I agree re the water intake.

I have always been advised to drink 8 glasses or 2 litres per day.

Perhaps Michelle meant two litres ?

It may also be worth checking out the following link regarding water intake:

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/healthy_eating/too_much_water.htm

Kath HT Admin

Methinks that after 10 litres of water, the little bear wouldn't be bouncing very much!

A very salient point made there cnorris

We had ten litres a day of large water in a bottle, each bottle was 1.5 litres. We always took 3 bottles to the beach total 4.5 litres, plus two large bottle of sprite/coke to give energy - 3 litres.

We then had another 1.5 litre bottle at lunch in the Oonas bar, then another 1.5 litre water at dinner in the evening.

if you do not pee enough in the day, its because you are dehydrated.

We also had fruit juices and Egtian tea in the evening as well.

All the above was between us, not me drinking 10 litres on my own, cor blimey if i did that i would be swimming the red sea

If you dont drink enough you sweat more, drinking plenty makes you feel less uncomfortable in the heat.

Reguarding the a/c that is true, although we need it in hot countries, it is best at its lowest, it gets very cold very quick.

Milk isnt pasteurised in all countries, it maybe fine when cooked, but it is full of bacteria, how do i know? Because i have had e coli 0157 and drinking milk/yogurts and burgers caused this for me.

Derwent:

Sorry to hear you got O157 - nasty infection

You certainly did top up on those fluids

All countries in the EU are required by law to pasteurise milk and most dairy products - Egypt aint in the EU by my reckoning.

Lots of people in my hotel drank the milk at breakfast - including my wife, and they didnt have any problems - maybe that is exclusive to our hotel - who knows?!

Good to see you taking necessary precautions.

Hotels in Egypt use either powdered milk or UHT milk so I doubt that any one needs to worry about the milk unless contaminated water is being used with the powdered milk. In places like Cairo it is possible to buy fresh untreated milk but no hotel would ever touch it.

remember it was the pharmacy that laid down all the should and shouldnt do on all this rules, as i said prevous we are adament it was HR cafe we were ill from, cannot be sure, but it doesnt take a genious to work it out.

I really missed my yogurt at Brekkie and my milk in the tea, mind you Egyptian tea with mint soothes tummys. It never spoilt my holiday, i got fixed up with pills and away we went.

I get jippy tummy every where i go, so its normal for me

I drunk milk quite a lot in Egypt and never any trouble. Just taste awful if you're normally a skimmed milk drinker - like drinking cream!!!

Good stuff to help your guts is the red stuff they have out there - forget the name, but apparently its hibiscus boiled in sugar water. Tastes really nice and good natural healing properties for the stomach. I usually suffer with really bad irritable bowel syndrome, but never a problem in Egypt with just a couple of glasses of that per day.

cnorris...the drink you are describing is karkaday, it is also good for lowering your blood pressure....just the ticket when you have been waltzing around for hours in the heat It seems to be an acquired taste, but personally i love it. Also good for the stomach while in Egypt, which we had recommended to us by a member of staff, was hot honey and lemon drink, which they will make for you on request. The honey apparently also has good effects on your gut. It has worked for me in the past.

I forgot to mention this, but a pharmacy in Sharm gave me a product called Diax, Im sure you could get them in the chemists here. They dont do anything for loose motions, but they REALLY help with the severe pain from the stomach cramps.
Another must have in my opinion are electrolyte sachets, water alone wont rehydrate you if youve suffered from a bout of sickness. Tesco sell 5 raspberry flavour sachets for about £2.50 and I personally will never travel without them again!
And my other top tip is dont eat rice from a buffet, chances are its been reheated and that is one of the worst things for causing food poisoning.

hi, I'm going to Sharm in 3 weeks and I have a huge phobia of being sick!! I'm always careful about what I eat etc but if I get sick, please could anybody tell me what to take or buy from pharmacies here so it can be made as short an experience as possible! (That is in the unfortunate event!)

Thank you

Hi heather86

You sound just like me lol. I have it down to a fine art now, as i have tried so many things. The first 2 years we went to Egypt i was terribly ill...always on the 3rd day...and always in Cairo for some mad reason. This is what i have stuck to religiously ever since, and have been absolutely fine.

1. For around 3/4 weeks before travelling, I drink a bottle of Yakult a day (probiotic drink for good bacteria in the gut) I hate the stuff but i am prepared to take it when it helps lol.
2. Don't have air con set to siberian temperatures, as your tummy reacts badly to the sudden change in temperatures.
3. Avoid ice in drinks
4. When the pool is very cold (at some hotels they are brrr) don't jump straight in to cool down when you are red hot, your tummy hates this too.
5. Drink plenty water, and try not to gulp it down fast when it is still freezing cold...again, the tummy hates it.
6. I always take immodium with me, but it does nothing!! But i always feel i have to take something to help When you can get to a pharmacy, get some Antinel/Antinal...sorry can't remember the correct spelling, Its a stomach medicine, that kills the bacteria in your gut, and will usually sort you out within a day or so.
7. I drink Hot honey and lemon (the waiter will get it made up for you) as the honey is good for your stomach.
8. I also drink Karkaday (habiscus) as that is also good for stomach, and also helps to bring down blood pressure.

Have a great holiday and don't worry

thank you, I will certainly try some of them

You can buy come good anti-sickness remedies over the counter in the UK which may help. Good one for sickness is Motillium (AKA Domperidone) - I have a severe allergy to Gluten and take this with me everywhere just incase, it takes about 20 minutes to work. For stomach cramps I've just noticed you can buy Buscopan now over the counter. Great stuff, give it to all my patients at work!!! Supposed to be just for irritable bowel, but great for any type of stomach cramp.

They're not a preventative measure unfortunately. But if you are sick, take one immediately and you won't be sick again. Prevention really is better than cure though, and preventing bowels spasms (mainly by avoiding extremes of temp) is the best way to go.

I've always gone for the whole thing of avoiding ice and keeping air con on a higher temp and I've always eaten salads and fruit. I've never had any sickness out there, and only one small bout of the runs, that was actually due to exhaustion after one of our excursions. You will be absolutely fine, but you just have to appreciate what your body can cope with.

Regarding things that need to head North or South. I think that this is where most people go wrong. The first time you get the 'Gypi' tummy it's swallow the 'Imodion' XXX Super strength plus pills and that will cure it. Wrong! you are trying to stop your body from getting rid of the problem. You need to deal with the reason for the 'trots' not the effects of it. My own personal advice after suffering the whole range from minor tummy upsets to having to call in a doctor is this:
When you arrive, go to a local pharmacist and purchase a packet of 'Ciprofloxacin' tablets these are a broad spectrum antibiotic. Or if you can find them, a product called 'Antinal'. As soon as one of your family/partner starts to suffer from tummy upsets take as prescribed. In addition the other people/parner should take 1 tablet also but no more.
This has worked very well for myself and my wife in the past. We will also take 1 tablet each if we have eaten out in an unfamiliar place that evening.
I appreciate that this advice is general and there are many reasons that people should not take anti-biotics in a cavalier manner, also people with medical conditions should check that any self prescribed medicines are OK. But! it works for us.
Tez

I aggree with you Tez about the Antanyl

I think it is the best option to try first. I've taken Ciprofloxacin a couple of times because I couldn't get my hands on the other stuff. I'm a nurse and I checked it out in the formulary first and made sure I was taking the correct dosage as it is used for lots of different infections. It does have some side effects, one being photosensitivity which would be awful if you happened to get that on holiday in the sun!

Thanks for that Tigger, I will now show your post to the wife and insist that in future she calls me 'doctor'. As for the photo-sensitivity, I have noticed on occasions that I sometimes screw up my eyes when having a photograph taken.
Take care, Tez

Please can anyone advise about the water that restaurants use to make tea / coffee etc. Do they use bottled or does it come straight from the tap ?

Also what about ice cubes in drinks at hotels etc. Bottled or their tap water ?