Need a handhold- ill and due to fly home tomorrow

[holidaytummytrouble]

Posting here for traffic. On holiday with DH and two young DC. I started with diarrhoea at 2am. It's showing no signs of stopping, even though I've had nothing but water since last night and we're due to fly home at midday tomorrow. It's a 4 hour flight and on the way here there was a queue for the toilet pretty much the entire flight.

I don't know what to do. If I'm still like this tomorrow I can't possibly fly, can I? Presumably the insurance wouldn't pay for all of us to stay so DH would have to fly home with the DC and leave me here?

DH has taken the DC out to give me some peace but I'm just lying here panicking about tomorrow in between running to the hotel bathroom. I don't even know where to start with the practicalities if I can't fly tomorrow, would we contact the airline or the insurance company? Will they definitely pay out? If anyone has been in a similar situation and had any advice it would be very much appreciated.

Best answer of all.
Is it is the case of food poisoning, your body is trying to get rid of the pathogen. Please keep hydrated and don't take imodium.
See the doctor and follow advice.
I personally would let DH and kids to go back home and recover and then fly back home in a couple of days or when better.

Please do not follow this advice.
If food poisoning you will be very sick.

Imodium ASAP.
Only drink bottled water for now, no food.
Take Imodium as directions on packet. Don’t miss a dose just because you haven’t passed diarrhoea.
On the plane tell the cabin crew you have coeliac’s and inadvertently ate gluten, can they seat you near the toilet and help make sure you can queue jump as it’s a medical thing. ( apologies to anyone who really does have coeliac disease but needs must in an emergency situation).

I don't usually recommend Imodium but this is the kind of situation where it becomes essential.

immodium, bananas, white bread, water.

I once flew home with food poisoning and the woman in the aisle seat refused to swap with my even when I explained I was ill, and then huffed every time I asked her to let me out to the toilet.

Take the immodium. That was the worst flight of my life.

Good luck.

Can your husband get you Arret? That stuff is amazing!!!!!

You are joking, seriously you advise someone to lie, expect a passenger to change seats, there will be passengers who have other medical and mobility issues who need to use the loo.

If you have food poisoning or norovirus, taking immodium is only going to make you 10x worse.

You have travel insurance for a reason - use it!

Adult diaper. Bring extra so you can change mid flight.

Immodium is amazing stuff, works very well in this instance x

The chances are that it will have settled by the time you fly. It’s 24 hours away. Get some Imodium it works a treat. You’ll be ok.

Immodium, take a few as instructed on the packet / instructions and they really do stop things in their tracks. When you're home you can then stop taking them and work out what you need.

We were recommended that in India too, we were also told that flat Coke with a bit of salt would help though luckily we had no reason to try either!

To echo PP I would also do a covid test if you can, mine started like this and the diarrhoea continued on for just over a week.

Is there a Lidl where you are? I found their version of immodium better than the original

About a decade ago we were in Turkey. Got to the airport at 6am-ish for the trip back home, had a sip of water and…the floodgates opened. I couldn’t even sit for more than a few minutes before running back to the toilets.

I don’t shit in public. I can literally count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to do number in a public toilet and for two of them I was a child.

I tell my husband, no way am I travelling on a Jet2 flight with the runs. Not happening. I demand - yes, demand - medical assistance. Husband scurries off and returns with a burly security guard and a wheelchair. They push me off to a medical room, where I’m laid on my stomach and a medic (I hope?) basically gives me an injection in my ass to stop the erm flow.

It worked. I got the flight with no problems. I didn’t shit for another week but it sure beat risking it.

I suggest you do the same OP. It’s most likely not a virus, just a dodgy burger. Best of luck.

but surely you should not be mixing with other people in this condition.
it could spread to others on board, some of whom may be vulnerable.
can't you go to a doctor and get advice, then contact insurance.
if you have to travel then of course purchase a pack of inco puffy pants for carry-on.
what's wrong with that. it is common sense and the most hygenic approach. who would prefer to risk soiling clothes, seats, plus public indignity.
i don't understand some people's horror of taking sensible precautions to cope with a situation. as if denial is preferable.
when i have has colonoscopies, i have used puffy pants for travel to and fro.
although not needed, it re-assured to be prepared in case.

It's your immune system that fights infection, so there's no need to leave diarrhoea to run its course. In fact, when left to run its course, diarrhoea can cause you to lose essential fluids and salts, leaving you feeling weak and depleted.

The last thing I would want to do is bung myself up with possible bacteria, wear a thick nappy and potentially poo myself in the airport or on the plane. Whats the point in insurance if you dont use it,

If you have diarrhoea due to a virus then Imodium is a bad idea, I would try and get to a doctor today and see what they say, then if necessary get a sick note for insurance so you can cancel your flight and get a new one when better. But diarrhoea bugs are often only 24 hours so I would see a doctor, get a sick note if needed, then wait and see how you are in the morning.

If you do have to take imodium (which again, I really don't advise unless you know for sure you don't have norovirus or similar) then it can really help. I have chronic diarrhoea at the moment that gets worse whenever I'm in a stressful situation like travelling (or I'm in the cold aisle in the supermarket for some reason) and I took it for flying last weekend - one the evening before and one on the morning of the flight, with reserves in my handbag if needed (but wasn't needed)

The worst case scenario is you shit yourself on the plane. Not pleasant, and not nice, but you would cope.
As others have said, it's unlikely you'll be anywhere near as bad tomorrow on your flight. 4 hours in the grand scheme of things isn't that long.
Stuff tissue up your arse if you need to, or wear incontinence pants or something.
Immodium.

Worrying about it isn't helpful. If the worst case scenario happened, you'd cope.
Besides, it'd give you something to laugh about during social events in the future 😅

Thank you all for your advice and reassurance. As I said upthread I do have anxiety anyway so I am probably making my stomach even worse by working myself up into a state over this.
When DH gets back I will call the insurance company (he has all the info) to see what they suggest and keep everything crossed that it resolves itself in the meantime so we can all get home as planned. I will also send DH to the chemist for some imodium (or whatever their equivalent is here) in case the insurance company say it's not a good enough reason to extend our stay and we have to fly regardless.

Not to mention the fact that you should be travelling in close spaces with other people if you have something infectious like norovirus.

Ignore the person who suggested drinking less, that would make you much more ill! You need to drink more with diarrhoea as the biggest danger is dehydration.

Also ignore the person who implied that wearing a nappy to the airport is a solution. You would not be allowed to board as the sound and smell would make it obvious what’s happening, and even if you did get on the plane you’d end up in a huge row with those sitting near you and they might even land the plane elsewhere if you’re clearly very ill.

Do try immodium and also rehydration sachets. It’s likely you just have short-lived food poisoning and so you may be well enough by the time you need to travel.

Do contact your insurer’s helpline asap and find out where you stand. Whether they will pay for new flights for all of you, or just you, depends on what policy you bought.

If your family need to travel without you then do make the hotel aware you are ill so that someone is checking on you. Also speak to the hotel asap to find out if you’d need to move rooms if you stay longer.