If you are planning a trip to South East Asia the #1 thing you hear people worrying about is tummy problems. Let's just address the elephant in the room, you will get diarrhea. This is just a part of your stomach adjusting to being in a different place and eating food you're not used to.
That being said, we can do things to keep our gut healthy and avoid sicknesses that are more serious or last more than a couple of days. So, let me give you all my essentials for my tummy kit!
P.S. I am not a doctor so this is some friendly advice from traveller to traveller!
1. Shelf Stable Probiotics. You will be running around so much that refrigerated ones are not going to work so make sure the ones you buy are shelf stable. My naturopath recommended the Genestra HMF multi-strain probiotics to take most days (when possible) to keep everything regulated in your gut.
2. Gravol & Anti Nausea Pills. This is such an important one for car sickness or if you need to travel on a day you're not feeling the greatest. I recommend both because gravol was drowsy and would knock me out on a long bus ride but I also got ginger anti nausea pills in case I didn't want to be drowsy!
3. Imodium. Do NOT go without this. This drug was such a life saver and is something I would never travel without again. It's anti diarrhea medicine and is a necessity. You can get any brand of this at most drug stores!
4. Antibiotics. If possible you should book time with your family doctor before you go and see if you can get one prescription of antibiotics. This will be helpful if you get a stomach infection or anything else that needs more than just anti nausea pills.
5. Magnesium CitraMal. This supplement is perfect for when you can't go to the bathroom. My naturopath recommended this and it is now something I take on a daily basis. It won't give you diarrhea or make you go, it will just help keep you regular!
Hopefully this essentials tummy travel kit will help prepare you for your adventure and keep you healthy as possible! If you're looking for more travel tips and tricks subscribe to our newsletter and follow me on Instagram and TikTok!