The last couple of days I’ve had a touch of the Bali Belly (no photos with this article), where you eat something and a short time afterwards you get the urgent feeling the bottom of your pants are going to drop out at any moment. This latest episode brings back travel memories loud and clear. I’ll run through one of those for your reading pleasure.
Hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal and sharing a loft with some local porters in the village of Laksmibazzar, my bowels were on DefCon 5. Realizing a fast trip to the outhouse, or whatever was waiting for me outback, was on the cards, I made sure I had a candle ready, together with a bottle of water. Sure enough battlestations were called on after all the lights had gone out, so proceeeding down the wooden ladder inside the loft I made it to the ground floor, pants still intact and candle burning. In order for me to get to the rear of the building, it was necessasry to skirt the rectangular structure which was built on solid clay base a meter in height, sloping away at a 45 degree angle. I could do this by hanging onto the side of the building and moving slowly. Unfortunately the storm that had drifted over starting dumping, which put the candle out, so in pitch blackness I moved along the slippery rim of the building, holding on with one hand. Halfway along a rumble from within gave me no choice but to drop my shorts and do the business. just as I was about to take care of the clean up with the bottle of water, I became aware of another presence behind me. Turning around and staring into the darkness I was able to make the shape of a yak peering over the end of his barn about 3ft away from me trying to lick my ass. With my shorts down at my ankles in the rain, the doused candle in one hand and hanging onto the building with the other, all I could do was laugh out loud at my predicament.
Anyway, here in Bali things are a bit more developed and you won’t have to go searching for the bathroom with a candle. If you do get diarrhea my suggestions are:
Avoid spicy, greasy, fatty foods. Avoid green vegetables and stick to plain food such as potatoes, plain rice, bread. Overlands trips in Nepal and Sumatra have taught me that diarrhea can last for as long as you want it to, I had it for 3 weeks one time and Imodium won’t touch it.
For a Bali Belly, where you have some kind of nasty bactieria messing things up, try drinking a Bali Belly Buster, made from spring water and colloidal silver, available at Bali Deli and other places. Balinese people drink the water from a coconut believing it to have healing powers. Salak (snake fruit) is supposed to be able to stop diarrhea and don’t forget to stay hydrated by drinking Pocari Sweat and plenty of water.
A dose of sickness can put a dent in your holiday time, but by sticking to plain food and staying hydrted you’ll be on the mend soon. If things get worse seek medical attention at SOS International or BIMC both in Kuta.
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{ 6 comments }
I needed your story Nick. I had a great long laugh about the yak. I thought you said the yak was going to KICK YOU IN YOUR ASS not LICK YOU IN YOUR ASS.
GREAT STORY.
Hope you are on the bend soon. If you can get aloe vera juice it will help you to recoperate real soon.
I ate day and night from Bemo Corner and at numerous warungs in and around Kuta, eating everything from sate madura to ess kelapa and for the week I was there no problemo! The trick I used was to eat natural yoghurt everyday for a week before landing in Indo. Also ate from the warungs in Dompu and Bima in Sumbawa and again no probs.
Hi Nick
Sorry to hear you have been under the weather.
As you know i work for a group of GP’s.One of our “boys” gives me a script for a 1.5gram Penicillan based antibiotic–the one dose basically kills all bacteria known to man so instant belly cure.Thankfully i have never had to take it–yet..
Just a pity he can’t provide me with an instant nose bleed stopper!!!!!!!
Cheers laurs
nick ,, try IMODIUM melts tablets ,,i never travel without them they r a super pooper stopper ,,quick. evan.
The main problem of an extended holiday in bali when you eat(drink)out each day is that after 3 weeks or so you are bound to get ill as the standards of hygiene are low. Only way round it is to eat in a place maybe the same place where you are sure the kitchen is fine or to take a hotel/villa with self catering facilities.
Pepto-bismol has bismuth in it which kills the evil e-coli. You can’t take too much of it, even if you drink the whole bottle it won’t hurt you, the only side effect is the black poop, pretty scary when you first experience it. When you have really bad watery diarrhea, go on clear liquids only (that is anything that you can see through, water tea, sodas, not too much p sweat or gatorade, it has too much salt in it &no alcohol), for 12 to 24, up to 48 hours, to give the bowels a rest, along with the Pepto, then as the bowel slows, start the “BRAT” diet. It is bananas, rice,applesauce and plain white toast. Although I think that rice “milk” should be the second step then move on to the BRAT diet. Then start adding mild, non greasy, non-spicey foods as tolerated. If you can avoid antibiotics you will lessen your risk of getting a worse bowel infection with c. difficile, which causes bloody diarrhea. The antibiotics kill off everything in your bowel except the c. difficile and it then overgrows, because there is no e. coli at all to keep it in check. Same reason that I won’t take something to slow down the bowel, like Imodium or Lomotil, the bad stuff gets trapped and spends too much time in your bowel. If the diarrhea persists more than a couple of days on the clear liquids you need to have cultures done to choose the right RX. Do watch for blood or pus, could be bacterial or parasitic infection, means you need medical intervention. I have been in family practice for 23 years and know that this works.
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