By Margaret Ulrich, Teacher
Today we’re talking about Pooh—and not the Christopher Robin kind from the Hundred Acre Wood.
If you’ve traveled, you understand. Some people call it food poisoning, traveler’s sickness, Montezuma’s revenge, the runs, or some other variation of a lovely name for the not-so-lovelies.
Whatever you call it, it’s going to happen.
After two months of living in Phnom Penh, I had my first sick day last Tuesday. I survived, obviously, but I realized it would’ve been helpful to be a bit more informed and prepared.
I’ve come up with a list of things I found helpful/wish I had known, so that when it’s your turn to make love to the bathroom for 36 hours you’ll be ready.
1. Always know your surroundings.
Whether you’re in a place for a week or a year, you should know where some basic things are: a reliable ATM, a place to get food, and a pharmacy. The first two are pretty obvious as to why, but knowing the location of a pharmacy helps you get to one faster if it’s an emergency and allows you to give directions if you’re unable to go there yourself.
2. Have the 3 F’s: Friends, Fluids, and Fedicine—I mean medicine, but it doesn’t start with an f so we’ll just pretend.
Friends:
If you’re traveling with one or more people, make sure you have a way of contacting someone in an emergency so they can bring you supplies *if you haven’t read this blog yet* or take you to the hospital if necessary. Keep their number in your diary iPhone or address keeper-tracker book.
If you’re traveling alone, make friends. Talk to the person at the front desk if you’re staying in a hostel and make sure you have the number in case you need to call from your room. People are always willing to help if you’re sick, so don’t be afraid to ask.
Fluids:
In addition to having purified water at all times—I can’t stress that enough—make sure you have a back-up supply of a Gatorade-type drink. This is the only time I will agree with the movieIdiocracy and say it’s good for you because it has electrolytes.
They sell them at every convenience store and they’re usually only a few dollars. Keep one on hand because if you have to buy one when you actually need it, it always seems like a little gremlin has gone around and hidden them all from you.
Fedicine:
I had never heard of Ciprocin (Cipro) before traveling, but I guess that’s because it’s not commonly used in the states. So, proceed with caution. It is a very strong antibiotic that kills all the bacteria (good and bad) in your intestines.
I recommend buying this before you travel so your doctor can explain the dosage and warnings to you. I took one 500mg tablet every 12 hrs for three days, but check with a doctor or pharmacist to see what you should actually take. It’s only a few dollars here and you can buy it at any pharmacy without a prescription—only in Cambodia.
3. Toilet paper!
I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this before now, but there is a little device here that we refer to as the butt-sprayer.
Instead of using toilet paper, the people of Cambodia spray their nether-regions with this fire hose and then go about their day. Let me just say that it is a very wet, very questionable experience and if you’d like to avoid this, make sure you have enough toilet paper to get you through a bout of traveler’s sickness.
4. Rest and recover.
After you’ve loaded yourself up on meds and liquids, all you can really do is rest and wait until you feel better. My suggestion during this time is to have a sleeping mask and ear plugs.
This is the inspiring one that I brought—don’t judge me, it was free with a purchase. You never know when or where sickness will strike, so it’s always a good idea to be comfortable when you’re trying to recover.
Also, when you start to feel a little better, I recommend eating plain crackers or white bread. It’s easy on your stomach and sustains you enough until you can handle real food.
Good luck and feel better soon!
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