Cipro: your savior in a bottle

I must admit, I'm a slacker.  It's been far too long since I've put a post up here.  If you actually care about my silly travel ramblings, then my apologies.

I should also probably apologize for what I'm writing about today - the drug that every traveler should have in their bag.  It will stop your body from doing a myriad of nasty, uncomfortable, and painful things should you encounter food or a bug that disagrees with your system.

So let's all go ahead and become best friends with Ciprofloxacin.  It's generally just called Cipro because most formal drug names are far too lengthy, and no one cares to pronounce a name that long. Cipro is an antibiotic, and it performs miracles when you're far away from home and feel like your body is turning itself inside out.  It's your teddy bear and your Jesus all wrapped up in one tiny little pill. Puking?  Take Cipro.  Diarrhea?  Take Cipro.  Exposed to anthrax?  Take Cipro.  I swear, I didn't make that last one up.

Also, Cipro apparently increases the effect of caffeine in your body.  So if your coffee budget is running low, I guess you could just pop a pill with your morning cup and cut the need for a refill (Note:  I am not a doctor and am in no place to give sound advice of any sort, especially of the medical variety).

I've only had to resort to taking Cipro once, despite the fact that my little prescription bottle has been to many countries with me.  I'm sure you'll all be shocked to know that it was India, Land of No Landfills or Bathrooms or Toilet Paper or Potable Water.  I wasn't on my deathbed, but my immune system was no match for whatever I had ingested.  Besides, I was about to head to Thailand, and I had no intention of taking a tour of Bangkok's finest bathrooms. By the time I left Delhi, I was a new person.

This woman might actually be pooping.

I also gave a few Cipro pills to a good friend in South Africa after he got sick and then decided to say "Up yours, stomach!" and went on a 5-mile hike up a mountain without any water.  His stomach was not amused.  Cipro to the rescue.

So be sure to ask your doctor for this little miracle drug next time you head off into the wild blue yonder, because the wild blue yonder will wreck your insides.  If you end up not needing it, congratulations:  You = 1, wild blue yonder = 0.  But if it turns out the other way and you need to pull out the big guns, those little yellow pills are your big guns.