I have lived in Cairo Egypt for many years, and apart from a few problems when I arrived, I cannot remember any stomach, cramp problems in recent times. Nor do other resident persons as the topic rarely comes up. BUT, tourists and Newbies can experience some pretty bad problems that can ruin their vacation, or initial time here after arrival.
Thanks to David L................. And below David's is Charle"s............. both real life experiences to explain their problems and successful treatments
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Just got back after 10 days in Dahab...had the 'Nile Piles' for about 3 days - as with the other comments posted, Immodium and Diaracalm (Boots' own brand) didn't touch it.
A local Pharmacist (Masbat area - on the corner where the taxis pick up/drop off) gave me Drotazide (1 tablet, 3 times a day) to kill the bacteria and Streptoquin (2 tablets as required) to stop the diarrhea. Within a few hours I was much, much better and got back to normal within about 24 hours.
My advice is don't waste money on over-priced UK products....a local problem will invariably have a local cure, which will be much, much more effective than the drugs we get here and far cheaper (both drugs cost £E35 - about 4 quid!).
As for food/drink:
• no ice in drinks
• no ice-cream unless it's in a wrapper
• no fruit unless it's in a wrapper (e.g. banana, lemon etc.)
• no salads, especially at the wadis as they certainly won't be washed in clean water
• beware flatbreads...these are often undercooked and 'doughy' and may not have been cooked long enough to kill any bacteria
• don't let a 5 star hotel give you a false sense of security...a few times they tried to serve me water in bottles with already broken seals and drinks with ice in, and also served a raw lamb kebab in their a la carte restaurant
• check the bottled waters for broken seals
ABOVE ALL ELSE TRUST YOUR SENSES!
Out sense of taste and smell have evolved over thousands of years to warn us off ingesting something which is 'bad'. If it doesn't smell, taste and even look right, send it away or leave it well alone
General hygiene:
The money is dirty, old and an easy way to kop a bug. DO take out from the UK with you antibacterial hand-gels and wipes and whenever handling money, and get into the practice of using these right away...it'll soon become second-nature.
Carry loo roll with you too. You'll do well to find a decent toilet, let alone one with any paper and a flush. Most are just holes in the ground.
All of that said, it's a wonderful country and having dived and snorkelled at some fantastic locations it's more than worth the effort! - September 23, 2009 12:59 PM
As late entry - my daughter is in Scotland - July 2008 - and told me she came down with cramps and stomach problem after a day out at festival and junk food. So........ the bugs are different everywhere!!!!!
Note: if diarrhea persists when you get home, see a doctor for tests and treatment quick as you can, as you can expect you picked up a nasty bug. The normal bug should only last a few days.
Charles said ...........................
Just returned from a two week trip to Cairo and to areas North in the Nile Delta.
My friend has lived in Cairo for nearly a year and spoke pretty good Arabic. He has gotten sick (dia) a couple of times and tried different things to get over it.
I have traveled internationally from the U.S. to Turkey, Philippines and other places. Usually getting sick (dia) on every trip so had tried different remedies myself.
My friend in Egypt's father and brother are doctors in the U.S. and when the Egyptians had him try Streptoquin they checked it out and told him to use it.
After two days of sickness I tried it and it worked VERY well for me. The best recovery I have had on any trip where encountering the same type of issues.
One should certainly discuss with doctors at home about use of it and take necessary precautions, reading warnings, try less powerful stuff first, etc. but I can attest it worked well for me.
I just wanted to post that info since it seams many other web postings say nonsense like "nasty antibiotic", "doesn't work against dia", "banned" etc. While providing no real info or details of who should or should not take it.
Nearly all medicines are banned somewhere, have side effects and won't work for some people.
September 28, 2009 3:37 PM