You’ve booked the flights, packed the sunscreen, and picked out the perfect Airbnb, but there’s one travel companion nobody wants to bring home: traveller’s diarrhoea. It’s the single most common illness affecting people travelling abroad, and depending on where you’re headed, your odds of getting it can be surprisingly high.

At Oldfield Pharmacy in Manchester, we speak to Manchester travellers every week who are heading off on everything from a two-week backpacking trip through Southeast Asia to a family holiday in North Africa. Traveller’s diarrhoea comes up in almost every one of those conversations, and with good reason. Knowing what causes it, how to avoid it, and what to do if it strikes can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and days spent stuck in your hotel room.

What Is Traveller’s Diarrhoea?

Traveller’s diarrhoea is diarrhoea that develops during, or shortly after, travel abroad. It happens when you consume food or water contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites that your body isn’t used to encountering at home. Bacteria are behind the vast majority of cases, with viruses and parasites accounting for the rest.

The clinical definition is straightforward: three or more loose or watery stools within a 24-hour period, often accompanied by stomach cramps, nausea, or a mild fever.

How Common Is It, and Where Are You Most at Risk?

This isn’t a rare travel mishap. Studies estimate that anywhere from 30% to 70% of international travellers experience it, depending on their destination and the season they travel in. For many Manchester holidaymakers, it’s genuinely more likely than not that at least one person in the travel party will be affected.

Risk varies significantly by region:

• Higher-risk destinations: South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, most of Africa, Mexico, and Central and South America
• Medium-risk destinations: Russia, China, the Caribbean, and South Africa
• Lower-risk destinations: North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand

Warmer, more humid climates tend to see higher rates, largely because bacteria multiply more easily and sanitation infrastructure varies more widely. Outbreaks can also occur among groups staying in the same hotel or on the same cruise ship, so it’s not always about what you personally eat.

What Causes It?

The germs responsible for traveller’s diarrhoea typically enter your system through contaminated food or water. Common culprits include:

• Bacteria (the most frequent cause) — including E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Shigella
• Viruses — such as norovirus
• Parasites — including Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Entamoeba histolytica, which tend to cause symptoms that take longer to appear

In a good proportion of milder cases, no specific microbe is ever identified, even with testing, which is one reason prevention matters more than trying to diagnose the exact cause.

Symptoms to Watch For

The main symptom is, unsurprisingly, diarrhoea itself, but it’s often accompanied by:

• Crampy abdominal pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• A mild fever
• General fatigue or feeling unwell

For most people, symptoms are mild and clear up within 3 to 4 days. Bacterial and viral cases usually start within 6 to 24 hours of exposure, while parasitic infections can take one to three weeks to show symptoms, meaning some travellers don’t feel unwell until after they’re already back in Manchester.

Prevention: How to Reduce Your Risk

The traditional advice of “boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it” is still a useful starting point, though research shows that even careful travellers can still fall ill. That said, these precautions genuinely reduce your risk:

• Eat food that’s fully cooked and served hot. Avoid anything that’s been sitting out on a buffet.
• Be cautious with raw fruit and vegetables unless you’ve washed them in clean water yourself or peeled them.
• Stick to sealed, factory-bottled drinks. Avoid tap water, and skip ice cubes unless you’re confident they were made from purified water.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, especially before eating and after using the toilet. Carry an alcohol-based hand sanitiser for situations where soap and water aren’t available.
• Consider your personal risk factors. Certain pre-existing conditions and medications can increase susceptibility, so it’s worth discussing your specific trip with a pharmacist before you travel.

Treatment: What to Do If It Strikes

Most cases resolve on their own, but managing symptoms properly makes a real difference to how miserable (or manageable) your trip is:

1. Stay hydrated. This is the priority. Drink plenty of fluids, and in more serious cases, use an oral rehydration solution, widely available from pharmacies, to replace lost salts and fluids.
2. Over-the-counter medication such as loperamide can reduce the frequency and urgency of symptoms, which can be genuinely useful if you’re facing a long coach journey or flight.
3. Antibiotics are sometimes appropriate for more severe cases, but these should only be used under medical guidance rather than as a routine precaution.
4. Rest where possible, and avoid pushing through strenuous activity until symptoms settle.

When to Seek Medical Help

While most cases are mild, you should seek medical advice if you or a travel companion experience:

• A high fever
• Blood in your stool
• Diarrhoea lasting more than 5 to 7 days
• Signs of dehydration such as dizziness, dry mouth, or reduced urination

Children under six months, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system should seek medical advice promptly rather than waiting to see if symptoms pass on their own. If severe symptoms develop after you’re already back home in Manchester, book a GP appointment and mention your recent travel history so appropriate tests can be arranged.

Plan Ahead With Oldfield Pharmacy’s Travel Clinic

The best time to think about traveller’s diarrhoea isn’t when you’re already unwell abroad, it’s before you leave Manchester. A pre-travel consultation gives you the chance to talk through your specific itinerary, get practical advice tailored to your destination, and pick up essentials like rehydration sachets and any recommended medication before you fly.

Our travel clinic in Manchester offers destination-specific health advice alongside travel vaccinations, so you can leave with a proper plan rather than relying on guesswork once you’re already there. Whether you’re flying out of Manchester Airport for a two-week trip or a longer stint abroad, our pharmacists can help you pack the right essentials and know exactly what to do if symptoms strike.