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.

Dont worry, I am sure the cabin crew will be happy to clean it all up.

you just need to be logical.
if you are not well enough to travel, well that is what your insurance is for.
you need to contact them to get advice re the procedure.
i think you have been making yourself unnecessarily stressed, imagining various worst case scenarios.
it is more difficult, of course when you are ill anyway.
your husband should have done all this for you by now, so that you all have a plan of action.
all the best.

Obviously this is a scenario I very much want to avoid, hence me asking for advice or experiences of claiming on insurance in my OP. But I am also trying to have a plan b in mind for if they say it's not a good enough reason to extend our stay.

Why do you think they wouldn't pay out? Situations like this are exactly why you have travel insurance - so you don't have to fly when you're unwell an pass it on to a potential plane-load of passengers.

They won't extend it for all of you, though - it'll just be for you.

Why do you think they wouldn't pay out?

I don't know, perhaps they would but a quick Google has thrown up stories of people being told to see a local doctor who has then declared them fit to fly so I didn't want to assume.

Having got norovirus twice from public toilets I'm shocked at most people advising immodium and tena.

I have every sympathy in the world for you, you must be feeling awful but selfishly as I am flying in 48h I really hope your insurance company extends your stay. If not then great advise up thread. Always a bit contravensial to take immodium with infective diarrhoea but will attach a link that its shown to have positive effects in travellers diarrhoea and can be safely given. Study

Sleeping as much as loo trips will allow is also probably a good idea

you poor thing

I has bad diarrhoea once all day, virtually non stop. Took Imodium around 6 pm, stopped it straight away. I think it was food poisoning.

Get the tablets. It doesnt prolong it and will stop it in its tracks.

Get some form of Loperamide down your neck and stop drinking as much water as that’ll go right through you. Instead get some rehydration sachets to take! You could also get some pepto-bismol.

If you are really REALLY desperate and that worried then you could possibly get OTC Codeine where you are, in certain cases it can be used to stop diarrhoea. But I would only recommend if you really are desperate and all other suggestions don’t work.

Not selfish at all @Beseen22 . Thank you for the link to the study though, that's helpful as there is obviously a lot of contradictory advice about when it is or isn't ok to use.

You will feel immense relief when you decide not to fly home tomorrow and let your children go home with their dad.

apart from all the good advice here, when you get on explain to the cabin crew and get them to put you near the loo.

it’ll make you feel happier and it’s easier just to reach out to someone and say - so sorry, they put me here because I have a bug, do you mind if I jump in front. Most people won’t. And tge crew can help if necs.

This is for your peace of mind, the Imodium will make it v unlikely you need it.

In a hotel foyer in Thailand 😔

If someone asked me to move because they had a stonach bug and needed to be near a toilet because of diarrhoea I would alert the cabin crew and be incredibly pissed off being put at risk

Aw no poor you, totally get your anxieties. We have just returned from tenerife and my husband had the runs quite bad although he had chills and was nauseous too, it only lasted around 12 hours though. Hopefully you Will flush what ever it is out. He took immudium, which I would defiantly recommend (or other medication) don't worry is won't delay the diaorreah.

Also the adults incontinent pants aren't a bad idea even if it's for peace of mind. Is it a night flight coming home? as ours was and the line for the toilet was so much better. If there is a queue and you need to go desperately I think I would just be telling them you're poorly and really can't wait. I don't think anyone would object to you jumping the queue. Maybe take some antibacterial wipes too wipe things down.

Hopefully it will pass in time though, we've had a fair few stomache things in this house and fortunately they don't seem to last too long. Safe journey, and I hope you feel better soon.

Oh this brought back memories.

I was severely ill in Spain one year as a kid. Couldn’t keep anything down. Not even water.

My mum has to let the doctor see me (hotel insisted) and she wasn’t happy about it. Especially as the doctor made me stand up to see if I felt dizzy, which I did. I had to lie and say no because she wanted to go home.

If I was hospitalised, I think she would have had a fit.

Anyway, the time came for us to fly, and luckily, I didn’t throw up once.

I feel for you OP.

I'd get some Medicine and get on that flight. I had the same from Turkey once and it was really bad. Don't drink water or eat anything unless really necessary. Your body just learns to cope on the plane.

Just listen to pp's.
Stop drinking so much water
Wear adult nappie and have immodium

1. You see a local Dr ASAP.
2. You follow the local Dr's advice
3. Meanwhile you contact insurance company and explain.
4. Meanwhile you also alert hotel/holiday company of your potential predicament as another room may have to be found.
5. If no improvement local Dr will sign you as unfit to fly in the morning.
6. Contact insurance again.
7. Contact airline
8. Contact hotel/holiday rep - to get alternative accommodation arranged for you or extension to current booking - there ought to be back-up with a reputable company.
9. Wave off DH and DC.

10. If it's a bug you probably shouldn't fly for 48 hours. 11. Await news of rescheduled flight.

It isn't rocket science op. Just get on with it.

I'll add to the chorus of those suggesting immodium. I use it regularly to control irritable bowel syndrome.

The active ingredient is loperamide, which is also the generic name under which it is often sold. The Spanish called it loperamida when I was there recently and sold it under the brand name salvacolina (I had to buy some additional tablets).

I often take it at most meals or this sort of thing would rule my life. You can take it after every loose bowel movement.

Good luck. Don't be afraid to take the immodium. Plenty of us have to rely on it a lot.

I also recommend immodium. On my honeymoon due to fly from Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands we got food poisioning, the immodium got us safely through the flight with no harm done. Best of luck OP.

I completely agree. Your anxiety will be gone then as you can wait it out, have privacy of a room and toilet while it gets out of your system, not have to worry about shitting yourself on the way home and also not feel guilty about potentially making other travellers ill.

I had this in Laos once, and had a 7 hour bus ride. Windy road, chickens, the lot. It was Imodium, lots of trips to the loo (thankfully one on the bus), water, and a lot of hoping. I reckon I got it from street food (I know, I know....) as my travel mates were fine. We were going from quite a remote area to get our flights, and I thought the same. I just went on a wing and a prayer, and the others on the bus were really understanding - and the super plus period pad was employed, just in case.... Hopefully you will be doing better by tomorrow, Fingers crossed.

this sums it up nearly.
except i wouldn't bother with waving off the others; collapse into pillows more likely.
also, reading all this makes me glad i now never fly anywhere, with some people's irresponsible attitudes.