Surviving a Stomach Bug Abroad

If you are a person who travels all over the world, then chances are you have at some point caught a stomach bug abroad. Trying all of the food, accidentally drinking the water, and being in close proximity with people increases your chances of getting sick. As travelers, we are willing to take those risks. Even people who don’t travel often are at risk, and getting sick during travel can be a real bummer.

I am here to tell you, that you will have trips where you get sick, and you will have trips where you are healthy the entire time. It is just how life works. You will survive! I am here to teach you how to survive based on my own experiences. You read that right. There have been multiple stomach bug experiences in my past. Today I am going to share my stories, the two experiences that I will never forget. Buckle up, because it is about to get real.

Disclaimer: If bodily functions gross you out, stop reading now.

Sketchy Tacos in Belize: A Cautionary Tale

When I was a young child of 19, I studied abroad in Belize for a month. This was my first time leaving the country, and Belize really sparked my love for travel. My undoing occurred when my friends and I decided to take a weekend trip to the beach. We spent one night in Hopkins and another in Placencia. Both places are gorgeous and I highly recommend visiting!

The mistake was eating at a small taco stand in Hopkins. That night was wonderful. The tacos were delicious, the ocean warm and inviting. The hostel was nothing to write home about. There was only a room with bunk beds and the bathroom stalls were outside with showers over the toilets. We were young and didn’t really mind.

When Solids Turn to Liquid

The following morning is when reality hit. As I opened my eyes to the new day, I could feel the shift in my bowels. I knew that I needed to use the bathroom, but as I hesitated it was as if the dam of my sphincter had been breached. I seemingly flew from my top bunk onto the floor, and outside to the toilets, not quite making it before the dam fully broke.

Once everyone was up, I remember me and two other friends looking at each other suspiciously until one of us asked if anyone else’s stomach was upset. That was an understatement.  Nothing solid was passing through me. Water was leaving my body at an alarming rate. At least I was not alone in my suffering.

We found an adorable breakfast place that thankfully had yogurt and granola. I forced some down only to vomit most of it up. I was honestly most upset that I could no longer enjoy the food. Food is one of the things that I travel for, and at that age, I ate a lot of it.

The Bus Ride from Hell

After breakfast came one of the greatest tests of endurance in my life. The bus ride from Hopkins to Placencia. First, we had to walk from our hostel to the bus stop. Then we took the bus to the main station to catch another to Placencia. If you are unfamiliar with the buses in Belize, they are basically school buses packed with all sorts of people. It can be fun when you are fine, but very stressful when your stomach may betray you at any given moment.

I strategically planned out my bathroom usage. Before the walk to the bus stop. Once more at the bus station. Then pray constantly on the final bus. The nightmare continued when I had to stand for a portion of the journey. Nothing was holding in the monster inside me. I am pretty sure I was in a cold sweat for the entire journey and it had nothing to do with the hot Belize air.

Once in Placencia, we procured some lovely, super cheap cabanas right on the beach. This was perfect because I could easily sprint from the beach to a private toilet. Later in the day, I managed to eat some real food and keep it down. I even went to a club that night with my friends. I had no shame using those toilets either. This was only made possible because we had the good sense to find a pharmacy that sold Pepto Bismol. That was thankfully enough to patch up the dam.

The next day was slightly better until my body betrayed me by starting my period. No sympathy whatsoever. We managed to convince our newfound Canadian friends to let us hitch a ride in their nice air-conditioned charter bus back to our lodgings in San Ignacio. I then spent the following week treating my stomach with the most care and drinking buckets of clean filtered water.

Caribou Carnage: How a Burger Ruined my Gut in Alaska

After my experience in Belize, I managed to travel for seven years without catching any crazy illnesses. That all changed when I visited Alaska. In Denali, one of the most beautiful places in the world, I tried a caribou burger. It was absolutely delicious. All was right in the world until I woke up the next morning needing to run to the bathroom every half hour.

For some reason every time I have a stomach issue while traveling, I am en route to somewhere. The plan for that day was to drive from Denali to Seward, a more than six-hour drive. Alaska has long stretches of road where there are no gas stations or stops in site. I probably would not have noticed this otherwise. We stopped at pretty much every rest area possible.

If you have never been to Alaska, the toilets at parks and lookouts are all really sketchy permanent fixture porta-potties. You really learn to perfect squatting over these toilets. Holding your breath is also recommended. They do not all have toilet paper, and I have to give a huge shout out to my mother who we give a hard time for bringing toilet paper everywhere. She is a genius. We can all learn something from her. You can never be too prepared.

We arrived in Seward with no major incidents. I spent part of the next day in a clinic because my insistent bowels had been joined by sharp stomach pains and frequent nausea. My greatest fear was that I had somehow been exposed to Giardia, but luckily that was not the case.

We stocked up on bland food and diarrhea meds and I miserably missed out on some of the best seafood in Alaska. I forwent the salmon and prime rib buffet aboard our wildlife cruise the following day. The wildlife that we witnessed did make me feel much better, though. I was not going to let my sickness ruin everything.

I spent both of our days in Seward eating toast and drinking water, but I saw as much as I possibly could, and by the time we made it to Girdwood I was feeling much better (though not perfect).

Lessons Learned: How to Survive

What I learned from both of these experiences is that shit happens. Literally. It is important that you understand your body and listen to what it is telling you. If you feel bad, do everything in your power to make your body feel better. Even if that means giving up on delicious foods and fun hikes.

It is important that you know when to seek medical help. While I did not go to a doctor in Belize, I did in Alaska. The difference was the pain I was having in my abdomen. That is not normal and could indicate a medical emergency like appendicitis. Don’t mess around with stomach pain. See a doctor.

Something that will help your upset stomach recalibrate is the BRAT diet. BRAT stands for bread, rice, applesauce, and toast. Eating bland foods will allow your gut to rest, which is much needed after a bout of food poisoning.

Finally, you will want some form of medicine. Since these experiences, I now include stomach medicine in my first aid kit. I keep Imodium for bad diarrhea, Pepto Bismol for light stomach upset, and some form of medication for heartburn, like Tums. I have used them all while traveling, and honestly, I wouldn’t dream of leaving without them. Eating new and exciting foods may not always sit well even without food poisoning.

Just Keep on Going

Even if you do get sick while you travel, don’t let that deter you from going to new places in the future. You could get food poisoning at the restaurant down the street from your house. Such is life. So long as you are prepared, you can weather a lot while you are on the road. Learn to bounce back and don’t let a little stomach bug ruin your trip.

I hope that you can look back on your own travel illness stories and laugh as I do. I know that it is possible to catch some very serious diseases abroad, but some, like these, can be funny to look back on.

Have you ever caught a stomach bug abroad? How did you survive?

Did you like this post? Pin it!