Montezuma’s revenge
Gastroenteritis – aka stomach flu in winter or Turista, Traveller’s diarrhoea (TD), Montezuma’s revenge, Cairo curse, Singapore shakes, Dakar dash, Aztec two-step, Delhi belly, Rangoon runs, Turkey trot, abroad – is always debilitating. This violent gut debacle leaves you feeling totally listless, prostrate on the couch and socially evicted for a day or two.
High fever, blood in the stools require immediate medical attention. But most of the time, there is no need to panic. The guilty parties are mainly viruses, sometimes bacteria or other equally non-grata micro-organisms. To stop this awful, incredibly sly and often highly contagious infection as soon as possible, you’d better get down to work: Start by disinfecting your poor devastated gut with tough fighters: compact oregano essential oil, a powerful antiviral, antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-parasitic, will destroy the disreputable germ responsible for your present sorry state. Mix 1 drop of this magic oil with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil or honey and bravely swallow the mixture 3 times a day.
A word of caution: Don’t use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Don’t give to children under 15. In these cases, replace with same amount of Ravinstara or Tea tree essential oil.
Take 12 billion CUF Lactobacillus GG and 30 billion CUF Saccharomyces boulardii per day. Multiple studies have shown significant reduction of all the symptoms of AGE within minutes of taking these super probiotics.
Diarrhoea and vomiting dehydrate terribly, so drink even if you don’t feel like it, preferably mineral water and warm herb teas. Prepare your special rehydration solution: Mix 1 glass of water, ½ glass of orange juice, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/6 teaspoon of salt. Drink ¼ glass every 2 hours. For children, it’s 2 tablespoons of the mixture every 2 hours.
Rice comes to the rescue to calm your over enthusiastic bowel. Boil 4 cups of water in your prettiest saucepan. Add ¼ cup of unwashed white rice and ¼ of teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer 20 minutes. Strain contents through a colander, reserving the liquid in a glass container and keep in the refrigerator. Sip this rare delicacy during the day. You can also use some of it to make smashing banana smoothie. Put a green (unripe) banana peeled and sliced in your mixer with ½ glass of rice water, 2 tablespoons of orange juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Eat your rice plain or with plain mashed carrots.
To avoid getting this monstrosity in the first place, make sure to wash your hands as often as possible. Always put the toilet lid (and seat) down before flushing to avoid spraying bacteria around. And take 1 drop lemon essential oil 3 times a day.
Other recipes to wallop undesirable gut guests are eagerly awaiting you in Le Dictionnaire à tout faire
Inès Peyret's scupture
