I'm preparing for a trip to India next week, first time for me (very excited) and because of the nature of my work, i'm liable to be in some "off the beaten track" type places

I've read that Pepto-Bismol is good to be taken as a preventative (also Cipro and Purrell, but dont know what they are, its a US website)

What are the equivalents that are available in Switzerland?

(if possible, and although i love you all, if its possible to avoid the "i was there and just didnt take ice and i was fine" or "take some barlauch and put it up your ass because drug multinationals are evil" kind of replies,that would be great)

I wouldn't take anything as a Preventative (that;s what you wrote, but did you mean it?) but I would take some Loperamide (imodium) in case you get diarrhea and need to work or travel whilst suffering.

But,it's probably better to go down the preventative route as well so drink (sealed) bottled water only and avoid salads in more dodgy places.

Speak to your doctor for preventative /emergency medicine.

Don't drink the water unless you are sure it's clean, eat local food in preference to 'western' food (the local stuff is fresher and probably deep-fried which will kill anyone anything. Wash your hands with soap, and clean bottled water. Don't brush your teeth with anything but boiled water, and you'll be fine

Don't take emergency medicine unless you are sure it's the right one - some bacterial illnesses shed toxins, so dosing yourself with antibiotics will cause a flood of toxins, and more likely kill you than cure you...not something worth messing with.

Pepto Bismol, Citro, etc, would all fall in that category. The product information sheet specifically says not to take it if you have mucous in your stools or have a fever.
http://www.pepto-bismol.com/pepto-original-liquid.php

Even in Switzerland, they would be unlikely to prescribe a medicine for diarrhoea (blockers, antibiotics etc) unless they were 100% sure they knew what organism it was.

If you do get sick, remember, you can live for plenty of days without food, but you can't live for long without water (especially in the heat)...

Yeah, my best friend nearly died in India after getting a gastro bug and being given metronidazole by IV in the hospital - massive allergic reaction to the treatment, ended up taking the IV out of her own arm and walking out of the hospital 'against medical advice'... not recommended.

You probably wont' die...

Actually, it WAS what I meant - the CDC refer to Pepto as being effective as a preventative....

Okay, never heard of that. I think you're being over cautious. And your link doesn't actually state that taking preventative medicine is a good idea.

I've spent months in India. I only got ill once - and that confirms what Swisspea says - it was about the only time I ate in a place catering to Westerners.
I didn't take anything and let nature run it's course.

However, if you've only got mild diarrhea, and no fever or other symptoms then taking some Imodium is still good idea if you've got to travel.

Thanks for that.

Much as I love EF, getting people to answer the question asked rather than giving alternatives proves to be something of a challenge After all, maybe I like the prospect of ringing in my ears or a blackened tongue!

Anyway, it was new to me too, I never heard of it but is quite widely described online and - as I said - I'm travelling to some "interesting" places where there is probably some risk so if there are low risk was of reducing the chances rather than Immodium (which is merely a chemical cork up the ass and stops the badness getting out), maybe its worth a shot!

Yeah it's maybe because every country apart from the paranoid U.S. of A doesn't believe in taking preventative diarrhea medicine for visits to India.

It seems that it's nationals need this spelling out too.

And you edited your post after you had posted and after I had written mine.

Before I went to Thailand I asked my Dr what to do if I got sick ad how long I should be sick for before taking something, this is what he gave me: http://www.diagnosia.com/de/medikame...-eco-250500750

Told me I should have really really bad diarrhea for 3 days before taking, otherwise your body will try to get rid of it on its own.

Warning: if you get this and take it (preventative or not) you will not poop for 6 days. For me that was more uncomfortable (took it after I pretty much almost died in Morocco) but its up to you to choose.

Edit: my Thailand/Egypt/Morocco preventative measures were sanitizing gel after touching anything, especially money, no fresh fruit or veg (without peeling) and buy/bring my own water. This may not work for everyone, both times in Thailand and Egypt I was fine....in Morocco I got sick from the juice in a 5 star hotel.

Thanks, Janer and Tom....

Now, changing the subject entirely, is there the equivalent of Pepto-Bismol available in Switzerland?

Immodium: for diarrhea
Buscopan: for tummy cramps
Motilium: for nausea and vomiting

All OTC. But they relive only the symptoms and don't treat the cause, of course

Cipro is a strong antibiotic and purrell is an antibiotic hand sanitizer. I would definitely not take cipro without a reason as it kills good bacteria, too, so you have to take other pills (or eat yogurt) to compensate.

As I said before, no.

Here's the link to the active ingredient in case you still don't believe me.

You are wise to take the dangers seriously. I lived in Malaysia for 3 years in the 60's and it is difficult to avoid stomach upsets.

As already mentioned drink only from UNOPENED bottles (Merchants make money by collecting unfinished drinks and decanting into bottles!) Avoid uncooked food, or cold food. Be careful with fruits, some bugs penetrate soft fruits and can be a source of salmonella.

Keep your hands clean, wipe them with anti septic regularly, especially after shaking hands, or touching public buses, taxis, toilets...

Pack some OTC medicines in case you do come down with a bug. You can also buy OTC "good bugs" in a tablet form to counter the bad effects of medicines.

I was working in Singapore for 7 weeks and eating locally. I had diarrhoea every day until I started taking one immodium for breakfast!

You should really ask your doctor: are you up to date on all your injections? Cholera is widespread, I read that polio is still around...

sound advice for whenever i travel to africa or anywhere that has sub standard hygine conditions

cook it, peel it, boil it or forget it

I don't suppose this will help you much but we have a friend who buys pepto bismol in Germany. It's not Switzerland obviously but it's not a million miles away.

Totally off topic but...

The last time that anyone in my family got ill through food poisoning which made them very ill was whilst travelling in the U.S. on holiday.

i will take my chances in US rather than africa

The same family member went to Africa after that and didn't get ill.

However, I do agree that on balance, you're still much more likely to get ill, and seriously so, in Africa rather than the U.S.

But I'm not sure India is as bad as people make out.

Tom, have you been there?

A friend of mine goes every year, each time he needs hospital treatment. One year malaria, another year rabies, admittedly they were the lowest points.

He took the anti malaria tablets, so it won't recur every year, and he went straight to hospital for the anti-rabies jab.

You can never be too careful, and it is very foolish to ignore the danger.