Medicine for upset stomachs in Syria?

I read ages ago about an effective medicine for upset stomachs (travellers diarrhea) that you can get from pharmacies in Syria. Anyone know what's it's called?

Thanks!

Come on, Marcopoloo, this is your speciality!

Hi akguindy
Thanks for reminding me .You know me i always come up with the answer.This is the prescription for
Upset Stomach (Diarrhoea)

This is a very common occurrence. Nearly all newcomers to the Middle East, at some time, fall victim to this illness. It is very easily contactible due to poor hygiene during food handling and preparation.
It’s so common we call it “Damascus – Belly.” Or tipple D the Dread Damascus Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea is also very easily treatable. If it’s not treated immediately it can last for several days with a possible worsening of the condition. This can lead to serious health problems like dehydration and even eventually the inability to walk (requiring 24 hour bed rest) and may require hospitalization in very severe cases.
So, the best thing you can do is to treat the condition immediately and spend your time enjoying Syria rather than sitting in bed.
For treatment visit a nearby pharmacy and explain your condition, they are familiar with travelers’ illnesses such as diarrhoea. They will provide you with the correct medication without needing a prescription.
Be specific about your symptoms do you have:
1. Diarrhoea take immoduim or lamutile with each meal
2. Stomach ache / crampes ask the pharmacy for suitable medication
3. Nausea and vomiting (use Cerucal)
4. Take Enterofuryl 200 for cleansing and sterilizing stomach
5. Take fluid replacement/water. To replace lost vital minerals ,It is important to speed up your recovery.Do not drink Cola or fruit juice,just water.
If you can’t take Enterofuryl 200 you can try Eucarbon Coal herbal tablets Like Ecocoal
Diet/ Food eat only bread, boiled potatoes, pasta and yogurt . Nothing Else!
Taking these steps will guarantee a recovery within 24 hours.
Another tip to help you , Enjoy Your Stay in Syria – Damascus Hostel
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Sorry to be a party-pooper (ha!) but you don't need medicine if you've got traveller's diarrhoea.

Diarrhoea is not a disease - it's just your body getting used to different kinds of food, and different levels of food hygiene. Diarrhoea "medicines" like Imodium work because they paralyse the muscles of your digestive tract - meaning that your body is immobilised: it cannot work to clear itself. Unless you are travelling THAT DAY and so cannot get to the toilet, you do not need to take Imodium. Nobody does! Imodium is a con! Imodium is bad for you!

All you need is to eat nothing for 24 hours - making sure you drink a LOT - then slowly wean yourself back with dry toast, unsweetened tea and maybe plain yoghurt for one or two days. If you are sweating a lot, then take rehydration sachets (which are sold in pharmacies with pictures of babies on the front!) - or mix 2 teaspoons of salt plus 12 teaspoons of sugar into a standard-sized 1.5 litre bottle of mineral water, and drink that.

If serious diarrhoea lasts more than 48 hours, then OK you're ill - and you need to see a doctor or a pharmacist. You still should not take Imodium!

I have also heard that it is bad to take Imodium because it doesn't cure the problem and it is only gut paralyzing meaning that the symptoms will return. My doctor has told me that it shouldn't be allowed without prescription. However, I have taken Imodium on four different occasions and everytime the diarrohea has stopped almost immediately and it didn't come back. For me it has been a succes but on't know if I have just been lucky.

Guys thanks for sharing your experiences.Give me a fair go.
I agree with you it is not good take Imodium.I found most tourist carry this medications just in case.When you are traveling you cnt afford to waist time laying in bed sick .I have seen some guests who refused to take these medications stayed bedridden for days.As they are about to fly home We had to call a doctor who prescribed these medications .Alwyas the patient recover within a day.
Im not a doctor and dnt claim to be one .I made notes after each doctor visits and offer these recommendations to guests when they fall ill.When you have 20-30 persons staying you bound to have one or two cases a day.I lost count how many people benefited from this advice/prescription.

Thanks everyone for the responses!

I agree on the whole about immodium being bad which is partly why I was asking for other solutions - especially those that might get rid of the bacteria causing the problem rather than just postponing the symptoms.

We don't have that much time in Syria so certainly don't want to spend any of it bedridden or contantly looking for the next toilet! Hopefully we won't get too sick but who knows - I didn't get sick at all in Egypt but did quite badly in Morocco and my husband even worse (needing to spend a night in hospital).

Enterofury 200 designed to get rid of the bad bacteria .It is the best treatment available from local pharmacy,costs around syp 200 no prescription required.

Hello have to join in on this one!

Anyways Immodium or any anti diarrhea meds are never recomended as your first go round. Not only do they kill the bad bacteria they also do a number on the good bacteria that you need to battle any future bad bacteria. I whole clove of garlic pounded mashed and fresh mixed in a cup of yoghurt taken at least twice a day will help tremendously. Lots and lots of water, make sure you are getting in plenty of salts and sugars to keep you minerals going. They do have a rehydration like pedialyte in the pharmacys here, and if for some reason you just cant get rid of it and its really really bad, then you can take this drug called Razid its nifuroxaside 200 mg and its just for slowing it down not a paralyzer like immodium. This might be the same marcos talking about just different drug name. The garlic however being a powerful antibiotic and quite a miracle will take care of the bad bacteria too while leaving hte good bacteria alone. The other thing that I believe in here is this tea called Baboonage here, it I beleive is chamomile tea. This calms any upset stomach in a heart beat and you can drink this stuff all day and night and is available anywhere you go just about. This can also be preventative. In all this , really, in the end, it is very clean here in the food department, use you typical precautions and enjoy.

Have a good trip
Aisha in Hama

In Aleppo I made a mistake one afternoon. Instead of eating at my regular place, I bought a cheap kebab from a hole-in-the-wall stall. The sauce tasted a little odd, and that night I as given good reason to believe that it was "off", because so was I - off on a week-long marathon illness. Fever, retching, cramps, diarrhoea, you name it, I had it. For several days I barely had the energy to get out of bed to go to the toilet.

Eventually I conceded that it wasn't going to go away on its own, and in Damascus I bought a course of antibiotics and other medicines designed to dry me up and stop the worst symptoms. The drugs worked a treat. From memory it was a cocktail including Enterofuryl and various drugs designed to dry me up.