1. Take the Tummy Trouble Quiz
2. Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures
3. Heartburn? Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow

Medical Author:

Anthony L Buscaglia, DO

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Although it can ruin a vacation, traveler's diarrhea rarely requires hospitalization and usually is not life-threatening unless severe dehydration develops.

• Untreated, the diarrhea typically lasts three to five days.
• Twenty percent of people have symptoms severe enough to keep them in bed.
• In 10% of people, the illness will last more than a week.
• Traveler's diarrhea is not life-threatening to an otherwise healthy person. In the very young, very old, and people with weakened immune systems, it can be dangerous.

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