How often do you get sick here compared to back home?

[Rarebear]

29 minutes ago, essox essox said:

Plenty of vitamin C is a means to stopping/helping many ailments here in Thailand....

With all the fresh fruit here I wonder that anyone would need extra vit C.  I have my own sourdough starter that I use for bread and pizza dough.  I think it does wonders for those of us who don't drink beer with live yeast in it.  Guinness from the brewery would be my first choice for live yeast but the doctor has limited my alcohol consumption.  I know the brew pubs like Hopf's in Pattaya has live yeast in the beer does any other Thai beer?

[Panda13]

I used to feel sick everyday back home but I left the bitch and moved to LOS. Haven't been sick since.

I used to smoke 10 packs of cigarettes a day, but since I lost one of my lungs, I've cut my smoking in half. ?

[Jeremia Juxtaposed]

1 hour ago, shaunoro said:

We call this a Thai pull through.

Ah yes the old days. Range stew...if only somebody sold it here........

 

But in Pattaya terms.A warmer into the bank...watch and shoot ... afterwards a pull through the barrel and the gas chamber..... 

[spidermike007]

11 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

It is either one of 2 things that I usually get:

 

1. Upset stomach presumably due to street food / water / ice cubed.

 

No.  My farang friends and I eat any street food going... even the raw buffalo lab, raw spicy prawns, fried insects, fermented pork, noodles, etc etc, also buy all meat from local markets, eat out at local Thai rural bars, where we also consume the ice cubes (often from a plastic bucket using our fingers), and get drinking water from the vending machines on the street.  NEVER had food poisoning or upset stomach in 10 years of doing this.   Only time I had to run to the loo was when I overdid it on adding the chillies and make it too spicy.  Not a problem now though.. hotter the better.

 

2. Headache/bad fever, I guess due to the hot weather and the rainy season.

 

No.  Due to you not being hydrated enough or staying out unprotected in the sun and heat.

 

Drink plenty of water (room temperature to slightly cool) If you drink lots of ice cold water when you are really hot you will get an upset stomach.  Wear sunglasses when outside for long periods and when you feel too hot take a break to cool down.  

Good post. The street food here is quite clean, and probably pretty harmless. At least compared to Mexico or India, where the street food can make you quite sick. In the case of India, the street food can talk you out, and I mean permanently. Not like that here. 

 

Watch the seafood and the carnation. All of the food poisoning I have had here was either bad shrimp or crab, or spoiled carnation. Alot of times they open a can, and it sits in the heat all day. If it spoils, it can lead to a very nasty bout of food poisoning. I always tell them to leave it out of my food, and if drinking tea, I tend to avoid it altogether. 

[Rarebear]

4 minutes ago, Panda13 said:

I used to feel sick everyday back home but I left the bitch and moved to LOS. Haven't been sick since.

I used to smoke 10 packs of cigarettes a day, but since I lost one of my lungs, I've cut my smoking in half. ?

A serious young Thai doctor stopped me smoking.  In the emergency room in Thailand with a heart event I told him I smoked and if I died I'd die no big deal.  He said, "you might not die.  You might be turn into a vegetable in a Thai hospital.  Do you want that?"

[Rarebear]

21 minutes ago, transam said:

A/C gets a fungus build up, it is there, that's why you get yours cleaned...

What I meant was isn't the filtered air from a clean AC and free standing filter better than air from outside with the dust and pollen?

 

Edited June 11, 2018 by Rarebear

[impulse]

25 minutes ago, Rarebear said:

Cost 2000 baht to get allergy's tested pin prick in arm and then they make you a vaccine.  12 to 24 months the allergy is gone.  

 

Been there, done that.    Not recently, so it may be different now. 

 

But spending $150 and 2 hours a week for 100+ weeks (USA Doctor visits) for a little bit of relief just didn't seem to be worth it.  If I had the time, and stayed in one place long enough, maybe.  (Or if they've improved the effectiveness- I barely noticed a difference after 18 months- but that was in the '90s.)

 

 

[transam]

1 minute ago, Rarebear said:

What I meant was isn't the filtered air from a clean AC and free standing filter better than air from outside with the dust and pollen?

For sure but your space is taking in outside air 24/7, plus stuff coming off your body and creating fungal stuff in the A/C mixed with moisture, hence your 6 months A/C cleaning..

[Jeremia Juxtaposed]

1 minute ago, Rarebear said:

 He said, "you might not die.  You might be turn into a vegetable in a Thai hospital.  Do you want that?"

But being a vegetable  you wouldn't know where you were would you?

 

Self moderation regarding a hotel in Singapore, an orange pumpkin and a over ripe water melon prevents me from commenting further..

[Panda13]

10 minutes ago, Rarebear said:

A serious young Thai doctor stopped me smoking.  In the emergency room in Thailand with a heart event I told him I smoked and if I died I'd die no big deal.  He said, "you might not die.  You might be turn into a vegetable in a Thai hospital.  Do you want that?"

Its amazing hey. I turned into a carpark in a hospital once.

[impulse]

1 hour ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

An old Thai gentleman occasionally is swimming in this soup when I pass by, and I have once seem him with his pants around his ankles, anus overhanging, taking a dump in the self-same water. He appears to be at least a hundred years old, which could be in part due to his eccentric lifestyle, but I am not tempted to imitate it for the sake of experimentation.

 

Or, the guy may be 25 and looks like he's over 100 because from in a toilet.

 

On an aside, now that I'm over 60, I can't believe some of the photos I see of guys (and gals) in their 40's and 50's that (I hope) look 20 years older than me.  Not that I harbor any illusions that I'm a hansum man.  But damn, some of them look like their skin is falling off, then I read that they're 45...

Edited June 11, 2018 by impulse

[Rarebear]

3 minutes ago, Jeremia Juxtaposed said:

But being a vegetable  you wouldn't know where you were would you?

 

Self moderation regarding a hotel in Singapore, an orange pumpkin and a over ripe water melon prevents me from commenting further..

Kudos for trying to turn even this obscure topic into an anti USA thread. 

[tropo]

34 minutes ago, robblok said:

 About exposing yourself to more pathogen, maybe it works maybe it does not no idea, but I don't like the idea of getting sick on purpose. Still i do think you can get accustomed to certain stuff.  

 

I'm sure the body will get accustomed to some pathogens, but there's always different ones that can whack you good. There are many things you can get from street food - the full gambit from mild diarrhea to full-fledged food poisoning that will require hospitalization.

 

My family over in the PI are a prime example. They eat dirty food probably most of the time, but they often get diarrhea and more serious poisoning. I've paid quite a few medical bills over the years. There's also low-grade infections and parasites to consider. Most people live with them without even being aware of them. 

 

 

 

[Rarebear]

8 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Been there, done that.    Not recently, so it may be different now. 

 

But spending $150 and 2 hours a week for 100+ weeks (USA Doctor visits) for a little bit of relief just didn't seem to be worth it.  If I had the time, and stayed in one place long enough, maybe.  (Or if they've improved the effectiveness- I barely noticed a difference after 18 months- but that was in the '90s.)

My wife is allergic to my dog and since getting rid of the dog is out of the question we are trying the vaccine.  So I will know in a year or so if it is effective.  The allergies are a wide range of symptoms from simple runny nose to flue like symptoms. 

[impulse]

1 minute ago, tropo said:

I'm sure the body will get accustomed to some pathogens, but there's always different ones that can whack you good. There are many things you can get from street food - the full gambit from mild diarrhea to full-fledged food poisoning that will require hospitalization.

 

And don't forget liver cancer from uncooked freshwater fish, crabs, etc.  Just because you didn't get the green apple 2 step, doesn't mean you're safe.

 

Not Thailand related, but we had a big group of our employees who came back from Russia with liver flukes from eating the local fish.  It wasn't all of them, but enough that we sent them all in for testing.

 

 

[Rarebear]

2 minutes ago, tropo said:

I'm sure the body will get accustomed to some pathogens, but there's always different ones that can whack you good. There are many things you can get from street food - the full gambit from mild diarrhea to full-fledged food poisoning that will require hospitalization.

 

My family over in the PI are a prime example. They eat dirty food probably most of the time, but they often get diarrhea and more serious poisoning. I've paid quite a few medical bills over the years. There's also low-grade infections and parasites to consider. Most people live with them without even being aware of them.

Most people I know here take that anti parasite pill once a year whether needed or not because they eat freshwater raw shrimp and crabs.  The only raw thing I eat is Japanese sushi in good restaurants.  I eat rare pork and beef but freeze it before I cook it. 

[Stevemercer]

Living in a tropical climate will shorten your life span. Countries with high life spans are inevitably temperate or cooler climates.

 

There is just a great prevalence of bugs, germs and other nasties that may potentially get you from time to time. Things go off much quicker in the heat and one has to be more careful about hygiene. Living in a third world country doesn't help.

 

These things add up over time and take their toll.

[Sheryl]

Having lived here more than 20 years, I very rarely get sick.

 

But one yearly visits back to the US I often get a respiratory infections.

 

Of course, when I first moved here it was the opposite, frequent respiratory infections.

 

it is just a matter of having immunity to local bugs. Takes some time (and infections) to build up.

[impulse]

10 minutes ago, Rarebear said:

My wife is allergic to my dog and since getting rid of the dog is out of the question we are trying the vaccine.  So I will know in a year or so if it is effective.  The allergies are a wide range of symptoms from simple runny nose to flue like symptoms. 

 

Good luck with that.  The treatment did work on the allergens they identified, so I'd do it in a heartbeat if they told me I'm allergic to my dogs.    But I keep them in China, so they can't be causing my problems in BKK.

 

Edited June 11, 2018 by impulse

[robblok]

4 minutes ago, tropo said:

I'm sure the body will get accustomed to some pathogens, but there's always different ones that can whack you good. There are many things you can get from street food - the full gambit from mild diarrhea to full-fledged food poisoning that will require hospitalization.

 

My family over in the PI are a prime example. They eat dirty food probably most of the time, but they often get diarrhea and more serious poisoning. I've paid quite a few medical bills over the years. There's also low-grade infections and parasites to consider. Most people live with them without even being aware of them. 

 

 

 

 I actually take some de worm and anti parasite tablets once a year just as a precaution. I don't know why people think street food is so great. I like Thai food at times, but either home cooked or from a lil bit more expensive restaurant where they put more meat in the food. Street food, i eat it when there are no other alternatives (out fishing or something). But I can't say street food is super good compared to other food. I guess it does matter what you mean by street food, just a cart or also (some) restaurants.

[transam]

4 minutes ago, Rarebear said:

My wife is allergic to my dog and since getting rid of the dog is out of the question we are trying the vaccine.  So I will know in a year or so if it is effective.  The allergies are a wide range of symptoms from simple runny nose to flue like symptoms. 

One of the best things I tried that worked was having a salad bowl next to our bed filled with salt and covered with water...You end up breathing salt air....Made a big difference to us both...

[tropo]

1 minute ago, Rarebear said:

Most people I know here take that anti parasite pill once a year whether needed or not because they eat freshwater raw shrimp and crabs.  The only raw thing I eat is Japanese sushi in good restaurants.  I eat rare pork and beef but freeze it before I cook it. 

Even so, they'll still be living with parasites for the 365 days between medications, and those tablets don't catch everything. Tapeworms can grow to 20 feet long in that time.

[AlexRRR]

 Only time i got sick was twice from food poisoning 1 year and many 2 month stays over the last 10 ys there, other wise nothing, back home the flu once a year plus my nose allergy runs often and other assorted belly bugs

[tropo]

3 minutes ago, robblok said:

 I actually take some de worm and anti parasite tablets once a year just as a precaution. I don't know why people think street food is so great. I like Thai food at times, but either home cooked or from a lil bit more expensive restaurant where they put more meat in the food. Street food, i eat it when there are no other alternatives (out fishing or something). But I can't say street food is super good compared to other food. I guess it does matter what you mean by street food, just a cart or also (some) restaurants.

I'll go hungry rather than buy street food. A protein drink plus some bananas are everywhere.  It's about the risk. I'm sure I'll handle it OK until I don't.

[seajae]

the biggest problem I have is an allergy to msg(not allowed in Australia without warning customers) which thai cooks love to heap into whatever they are cooking, gives you same conditions as food poisoning(and a very dry throat) so many people as I did originally think it is the food or water. Once I found out it was msg I always tell them no msg when ordering, have been fine since unless I get something that is simply off(hard to tell at times), always never go to a street seller that does not have customers, same with restaurants as thais will not eat at bad food places either. Apart from this I get allergy/hayfever at different times and only time I ever get the flu/cold is when we have severe weather changes(happens rarely), I used to get them all the time in Australia so I am much better off here. Water should be filtered as a precaution, thats why hotels give you bottled water.

[robblok]

Just now, tropo said:

I'll go hungry rather than buy street food. A protein drink plus some bananas are everywhere.  It's about the risk. I'm sure I'll handle it OK until I don't.

I don't see the risk as that high for occasional  use, but that is personal. I ate it for years before i changed my diet and never had problems. Not sure what would happen (besides my weight) if I changed back. I might get sick at first. 

 

I normally don't get sick that often got more sick back in the Netherlands. 

[BobbyL]

Completely different. When I was teaching in a Primary School in England I would get 3 or 4 colds a year. Other staff and kids were constantly sick during winter. 

 

We moved back here last August and apart from one bad stomach I have been completely fine in nearly a year. 

[impulse]

9 minutes ago, robblok said:

I don't see the risk as that high for occasional  use, but that is personal. I ate it for years before i changed my diet and never had problems. Not sure what would happen (besides my weight) if I changed back. I might get sick at first. 

 

I normally don't get sick that often got more sick back in the Netherlands. 

 

What I find is that I'm much more likely to get sick in the week after a long flight.  Which makes sense.  Whether it's because of all those germs in the sealed aluminum tube, lost sleep, or the super dry air and dehydration, I do not know.

 

Edited June 11, 2018 by impulse

[Rarebear]

25 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

Living in a tropical climate will shorten your life span. Countries with high life spans are inevitably temperate or cooler climates.

 

There is just a great prevalence of bugs, germs and other nasties that may potentially get you from time to time. Things go off much quicker in the heat and one has to be more careful about hygiene. Living in a third world country doesn't help.

 

These things add up over time and take their toll.

That old bigotry dies hard doesn't it?  Among the top 20 nations for longevity are Bermuda, Anguilla and Singapore.

[PerkinsCuthbert]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

We hear this a lot. I doubt people who take care where they eat and what they drink in Thailand are over-sanitized. There's plenty of pathogens around town without having to expose oneself to more in the hope it will make one stronger. Locals who always eat dirty food get sick plenty too. Overmedication is probably more the culprit than eating clean food. Antibiotics will weaken the immune system as they interfere with gut health.

It's just the usual catalogue here, every time this topic raises its head - of nostrums and false beliefs that people like to project as universal truths, until they either become sick despite them - or die.