Traveler's Diarrhea During Pregnancy
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This article is from the Health Articles series.
Traveler's Diarrhea During Pregnancy
Dietary vigilance should be adhered to while traveling during pregnancy because dehydration due to traveler's diarrhea (TD) can lead to inadequate placental blood flow.
Potentially contaminated water should be boiled. Iodine-containing purification systems should not be used long term. Iodine tablets can probably be used for short-term travel up to several weeks, but congenital goiters have been reported in association with administration of iodine-containing drugs during pregnancy.
Eating only well-cooked meats and pasteurized dairy products, as well as avoiding pre-prepared salads, should help avoid diarrheal disease, as well as infections such as toxoplasmosis and listeria, which can have serious sequelae in pregnancy. It is not recommended that pregnant women use prophylactic antibiotics for the prevention of TD.
Oral rehydration is the mainstay of therapy. Bismuth subsalicylate compounds are contraindicated due to the theoretical risks of fetal bleeding from salicylates and teratogenicity from the bismuth. The combination of kaolin-pectin may be used, and loperamide should be used only when necessary. The antibiotic treatment of TD during pregnancy can be complicated. An oral third-generation cephalosporin may be the best option for treatment if an antibiotic is needed.
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