Travelers' diarrhea happens when your body doesn't know what to do with new food. When you're at home, your stomach gets used to eating the same things every day, like pizza or tacos. But when you travel, you might eat something strange, like a spicy soup from another country. Your gut isn’t ready for it and gets confused, so it moves everything through your body faster than normal, that’s how you get the runs!
Examples
- An adult drinks tap water in Mexico and gets sick within three hours of arrival.
- A traveler eats fruit from an open basket in India and spends their first day getting the runs.
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See also
- What is Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?
- What is Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)?
- What is ileum?
- Why Do Humans Get Motion Sickness?
- What is Smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract?