i understand you need probiotics before going to India

[NoahVale]

would these be tablets you continue to take
or yakult before you go?

Never heard of taking probiotics before

As an adult I have been to many places and always been fine. Whoever I have travelled with though have always had a day or 2 of the holiday stuck on the toilet.
Having read this thread I think I was doing things right just by instinct.

I am vegetarian, I eat a lot of yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and kefir. I don’t eat from buffets or street vendors. (Even in the UK) I am notoriously very picky where I eat (much to everyone’s annoyance). I also mainly drink full fat coke or bottled water when overseas

The thing is when I was a child I would have a stomach ache or stomach upset every single day

I ate meat and wasn’t allowed any fizzy drinks. It nearly killed me. Literally.

Do probiotics prevent Delhi belly? Never heard of that before.

I was there for 4 months, had near constant diarrhoea and lost 2 stone! The worst time, when I had vomiting as well was when I went to an Italian restaurant and had a carbonara. I don't know how you can avoid it tbh, my friend who came out to visit me in Goa just for a week got very ill. Some pp say drinking a lasse daily helps, but I don't know.

Went to India a couple of years ago and wasn't told this. Were advised to use bottled water for everything though, even brushing teeth.

Unlucky or poor food choices/hygiene.
Of course risk can be minimised, in the way many people on this thread have described.

You just need to eat and drink sensibly. Only eat hot food and drink (as in temperature), don't drink the water unless boiled or sterilised, be very wary of drinking spirits, I would avoid milk and yogurt and salad (it's been washed in the water). The expensive tourist hotels are fairly safe, but I still prefer to be cautious. Street food is often fine, cooked red hot in front of you.

Lasse is lethal anything milk based can be dodgy and best avoided. I remember one guy telling me it was fine and then he got really ill.

As long as you constantly use hand sanitizer and wash your hands before your meal, you shouldn't have any problems. Most restaurants have wash basins specifically for this reason. Don't eat from a buffet. Also vegetarian freshly cooked meals will be a lot safer

We had water filter bottles too and even put bottled water through them as bottles can be refilled.

I don’t think hand sanitizer will do more than hand washing achieves tbh.

It does no harm, but I really don’t think you need to be constantly using it.

I agree, but its there if your out and about and need to have a snack and no hand washing facilities. Washing hands before a meal of any form is a must. Its actually a common practice in India, most locals would always look for hand washing facilities before eating

I was told when I went to Uzbekistan to eat some locally produced yoghurt whenever I'm abroad, as this gets some "local" bacteria into you and helps your stomach get used to it. I'm not sure how scientific it is but I've applied the advice in a few countries since then, including Nepal, and I haven't had any stomach upsets.

It's not a given, but if I could take an inexpensive tablet that would massively reduce the risk of shitting through the eye of a needle for half my holiday, I'd take it 🤢🤮💩

Yes, if there are no hand washing facilities then sanitiser is a good alternative, you don’t need to use it AND wash your hands.
I have been to India many times, I understand hand washing.

I found full fat Coke and Pringles whilst trekking in Nepal worked!

@NoahVale have a fabulous trip (just fyi, Optibac is generally considered superior to generic 5 billion CFU (colony-forming unit) probiotics, google is your friend here)

This site also has other generic info. Enjoy!

ODFOD.

Quite! I got it.

@Jaffalemons to be fair this poster is always doing this to people - trying to make them feel stupid. Looks like they can dish it out but can’t take it!

Yep, she loves an expresso. Had too many again today.

Why? Just use the only eat piping hot food or sealed containers rule and you will be fine. Drink bottled water too even places that claim it’s purified. I had no issues at all. We eat spicy Indian style food at home 3-4 times a week so we are used to it, I think people not used to eating spices often have issues sometimes simply due to change in diet. I didn’t eat shellfish as a precaution too

You did that on purpose, right 😂😂

Just wait till she reads it!!

Our travel vaccination nurse said they could be helpful. We took them and had no delhi belly but we also had very goid havd hygiene and I only ate meat once in 2 weeks.

Touched a nerve? 🤣 You were trying to make the OP feel stupid. And it backfired, fuck all to do with UPF and you know it