Jewels of the Nile - February 2025
Just returned from Jewels of the Nile. It's a fabulous trip! Some comments for those who are considering or who are going.
Most importantly, arrange a private guided tour of the new Grand Egyptian Museum with viator, etc. It was my favorite part of the trip. I spent three hours with a private guide and couldn't wait to go back again with Tauck. We had the Tauck guide for about 45 minutes to an hour, then 45 minutes free time.
If it is cold when you are going, heads up that Mena House doesn't seem to have heat in the public areas, including restaurants.
If you've been reading about the very early bags out and departure to Cairo airport for the flight down to Luxor, we had a charter flight out of the brand new Sphinx airport at a normal time.
The majority of people on the trip had dinner in the clothes worn for the excursion.
The service on the river boat was the best I have ever experienced.
There is a lot of walking on very uneven surfaces. This is not a trip for those with mobility issues.
Vendors happily take dollars. I had no need for any Egyptian pounds.
If you are prone to food poisoning (as I am), here is what worked for me - after extensive research. Buy a little thing of hand sanitizer and use it before every meal. Start taking Culturelle two weeks before the trip and continue during. Take one Travalan (available on Amazon) with every meal.
Comments
Culturelle. *THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
Travalan.
Don’t waste your money on a product that has not been regulated or tested
Culturelle - is Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and is not a drug so does not fall under the purview of the FDA. No supplements or vitamins are approved by the FDA.
Authoritative medical societies, listed below, have endorsed the use of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG to manage acute gastroenteritis.25 They also recognize other benefits such as preventing nosocomial diarrhea,26 treating gastrointestinal conditions,8, 9 and relieving pain related to gastrointestinal disorders in children.27
• American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)
• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN)
• European Paediatric Association/ Union of the National European Paediatric Societies and Associations (EPA/UNEPSA)
• Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA)
• World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO)
The Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG strain is the differentiator in the multiple benefits for the patient’s immune system. Because of the strong science, pharmacists offer Culturelle® products in their formulary in over 1,000 healthcare facilities across the United States.
Travelan is also not a drug.
MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immuron Limited (ASX: IMC; NASDAQ: IMRN), an Australian based and globally integrated biopharmaceutical company is pleased to announce the funding of a new research agreement for the Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC), and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Silver Spring, MD, USA.
The focus of this new research agreement is to develop an enhanced formulation of Travelan potentially expanding the coverage of the product as a therapeutic measure against endemic military relevant diarrheal pathogens. This work will utilize the extensive experience of the US Department of Defense human infectious disease vaccine programs and will target key protective antigens of the major enteric bacterial pathogens Campylobacter, Shigella and Entertoxigenic E. coli strains not present in the current product formulation.
The U.S Department of Defense has recognized the benefits of Immuron’s technology platform and has an established long-standing relationship with Immuron to evaluate the commercial over-the-counter bovine colostrum product Travelan for its specificity and effectiveness against diarrheal pathogens. As an extension of the current Shigella (WRAIR), ETEC and Campylobacter (NMRC) research programs the goal of this award is to identify and define pathways to formulate, characterize and perform pre-clinical testing of a military-relevant combined colostrum product.
Infectious diarrhea is the most common illness reported by travelers visiting developing countries and among US troops deployed overseas as indicated by the 2019 Department of Defense (DoD) Infectious Disease Threats Prioritization Panel. The morbidity and associated discomfort stemming from diarrhea decreases daily performance, affects judgment, decreases morale and declines operational readiness. The first line of treatment for infectious diarrhea is the prescription of antibiotics. Unfortunately, in the last decade, several enteric pathogens have demonstrated increasing resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics. In addition, traveler’s diarrhea is now recognized by the medical community to result in post-infectious sequelae, including post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and several post-infectious autoimmune diseases. A preventative treatment that defends against infectious enteric diseases is a high priority objective for the US Military.
I copied my above statements from the products themselves. I never said they were drugs.
I was just explaining that they have been tested and why they were not approved by the FDA. 🙂
Sounds like something RFK JR would recommend!