., brushed teeth etc with bottled water, at my insistance used gallons of anti bac gel. SO ILL THOUGHT HE MAY NEED A DOCTOR! Our guide got him anti biotics. He'd lost 1/2 stone by the end of our 10 day tour and was deadly grey. The only extra to my diet was 5 pints of beer a day & 20 fags! My boy would do it all again even if he had to have the 'gypi tum'. Loved it.

Just booked a hol for Jan 2011 at the Tiran Island Hotel, we are about 10 mins out of Naama Bay, suffer from a dodgy stomach if I holiday here in the UK never mind abroad. Always use imodium abroad daily more for peace of mind at times when out and about. Are there plenty loos out and about around the Sharm area or is it normally a dart to the nearest hotel. Read all 17 pages and noted all the advice. Just hope there is a chemist near the hotel as from reading the reviews on another site there isnt much round where we are staying. We dont mind this just wanted a nice break somewhere warm for a week.
My son and girlfriend left yesterday and I packed him the hand gel and immodium wondered if to text him and ask him to bring back some the antinel?(spellin). Probably worrying too soon I know as a long time off yet

They'll have access to it where ever you are as so many people go down with it. Good news is you only need a dose or 2 and you improve vastly-still have 1/2 doz in my meds box.

As i have mentioned before numerous times, if you buy your own travel insurance ask for the excess waiver to be removed, costing a few quid, very cheap. Or if you bought your tour operator/travel agents insurance ask the same.

Then when on holiday where ever you go, go to the doctor in resort, as soon as you witness a dodgy tum and cramps, get the injection in your buttocks. Within an hour you will be so much better.

They will charge you depending on your problem but around 40 euro, it will be charged to your hotel account, save all receipts and you will get ALL your money back from your insurance company. I got mine back within 2 days.

Why pay over inflated prices for Antennal and such medicines when the locals buy it for 20p?

Plus you are self diagnosing yourself and with bacteria in your stomach you will need the correct medication. This is why so many tourists say they suffer when they are home with cramps and diarrhoea.

If you still want to go to the chemist, and not go to the doctors even though over-all you wont pay anything, find a nice egyptian friend, he will run along for you and get it.

All Imodium does is block your gut up in Egypt, the bacteria is still there and will be until you get a GPs advice when you return home.

Avoid the Months from the end of April to the end of October and you will be surprised that you will not get tummy and bowel troubles.

The months of Nov-begining of April are cooler in the 80s but having been nearly all the months at some time or other i would not go in the summer months to suffer again.

I have been lucky enough to go to Egypt 10 times and it has taken me a while to sort out whats best with the advice from the locals.

We eat salads, ice, dont use wipes-just normal washing, dont use special drinks before we go. We eat everything and anything, but only in November.

In the spring summer months i would take everything and anything to try and curb the problems. But the best advice the doc said to us when we were cramping etc -

avoid all red meat
avoid salads

bulk up on lots and lots of bread
rice

avoid melon as it is water.

DO NOT drink over amounts of water, this will make you loose, but drink sprite (this aids as a anti bacterial in the gut).

Red meat takes 3 days to get out of your bowel and digests bacteria.

Hope this helps some of you.

Michelle x

Thanks for the advice Michelle, sorry you had to repeat it. I had read your previous postings and have definitely stored it all up We are going in January so hopefully we should be ok. I think the worst part for me is if we are out and about and you suddenly need to go! (what a topic) ! that's why I asked about the arrangements outside the hotels i.e near the beaches and in the towns etc., No worries I will definitely pay the doc a visit if necessary. Just hope all's well Seems a lifetime away at the moment, but only booked at the weekend so really excited at the moment. Once the xmas shopping starts no doubt it will further down my list

Thanks again, your posts are really helpful.

Hi all (Michelle)

Sunshine all that Michelle has said is advised is all you can do really. Unfortunately after 2 bad holidays in July, I will never go back, It has completely put me off Egypt (I would not even travel abroad this year, as I was so ill last year). Though I would also follow Michelles advice and travel out of season, if we were to return.

To be fair this will sometimes happen as it is a third world country, they cook food in oils for example that we as British tourists are not used to. AC though is the main factor, people talk about drinking lots and lots of water, well yes you should always keep hydrated, but on the other hand too much water and not enough bulk in your diet when abroad will constitute to cramps and diarrhoea.

AC is always always reconditioned air, so anyone been ill at any point of time will breathe in cold air that has germs in it. If i ever put ac on, its for 10 mins whilst i have a shower, then off it goes.

When loose try to remember the bread factor, bulk up on it at breakfast , lunch and dinner, then its stodge as opposed to liquid, and remember the sprite !
I went to Cyprus in July and was fine, no bugs or troubles of any kind, its namely africa type countries.

Also remember that ac in aircrafts are notorious for recycling dirty air from passengers, you may think its extreme but my advice i got from america from a doctor is, ask to be seated at the front of the aircraft where the air is cold but fresh, the recycle air then travels through the cabin to the back.

Good luck.

One of the easiest way to an upset tummy in hot countries is going from boiling hot outside to freezing cold inside and drinking icy cold drinks.

First, you should take a warm drink which is why you will see the locals drinking tea or water that is not straight from the fridge - it's the same here in Cyprus. You will very rarely find a Cypriot who will drink totally cold water.

Once your body temperature is back under control, then you can take a cold drink. A freezing cold drink hitting your insides is a big shock to the system.

The second is dehydration and exacerbated by drinking alcohol in the daytime or too much at night, followed by not drinking enough water and spending too much time trying to get the best suntan ever!

Take care when choosing salads. If you cannot be sure it hasn't been washed in bottled water, don't eat it and always wash the any fruit peel/skin et before eating. Avoid yoghurt pots that have been stood in ice for a good couple of hours and that may be returned again the next day. Been there, done that and paid the price of a day in spent running between the bed and the bathroom!

If travelling around, take the small bottles of antiseptic hand wash or wipes. The money will probably be the dirtiest thing you will handle in Egypt so it's always advisable to keep some kind of wet wipes to hand.

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

Hi,
Can someone please tell me the cost of the injection. I don't want to use my insurance if I can avoid it!
Can this be taken as soon as I arrive or only when ill?
I have been to Luxor a few years ago and a pool attendant got me some tablets, that I can't remember the name of, but they worked.
I suffered very badly and am looking forward to the weather in a couple of weeks but very wary about the other!
I have immodium, hand gel, will avoid raw salads ,ice and cold drinks.
Will not touch a single egyptian pound, will leave that to hubby as he didn't get anything last time!

So hopefully I'm sorted!

Six of us have just returned from a week in Luxor and not one tummy upset between us!

We ate at a different restaurant every night, drank in some very dubious bars (Ali Baba and Sindbads). Sindbads toilets were so bad, we went to Macdonald's and used theirs!

We did take antiseptic hand wash but most times we forgot to take it out with us. Most public toilets had someone handing out loo roll for a Tut (LE1 coin), which may account for no bad tummies as the small notes have gone to coins now...

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

hi
can you tell me what the acidophilus tabs actually do for you and are they safe for children to take ? how long do you take them for etc have never heard of them before so would be grateful for any info that anyone has
going on 14th Feb and cant wait will do anything to avoid being ill

many thanks
suzanne

http://www.simplysupplements.net/product/71/acidophilus/?gclid=CJnmlZqKsKYCFYUe4QodhFp4ZA

this may help- and this is the cheapest place I found to get them.

Hope this is helpful,
Jules

I bought mine from Holland and Barrett last month when I went to Hurghada.
Mine were the ones that had to be kept in the fridge and I forgot about them.
Fortunately I didnt need them.
The ones I bought when I went to Sharm were the strawberry flavoured chewable ones and these were fine for children to take.