Most episodes of traveller’s diarrhoea are self-limiting and respond to supportive measures such as rehydration. For some travellers we may discuss the use of antibiotic treatment for traveller’s diarrhoea.
Antibiotics can sometimes shorten the duration of symptoms by 24-48 hours. This may be of value particularly for more vulnerable travellers. However, we are also constantly mindful of the overuse of antibiotics and the risk of emerging drug resistance. The two antibiotics currently most commonly used by us for the treatment of traveller’s diarrhoea are ciprofloxacin (a fluoroquinolone antibiotic) and azithromycin (a macrolide antibiotic).
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recently given advice on fluoroquinolone antibiotics and when they should and should not be used:
Systemic fluoroquinolones must now only be prescribed when other commonly recommended antibiotics are inappropriate.
Therefore, where we suggest a standby course of antibiotics to take away our first line treatment will consist of azithromycin (chargeable medication). For the few patients where azithromycin is not suitable we may be able to issue a private prescription (chargeable) for ciprofloxacin which you can take to your community pharmacy.
For more general information on travellers diarrhoea and prevention please see:
https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/factsheet/53/travellers-diarrhoea
