Travel tips for a stressed gut

It’s finally here – summer. Holidays offer the chance to relax, focus on recreational activities, and recover all that lost energy. In this regard, the gut’s importance is still oftentimes forgotten: “In need of a vacation” or “exhausted” are just other ways of describing constant perceived stress. Stress which leads to an imbalance in the gut flora. If “foreign” germs from foods and drinks at one’s holiday destination are also introduced into the mix, this can lead to further weakening of the body’s defences.

Are you also already counting the days till your holiday begins? The only thing which can dampen one’s anticipation is stress before the vacation. At the workplace, there’s mostly still a pile of unfinished work which absolutely must be finished so that one can fully relax during the holiday. After coming home from work, it’s not just the normal household tasks have to be taken care of. The trip needs to be planned to avoid straying aimlessly at your holiday destination. Then the day finally arrives. For globetrotters who live by the motto: “the path is the goal”, the journey is already a wellness programme. For travellers who prefer to reach their goal as quickly as possible the journey can already be a hassle: Traffic jams on the motorway and bored children in the back seat, the overcrowded train with noise levels surpassing 100 decibels, the queue at the airport check-in as well as the first orientation at the holiday destination – by the time you have reached your destination lots of adrenalin has been pumped into your body.

Contents of your travelling first-aid kit should depend on your destination

This year, Greece is a popular destination for people craving some sun. Spain and Italy, in turn, are profiting from the unstable situation in Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt. It is favourable for Austria’s domestic economy that more and more young people are becoming interested in travelling in their home country. Every travel destination, should be prepared for with an individual travel first-aid kit which also takes all travel companions into account. If one is unsure about what should be packed, it is advisable to ask your pharmacist or a doctor specialising in travel medicine. Tip for the trip: pharmaceuticals should be kept in the carry-on luggage so that they are always close at hand and don’t end up in the freezing cold cargo hold.

Things that shouldn’t be missing from a well sorted travel first-aid kit are substances against travel diarrhoea and constipation. Foreign foods and drinks are full of bacteria which our gut flora isn’t used to. Especially enterobacteria and salmonella can cause complaints ranging from diarrhoea to more serious diseases. When it comes to traveller’s diarrhoea its most important that fluid and electrolyte losses are balanced out (teas, soups, as well as electrolyte and glucose rich products). The German corporation for general medicine has found that probiotics can be useful in treating traveller’s diarrhoea as they can shorten the complaints – not an unimportant factor when on holiday. When the complaints progress quickly and symptoms such as fever or blood in one’s stool arise, it is crucial that one visits a local physician as soon as possible. Constipation is defined as less than 3 bowel movements per week. To pass these it is often necessary to press very hard and the consistency of the stool is hard and clumpy. The causes include eating unfamiliar foods as well as fluid deficits and suppressing the urge to defecate. Drinking a lot, doing exercise, and eating high-fibre foods can ease the complaints. Plant based preparations made from papaya can offer support as they support digestion. If the complaints persist for long periods, are accompanied by pain, or if other heavy symptoms arise one should consult a physician.