Avoiding the shits...

[RickRock]

I always got the shits on my DR trips, and it was the only bad part. After 3 trips getting the dreaded green liquid Sosua shits, I decided this last trip to take some pre-emptive action, and there is probably a lot of good advice on the site, but I had some success and I want to share it.

First, 1 yogurt every day for 2 weeks before the trip
Second, eat NO uncooked fruits or vegetables while in country, no matter what.
Third, Take an Immodium Advanced every morning whether you need it or not

I was right as rain all week for the first time ever here. If you spend a lot of time in the DR and are used to the local natural bacteria, then you can be lacks with step two. Otherwise, for the guys who only go once or twice a year, this worked for me. I hope this helps somebody.

Monger On!!

[Bug Boy]

This is great advice, I take an immodium every other day when I am down there.

[Apos]

i'm not sure about the preemptive immodium but then again...if it works.

the yogurt is a definate...it helps all the time

the fruit should be fine if it's washed in bottled water and peeled but better to be safe.

i'd also add...don't eat the oysters and shrimp on the beach...many of the locals do but it's questionable for sure.

[gmalet]

I take Bactrum. Never get the Shits. Antibiotic is the way to go.....

[Apos]

i don't take any antibiotics unless absolutely necessary as overuse helps make resistant strains.

there is a shot/injection that can be had before a trip to eliminate the shits but i don't recall the name or what it was. my travel doctor was pushing it but i passed. i rarely have any of these issues....thankfully!:clap:

[weyland]

Some good advice here, just in time for my forthcoming trip. Thanks.

I am 65 and my stomach was never robust. I feared these problems before my first trip as DR is notorious for them in the UK, and this comes from visitors to the AIs where hygiene should be better. In fact I had very slight diarrhoea for a week before I went and for two weeks after my return but no problems in the DR. I finally solved this mystery. It was the course of anti-malaria tablets which I took for 8 weeks before, during, and after my trip and which I now know to have that effect. How many of you guys take anti-malaria tablets. How necessary are they?

Also why should fruit be dangerous if washed with bottled water and peeled? I don't eat meat, so I have to eat something.

I like yoghourt. Is it safe to buy in the DR from a supermercado? Does the stuff have "use by" dates?

[Apos]

Some good advice here, just in time for my forthcoming trip. Thanks.

I am 65 and my stomach was never robust. I feared these problems before my first trip as DR is notorious for them in the UK, and this comes from visitors to the AIs where hygiene should be better. In fact I had very slight diarrhoea for a week before I went and for two weeks after my return but no problems in the DR. I finally solved this mystery. It was the course of anti-malaria tablets which I took for 8 weeks before, during, and after my trip and which I now know to have that effect. How many of you guys take anti-malaria tablets. How necessary are they?

Also why should fruit be dangerous if washed with bottled water and peeled? I don't eat meat, so I have to eat something.

I like yoghourt. Is it safe to buy in the DR from a supermercado? Does the stuff have "use by" dates?

the fruit should not be dangerous if properly handled and prepared

yogurt in the DR is fine...i really like it there. they have a yogurt drink...in a small, plastic milkbottle shaped container that is very good. i buy it in many of the calmados and i think there is a best before type date on them. regardless...never been an issue.

Sosua is the dairy centre for the DR so there is a lot of variety available in milk products.

[gdogg]

I guess I'm lucky. I know what caused my previous problems, and it's the restaurant called "PJ's". Avoiding that place and the tap water keeps me absolutely fine!

[Apos]

i eat and drink whatever i want, tap water excepted. i do brush my teeth with tap water...not that i recommend it. i've never...knock on wood...had this issue in the DR...and i really push the envelope sometimes:o

[Hemp]

Interesting post...:rolleyes:

[whynotme]

i eat and drink whatever i want, tap water excepted. i do brush my teeth with tap water...not that i recommend it. i've never...knock on wood...had this issue in the DR...and i really push the envelope sometimes:o
i also have never had problems i am lactose intolerant so i make up for it with rye and diet cola with lots of ice.

[lonesoul]

I echo the board... although brushing my teeth with the tap water my first few trips, I belive was the cause of my mild discomfort. All in all imodium does the trick. I will have to try the yogurt route in May

[Don Tomas]

i'd also add...don't eat the oysters and shrimp on the beach...many of the locals do but it's questionable for sure.

I was in Santiago a while back and the oyster guy at Kelvin's was trying to get me to buy some, the chica wanted some so I was buying for her at the time. So I had my buddy translate health codes to him in particular about oysters. I also mentioned I loved them.

The next day he presents me a basket full of oysters covered in ICE! He made a deal with Kelvin's for the ice and replenished throughout the day. Since then I have always seen that particular guy with iced oysters and I buy everytime.

I get the squirts occasionally like any person but I never get a long bout, I will shit and be all liquid then that's it, all done. I never home or away shit liquid twice in a row.

[weyland]

I get the squirts occasionally like any person but I never get a long bout, I will shit and be all liquid then that's it, all done. I never home or away shit liquid twice in a row.
too much information ...

[PapiQueRico]

Some good advice here, just in time for my forthcoming trip. Thanks.

I am 65 and my stomach was never robust. I feared these problems before my first trip as DR is notorious for them in the UK, and this comes from visitors to the AIs where hygiene should be better. In fact I had very slight diarrhoea for a week before I went and for two weeks after my return but no problems in the DR. I finally solved this mystery. It was the course of anti-malaria tablets which I took for 8 weeks before, during, and after my trip and which I now know to have that effect. How many of you guys take anti-malaria tablets. How necessary are they?

Also why should fruit be dangerous if washed with bottled water and peeled? I don't eat meat, so I have to eat something.


I like yoghourt. Is it safe to buy in the DR from a supermercado? Does the stuff have "use by" dates?


I'm sure there are others who are moe familiar with this issue, but my understanding is that you don't need the malaria pills. There was a problem a year or two ago near Punta Cana because of standing water after a hurricane, but in general the DR is pretty safe in terms of Malaria. If you were taking pills daily you were probably taking something quinine based like Chloroquine or Methlaquine, and these are known to put a bit of a hurt on the tummy. I say just drink a lot of Gin and Tonic!

[knotty]

I get the shizzles all the time while on vacation. I think it's my nerves though. For some reason I get real anxious while down there.

[WSJ3]

I get the shizzles all the time while on vacation. I think it's my nerves though. For some reason I get real anxious while down there.


You and me both knottydredd cuz...

[MegaSquirt]

Agent Smith...sorry it didn't go as planned. I just take some 'Tums' in the morning a few and that's all to it. In the past, I used to take imodium but I overdosed once because I would drink it straight from the bottle. But then, I couldn't shit for three days! I would never do that again!
Tums and drink/brush with fresh Presidente beer is all you need.

[JuanElGriego]

Speaking of avoiding the shits, between my DR trip and being under the weather for 10 days after returning, i hadn't been to the gym in a month, so i picked up some Creatine to help me in dealing with the sluggishness and soreness upon first returning. Well, it helped with that, but ever since i started taking it i've been shitting like 3 times a day and getting stomach cramps.

Fuck that, no more Creatine for me!! :hand:

[weyland]

brush with fresh Presidente beer is all you need.
I bought a litre of duty-free vodka on the flight to the DR. I only used it for brushing my teeth and gave away the remaining 90% when I left. Waste of money, but my gums sure enjoyed their holiday.

[weyland]

I don't want to be morbid, but at my age (65) it is only sensible to give some thought to my endgame. Having visited my mother in her last years in a retirement home where the main topic of conversation among the residents was the frequency and effectiveness of their visits to the bathroom, I am determined to die in action during a Happy Hour in the DR. So I come on here to research my chosen method of euthanasia and read all you macho young guys discussing your bowel movements in detail. WTF!

[Drjetman]

I agree with previous poster that Immodium is good.For a stronger medicine pick up the antibiotic Cipro.Cipro closes you right up!

[gdogg]

I'm sure there are others who are moe familiar with this issue, but my understanding is that you don't need the malaria pills. There was a problem a year or two ago near Punta Cana because of standing water after a hurricane, but in general the DR is pretty safe in terms of Malaria. If you were taking pills daily you were probably taking something quinine based like Chloroquine or Methlaquine, and these are known to put a bit of a hurt on the tummy. I say just drink a lot of Gin and Tonic!

I know I'm not trying to avoid malaria, just the "shits"!
:eek:

[PapiQueRico]

I agree with previous poster that Immodium is good.For a stronger medicine pick up the antibiotic Cipro.Cipro closes you right up!

For me all of this depends on how long I'm going to be somewhere, and how bad I feel. There is a big difference between getting the squirts because you are not accustomed to the normal bacteria that is present in a country you are visiting, which, BTW, can happen to people visiting the US and Europe also, and getting food poisoning.

I'd stay away from anti biotics as a way to keep my stomach settled, just seems like overkill. Even regular imodium use seems a bit much. If the problem is that you've eaten something bad you are better off suffering the shits for a day and getting it out of your system. Thnigs that clog you up are good if you are hiking in the mountains, or in some other situation where you just can't deal with going to the can all day, but eventually ya gotta get rid of what's making you sick.

If i'm going to be somewhere that has basically decent sanitation, and i'll include the places most of us stay in Sosua, for a couple of weeks, I'll take a day or two of upset stomach just to adjust to the local water and such. If it's a 4 day trip I will be much more cautius about bottled water. No sense wasting half the trip.