Safety & Advisories
The most common travel illness, demystified: what causes it, the 'boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it' food rules, safe water and ice, rehydration…
By Laxman Rawal · Aug 25, 2026
It is the single most common thing that goes wrong on a trip abroad, and almost nobody plans for it. Travellers' diarrhoea is rarely dangerous, but a bad case can wipe out two or three days of a holiday — or, at 4,000 metres on a Nepal trek, turn an already…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Travellers' diarrhoea spreads the same way whatever the country: through food or water that has picked up traces of faecal contamination somewhere between the field and your plate. According to reference sources such as the NHS and the medical literature…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The practical decisions come down to a handful of everyday choices. This is the "boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it" principle turned into a table. Street food is not off-limits — a busy stall frying to order in front of a queue is often safer than a…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
If it does happen, the priority is not to stop the diarrhoea but to stay hydrated. Fluid and salts are lost fast, and dehydration is what actually makes people feel wretched. The single most useful thing you can carry is a few sachets of oral rehydration…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Beyond food choices, the humblest measure is the most effective: wash your hands with soap and water regularly — always before eating and after the toilet — and carry an alcohol hand gel for when there is no sink. Treat your drinking water as a deliberate…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
In the mountains the balance shifts. Teahouse kitchens generally cook food hot and to order, so the bigger hazard is what you drink. Do not trust untreated stream or tap water at altitude: boil it, filter it, or treat it . Along popular routes like the…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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