Travellers diarrhoea pregnancy - traveller's health prevention against diseases; vaccination, travel medicine, useful tips

Pregnancy

Travellers' Diarrhoea During Pregnancy

Pregnant travelers should be advised to exercise dietary vigilance while traveling during pregnancy because dehydration from travelers' diarrhea (TD) can lead to inadequate placental blood flow.

Avoid diarrheal disease by:

boil potentially contaminated water and avoid long-term use of iodine-containing purification systems. Iodine tablets can probably be used for travel up to several weeks, but congenital goiters have been reported in association with administration of iodine-containing drugs during pregnancy.
eat only well-cooked meats and pasteurized dairy products, while avoiding pre-prepared salads; this will help to avoid diarrheal disease, as well as infections such as toxoplasmosis and listeria, which can have serious sequelae in pregnancy.
be advised not to use prophylactic antibiotics for the prevention of TD.
Bismuth subsalicylate compounds are contraindicated because of the theoretical risks of fetal bleeding from salicylates and teratogenicity from the bismuth.
The combination of kaolin and pectin may be used, but loperamide should be used only when necessary.
The antibiotic treatment of TD during pregnancy can be complicated. An oral third-generation cephalosporin may be the best option for treatment if an antibiotic is needed.

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Updated 02-Mar-2003 • ŠtraveldoctorOnline 2001 • Disclaimer • webmaster

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