Online doctor, India
Delhi Belly What it is, and what to do now.
Delhi belly is a nickname for travellers' diarrhoea — loose stools several times a day, usually with cramps, sometimes nausea or a mild temperature, starting a few days into a trip. Most cases settle in a few days with rest and fluids, and NaTHNaC is clear that rehydration is the main treatment. What it is not is a fourteen-day illness, and it is not something to treat with an antibiotic you read about on a blog. If you are not sure whether yours is still one to manage yourself, a doctor licensed to treat you in India can tell you by video, for a fixed €40.
The useful number is three days. NaTHNaC says to seek medical care if diarrhoea has not improved in that time — which is a lot sooner than most of what you will read about Delhi belly suggests.
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Doctors licensed to treat you in India, consulting in English.
What Delhi Belly Actually Is
It is travellers' diarrhoea, which is the commonest illness travellers get anywhere in the world, and the nickname is about the destination rather than about anything different happening in your gut. NHS guidance describes diarrhoea and vomiting as usually stopping within a few days and usually treatable at home. NaTHNaC says rehydration is the main treatment.
The symptoms people mean by it: loose or watery stools several times a day, stomach cramps, an urgent need to go, often nausea, sometimes a mild temperature, and feeling wrung out. TravelHealthPro says it typically occurs during the first week after arrival, which is why so many people blame the last thing they ate rather than the last few days.
Where it gets decided is not the diagnosis, which is usually obvious, but the question of whether yours is behaving normally. That is what a short conversation with a doctor is for: how much you are keeping down, how long it has run, what else is happening, and whether you should still be treating this yourself.
- Consult securely by video
- Avoid unnecessary travel and waiting rooms
- Get clear guidance about your symptoms and treatment
- Find out whether in-person care may be needed
Do You Need a Doctor for Delhi Belly?
Usually not, and saying so is more useful than selling you a consultation. Here is where a conversation genuinely helps, and where it does not.
A video consultation is a useful first step when
- it has run past three days without improving, which is NaTHNaC's own threshold
- you are keeping some fluids down but cannot judge whether it is enough
- you have a temperature as well, and want the mosquito-borne possibilities considered properly
- you are being offered an antibiotic at a pharmacy counter and do not know whether you need one
- you have a train, a flight or an internal transfer tomorrow and need to decide about it tonight
For an ordinary case the honest output is a plan and a set of thresholds, not a prescription. NaTHNaC treats rehydration as the main treatment and most people recover on exactly that. What a doctor adds is a judgement on whether you are one of the people for whom that is not enough — and a clear answer instead of six travel blogs disagreeing.
Go to a clinic, or call 112, instead when
- there is blood or mucus in the stool, or a fever of 38°C or more
- you cannot keep any fluids down at all, or there are signs of dehydration
- there is severe abdominal pain, jaundice, a rash, or confusion or drowsiness
- diarrhoea has lasted more than seven days, or vomiting more than two days
- the person affected is a baby, a young child, an older traveller, or someone with a long-term condition
Pomodoc connects you with a doctor by video, licensed to treat you in India, for €40 per consultation. Fixed price, no surprises.
India is a comparatively easy country in which to be examined if you need to be — private outpatient departments in the cities take walk-ins. Knowing whether you need one is the part worth paying €40 to settle.
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How It Works
Medical advice by video in three simple steps
Start online
Tell us where you are in India, when it started and what you are keeping down. It is a short form, not an appointment request.
Join by video
See your doctor using your phone, tablet or computer.
Get clear guidance
Discuss your symptoms and receive advice about your next steps.
Why Use Pomodoc?
You do not have to leave the bathroom
This is the illness where getting anywhere is the hardest part of it. A consultation happens where you already are.
One clear answer instead of six blogs
The advice you will find for this ranges from paracetamol to named antibiotics to a fourteen-day wait. A doctor who has heard your actual symptoms is a different kind of answer.
Decide about tomorrow's train
An overnight train, a domestic flight or a six-hour road transfer is a genuine medical question when you cannot hold water down. It is a reasonable thing to ask someone.
Understand what to do next
A doctor can help you decide whether you need treatment, rehydration support or an in-person appointment.
Travellers who needed a doctor abroad
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More About Delhi Belly
How long it should actually last
This is the single most misreported fact about Delhi belly, and it is worth being precise. NHS guidance says diarrhoea and vomiting usually stop within a few days and can usually be treated at home. NaTHNaC's threshold for acting is three days: seek medical care if diarrhoea has not improved in that time. The NHS adds outer limits of seven days of diarrhoea or two days of vomiting, either of which it treats as a reason to get help from 111 now.
You will find pages about Delhi belly stating that it resolves in about fourteen days on average. That is not what the clinical guidance says, and believing it has a specific cost: it walks a reader straight past the three-day point at which they were supposed to ask someone. If you are on day four and no better, you are not being impatient.
The other direction matters too. A single bad night that is settling by the next afternoon is not a reason to do anything except drink.
What actually helps, and who decides the rest
Fluids, and more of them than feels necessary. NHS advice is plenty of fluids, taken in small sips if you feel sick, and to avoid fruit juice and fizzy drinks because they can make diarrhoea worse. Oral rehydration salts from a pharmacy replace the salts a heavy episode takes out of you, mixed with bottled or otherwise safe water. NaTHNaC's position is unambiguous: rehydration is the main treatment.
Eat when you can face it rather than forcing it, and rest. Most people need nothing else, and that is not a disappointing answer — it is the answer.
Beyond that, this page names no medicine, and that is deliberate. The pages currently ranking for Delhi belly name specific antibiotics and antimotility drugs, freely and without qualification. Whether any treatment beyond fluids is appropriate depends on your symptoms, your history and how long this has run, and it is a clinical judgement rather than a shopping list. It is also, usefully, exactly the sort of judgement a fifteen-minute conversation is good at.
About those antibiotics you have read about
It is worth knowing two things before you take advice from a travel blog on this. First, NaTHNaC notes that resistance to the antibiotics once used routinely for travellers' diarrhoea has become an increasing problem, and that safety concerns have been raised about them. An antibiotic chosen from a blog may simply not work against what you have.
Second, and specific to India: FCDO states that most medicines that require a prescription in the UK will require one in India. So a page telling you to pick up a named antibiotic at an Indian pharmacy is describing something that is prescription-only there as well as here.
A Pomodoc doctor may issue a prescription where it is clinically appropriate and local rules permit. It is not guaranteed for any consultation, some medicines cannot be prescribed by video at all, and medication you buy is not included in the €40. What is much more likely, and much more often the right outcome, is being told that fluids and another day are the whole treatment.
A fever changes the question, and in India it changes it twice
A temperature alongside a stomach upset is a reason to seek care rather than wait: NaTHNaC treats a fever of 38°C or more as a threshold for immediate medical care. That part is the same everywhere.
What is different in India is that a fever is genuinely two questions rather than one. NaTHNaC states there is a risk of dengue in India and advises avoiding mosquito bites particularly during daytime hours, reporting 22,938 dengue cases in India during 2026 as of 13 July 2026 and 108,379 suspected chikungunya cases with 4,995 confirmed as of December 2025. On malaria the picture is regional: a risk in Mizoram, Odisha and Tripura where antimalarial medication is recommended, and a low risk across the rest of the country. FCDO also lists Zika among India's health risks.
Most fevers are not any of that, and this is not a reason to panic about a temperature. It is a reason to say where in India you have been and whether you have been bitten, at the start of a consultation rather than as an afterthought, because it changes what a doctor considers and it is the kind of detail a rushed clinic visit can miss.
Is it safe to get on tomorrow's train?
This is the question people actually want answered and almost nothing written about Delhi belly addresses it. India is a country of long transfers — overnight trains, internal flights, six-hour road legs to the next fort — and a booked itinerary makes waiting feel expensive.
There is no general rule, because the answer depends on how much fluid you are keeping down and how far the next medical help is. What can be said is what makes it a bad idea: not keeping fluids down at all, feeling faint on standing, or any of the urgent signs above. Those are reasons to stay put and be seen, not reasons to push through with a packet of something.
It is also the clearest case for asking a doctor rather than a forum, because the answer is specific to you and to your route. FCDO notes that specialised treatment may not be available outside the major cities, which is precisely the calculation a doctor can help you make: leaving a city while unwell is a different decision from arriving in one.
One current reason not to wait on that one sign
Blood or mucus in the stool is on every red-flag list on this page, and it is also the sign people most often talk themselves out of. There is a current, specific reason not to.
NaTHNaC reports that, as of 29 June 2026, 273 confirmed cases of shigellosis, including 7 deaths, had been reported in India since the start of 2026, with the outbreak concentrated in northern Kerala. Shigella is a bacterial cause of diarrhoea that can be bloody, and it is not a wait-and-see illness.
That does not make it likely that your upset stomach is shigellosis, and it should not be read that way — the overwhelming majority of Delhi belly is not. What it does is remove the last excuse for treating blood in the stool as something to sleep on. If that is what you are seeing, be seen today, wherever in India you are.
Not getting it again, briefly
Most of what is written about Delhi belly is prevention, and if you are reading this you are past that — so this is short, and it is here for the rest of the trip rather than for the next hour.
NaTHNaC's advice for India is that all travellers should take care with personal, food and water hygiene. Its food and water guidance puts recently prepared, thoroughly cooked food served piping hot in the safer column, along with fruit you peel yourself, and advises avoiding salads and uncooked vegetables, food left uncovered in warm environments, unpasteurised dairy, and raw or undercooked meat, fish or shellfish. Where sanitation is poor it says not to drink tap water or use it to brush your teeth unless treated, and to avoid ice.
The one people forget is the ice, because it does not feel like eating. NaTHNaC also recommends hepatitis A vaccination for all previously unvaccinated travellers to India and typhoid vaccination for most — both infections that travel by the same route, which is worth mentioning to a doctor if you are not sure what you had before you came.
Good things to know.
What is Delhi belly?
It is a nickname for travellers' diarrhoea in India — loose or watery stools several times a day, usually with stomach cramps and an urgent need to go, often with nausea and sometimes a mild temperature. It is the commonest illness travellers get anywhere, and the name refers to the destination rather than to anything unusual about the illness itself. NHS guidance says diarrhoea and vomiting usually stop within a few days and can usually be treated at home.
What are the symptoms of Delhi belly?
Loose or watery stools several times a day, stomach cramps, an urgent need to go, often nausea, sometimes vomiting, sometimes a mild temperature, and feeling generally wrung out. It typically begins a few days into a trip rather than on the first day. The symptoms that take it out of the ordinary — and mean seeking care rather than waiting — are a fever of 38°C or more, blood or mucus in the stool, severe abdominal pain, jaundice, a rash, or confusion.
How long does Delhi belly last?
Usually a few days. NHS guidance says diarrhoea and vomiting usually stop within a few days, and NaTHNaC's threshold for seeking medical care is three days without improvement, with the NHS giving seven days of diarrhoea or two days of vomiting as outer limits. Pages claiming it takes about fourteen days on average are not reflecting clinical guidance, and the number matters: believing it walks you past the point at which you should have asked someone.
What should I do about Delhi belly?
Fluids, and more than feels necessary. NHS advice is plenty of fluids in small sips if you feel sick, avoiding fruit juice and fizzy drinks because they can make diarrhoea worse. Oral rehydration salts from a pharmacy replace what a heavy episode takes out of you, mixed with bottled or otherwise safe water. Rest, and eat when you can face it. NaTHNaC's position is that rehydration is the main treatment, and for most people that is the whole of it.
Should I take antibiotics for Delhi belly?
Not as a first step, and not on a travel blog's recommendation. NaTHNaC notes that resistance to the antibiotics once used routinely for travellers' diarrhoea has become an increasing problem, with safety concerns raised as well, so one chosen without a doctor may not work. FCDO also states that most medicines requiring a prescription in the UK require one in India. Whether any treatment beyond fluids is appropriate is a clinical judgement on your symptoms — which is a question a short consultation answers and a blog cannot.
Is it safe to travel with Delhi belly?
It depends on how much fluid you are keeping down and how far the next medical help is, so there is no general rule — but there are clear reasons not to. Not keeping fluids down at all, feeling faint on standing, or any of the urgent signs above mean staying put and being seen rather than boarding. FCDO notes specialised treatment may not be available outside the major cities, so leaving a city while unwell is a different decision from arriving in one. It is one of the better reasons to speak to a doctor the night before rather than deciding on the platform.
When does Delhi belly need a doctor?
NaTHNaC says to seek immediate medical care for a fever of 38°C or more, blood or mucus in the stools, severe abdominal pain, jaundice or a rash, and to seek care if diarrhoea has not improved within three days. NHS adds being unable to keep fluids down, signs of dehydration, diarrhoea beyond seven days or vomiting beyond two days, and treats babies under twelve months as needing advice sooner. A video consultation suits the judgement calls; the emergency signs need 112 and an ambulance.
Could my fever be dengue or malaria rather than Delhi belly?
It is worth a doctor considering, which is different from it being likely. NaTHNaC states there is a risk of dengue in India, reporting 22,938 cases in 2026 as of 13 July, along with chikungunya, and identifies a malaria risk in Mizoram, Odisha and Tripura with a low risk elsewhere; FCDO also names Zika. Most fevers are none of those. The practical thing is to say where in India you have been and whether you have been bitten at the start of a consultation, because it changes what a doctor considers.
How much does a Pomodoc video consultation cost?
€40 is the fixed price of the video consultation with a doctor. It includes the consultation and, where clinically appropriate and local rules permit, a prescription. Medication you buy at a pharmacy, and any in-person care you go on to need, are separate. There is no subscription and no booking fee.
When is a video consultation not the right call?
Not when NaTHNaC's immediate-care signs are present — a fever of 38°C or more, blood or mucus in the stools, severe abdominal pain, jaundice or a rash — and not when you cannot keep any fluids down or show signs of dehydration. Not for a baby under twelve months. In India, FCDO's number for an ambulance is 112. It is also not the right tool when a doctor needs to examine you or run a test, and India is a country where being examined is comparatively straightforward — so if that is what your symptoms need, being told so early is the useful outcome of the call.
Sources
- Diarrhoea and vomitingNHSThat diarrhoea and vomiting usually stop within a few days and can usually be treated at home; that the most important thing is plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, taken in small sips if you feel sick, and that fruit juice and fizzy drinks should be avoided because they can make diarrhoea worse; the signs of dehydration; the reasons to get advice including being unable to keep fluids down, blood in the stool, diarrhoea for more than seven days or vomiting for more than two days, and babies under twelve months; and the emergency symptoms including vomiting blood, vomit that looks green or yellow-green, severe stomach pain, a sudden severe headache, a stiff neck with pain on looking at bright lights, skin, lips or tongue that look blue, grey, pale or blotchy, severe difficulty breathing, being confused or not responding as usual, and possibly having swallowed something poisonous.
- Travellers' diarrhoeaTravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC)That rehydration is the main treatment; the immediate-care thresholds of a fever of 38°C or more, blood and/or mucus in the stool, altered mental status, severe abdominal pain, jaundice or rash; that vulnerable groups must seek early advice if not tolerating fluids or showing signs of dehydration; that travellers' diarrhoea typically occurs during the first week of arrival; and the increasing problem of resistance to the antibiotics once used routinely for travellers' diarrhoea, together with the safety concerns raised about them.
- Food and water hygieneNaTHNaC (TravelHealthPro)The safer food options of recently prepared, thoroughly cooked food served piping hot and fruit the traveller can peel; the foods to avoid including salads, uncooked fruit and vegetables, food left uncovered in warm environments, unpasteurised dairy and raw or undercooked meat, fish or shellfish; that where sanitation is poor tap water should not be drunk or used to brush teeth unless treated and ice should be avoided; and that medical care should be sought if diarrhoea does not improve within three days.
- India: country informationNaTHNaC (TravelHealthPro)That all travellers to India should take care with personal, food and water hygiene; that hepatitis A vaccination is recommended for all previously unvaccinated travellers and typhoid vaccination for most; that there is a risk of dengue with advice to avoid mosquito bites particularly during daytime hours, and a total of 22,938 dengue cases reported in India during 2026 as of 13 July 2026; that 108,379 suspected chikungunya cases with 4,995 confirmed were reported as of December 2025; that there is a risk of malaria in the states of Mizoram, Odisha and Tripura where antimalarial medication is recommended, with a low risk across the rest of India; and the report that, as of 29 June 2026, 273 confirmed shigellosis cases including 7 deaths had been reported since the start of 2026, concentrated in northern Kerala.
- India travel advice: HealthForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office112 for an ambulance; that most medicines that require a prescription in the UK will require one in India; that specialised treatment may not be available outside the major cities; that Zika is among India's health risks alongside dengue, malaria and chikungunya; and the advice to hold appropriate travel insurance for local treatment or unexpected medical evacuation.
Sources last checked: . General information, not a diagnosis.
Not Sure Whether Yours Is Still Normal?
Speak to a doctor by video, talk through how long it has run and what you are keeping down, and get a clear answer on what to do next.
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Video consultations are for suitable non-emergency medical concerns. In a life-threatening emergency in India, call 112 and ask for an ambulance, or go to the nearest emergency department. This page is general information, not medical advice about your own situation.