II. Prevention: Traveler's Diarrhea
- Do not drink tap water outside of countries with advanced filtration and chemical purification systems
- See Water Disinfection for effective methods
- Alcohol does not typically disinfect
- Freezing does not disinfect
- Keep a bottle of sterilized water (filtered, boiled, or chemically treated) near the sink
- Serves as a reminder to prevent contamination of Tooth Brushes, dentures and other personal items
III. Prevention: Swimming
- Swimming pool and hot tub precautions
- Avoid swimming in treated swimming pools if the water is murky or has an odor
- Check children in swim diapers frequently (risk of leakage)
- Disallow children under age 5 years from using hot tubs
- Those recovering from Diarrheal illness, should not use swimming pool for 7 days after resolution
- Shower before using swimming pool or hot tub
- Do not ingest water used for swimming regardless of method of treatment
- Skin precautions
- Cover open wounds with water proof bandages
- Do not immerse new open wounds (e.g. Tattoos)
- Wilderness precautions
- Bury stool to avoid contaminating water sources
- References
- CDC Model Aquatic Health Code
IV. Prevention: Other measures
V. References
- Wayman (2017) Crit Dec Emerg Med 31(6): 3-10