Holiday from hell: How eating Pad Thai from food court in Thailand left Aussie couple with debilitating illness

[brianj1964]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Like I said, I only eat at places I have eaten before, whether it's in my travels to Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Krabi etc etc, and unless the wife gives the nod to eat at a new place, you can forget it.

 

I won't eat food prepared by Thai's if I can avoid it, i.e. unless they have been trained overseas whether they have worked in Italy or Germany and the like.

 

Thai workers here do not give a rats about hygiene, an example: we selected a place to eat at a shopping plaza, and I said to the Mrs grab a seat, I am going to the toilet, when I finished my leak, I washed my hands as I usually do, then this guy comes out of the cubical and walks off, doesn't wash his hands, as I sat in the restaurant I said to my wife, lets go, we are not ordering here and stood up to leave, she said why as this lady came to take our order, I said that guy who is in the kitchen just came out of the same toilet as me and didn't wash his hands after a crap, the lady heard my comment, whether she understood English or not is another matter, but my wife told her we changed our mind as my husband saw one of the guys in the kitchen in the toilet who left after doing a number 2 and didn't wash his hands and we left. Now I will ask you this, do you think she would give a rats, probably thought to herself, another fussy farang.

 

Coming from a 1st world country with regulations, inspections and heavy fines for those that breach those health regulations if caught, they can also be shut down, there is nothing like that here in Thailand and I have travelled all over the world, never been sick from food in my life, as for here, well, been on the drip a few too many times, so I have learned to be VERY selective, and would be "one of those individuals who seem to have any experience in doing so".  

 

For the record, not a Thai basher, just stating my experiences here.

So how would you know if the Thai chefs that cook for you have been trained in Europe?

slate Thai chefs and Thai restaurants that you haven't eaten in and then say you are not Thai bashing, hilarious, 

[kcpattaya]

Living in Thailand since 22 years.

Eating Thai food almost every day.

Often 'street food'.

Never ever been sick.

We never know what the couple have been eating; where or when.

I can't judge. Nor should they.

Easy to point fingers... but on a fast selling food-court it seems 'a little bit' unlikely that the source was there...?

 

[Mitkof Island]

6 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

I spent nearly 20 years living in Thailand and never ate Pad Thai. In fact I would go for several years of not eating any kind of Thai food at all.

I feel sorry for you. Why not?

[Andrew65]

3 minutes ago, Mitkof Island said:

I feel sorry for you. Why not?

Just never got "into" Thai food. Plus, I always had a suspicion that it would be red hot/too hot.

 

This was reinforced some years ago when I ordered some spicy noodles, way too hot for me, gave the plate to a friend, wasted money also.

I'm not a fussy eater, but I'm not the most adventurous either.

[Mitkof Island]

4 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

Just never got "into" Thai food. Plus, I always had a suspicion that it would be red hot/too hot.

 

This was reinforced some years ago when I ordered some spicy noodles, way too hot for me, gave the plate to a friend, wasted money also.

I'm not a fussy eater, but I'm not the most adventurous either.

About 90 % of Thai food is NOT spicy. Listen to most Thais when they are ordering some types of Thai food and the majority of times they order not spicy or a little. The list of Thai food that is NOT spicy is to long to post here. One example Khao Moo Dang.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Mitkof Island

[DUNROAMIN]

Food poisoning here twice in 4 years, and thai wife crook once, all by small street vendors. We both now only eat at restaurant's that are well patronized by locals and have clean surrounds and kitchens. Nearly forgot, clean restrooms. 

[Mitkof Island]

5 minutes ago, DUNROAMIN said:

Food poisoning here twice in 4 years, and thai wife crook once, all by small street vendors. We both now only eat at restaurant's that are well patronized by locals and have clean surrounds and kitchens. Nearly forgot, clean restrooms. 

Sorry to hear of your bad luck. I guess i have a iron gut. I eat everywhere no problems. Thousands of various places.

[TheFishman1]

I ate here at a chain fast food place and got food poisoning had to stay night in hospital and antibiotics for a week now I am a little more careful 

[ocddave]

I usually try to zap (microwave) every meal here when I get a chance (wife brings food home, or orders it local), I don't usually eat out, unless its a higher end restaurant. I think I have been slightly sick maybe 3-4 times in the last 3 years, nothing as bad as after eating an airline meal while en route to Thailand from Japan (Japanese Dish), wanted to die after that meal.

[Hoppyone]

9 hours ago, bkkbudddy said:

Greetings, 

I had many episodes of food poisoning in Thailand!  Therefore,  I'm very careful of what and where I eat in Thailand!

Street food always worth a look after 5yrs can’t complain

[Toscano]

In my opinion it is most unlikely that they would have contracted such an infection from Eating Pad Thai ,

I am sure that such an infection could not survive the cooking of Pad Thai .

I think if they research on the internet they might find a better lead as to where they were infected .

I'm guessing more likely water or salad , something uncooked , even consumed in Australia after their return  .  

[Nong Khai Man]

Where was the Food Court, I'm just Curious Or NOSEY !!!

[potless]

Rarely eat street food and only if it is well cooked. Saw my gf order some food from a vendor and I watched as he put his bare hand into a pot of sticky rice and stuffed it in a plastic bag with his fingers. I told her to throw it away.

[Formaleins]

9 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

Pretty easy to narrow down the meal that starts an episode of food poisoning.....

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
 

Whenever I have had a "dodgy dish" I can tell exactly what it was as it is almost always well within 12 hours of eating or drinking it. My worst bout in Thailand was from that old food court off the night bazar in Chiang Mai, I knew there was a major anal catastrophe imminent after less than 2 hours. I was proven correct as from that point onwards there were horrific anal explosions that continued for 10 or more hours, really crippling terrible cramps and uncontrolled fecal expulsions. However, I would suggest what this family contracted Is a lot more subtle and a lot more serious. This is some alien life form taking up residence inside their bodies, not just a simple case of food poisoning. Just take a look at some of the OTC medications available here with the pictures on the packets and you can get an idea of the terrible creatures that can take over your innards. No doubt John Hurt was visiting Pattaya before his trip out with Sigourney and having the spitting double of the Dear General pop out of his stomach. Still, it seems that not all parasites can be got rid of with a course of medication.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Formaleins

[GroupA]

2 hours ago, overherebc said:

Giardia can cause similar problems.

Eat out, get the runs, and take Imodium etc and you feel ok for a few days then it kicks in again.

After 2 or 3 times you should realise that somethings wrong.

The biggest pain is when you get your poo checked and they know it's giardia you can't indulge in the amber neck oil etc.

Seems it can even survive being frozen for a while and that's one of the reasons I never have ice in my drinks.

I was travelling between Korea and Thailand regularly when I got it so I can't say where I picked it up.

Even after you've got rid of it it takes quite a while for your intestines to get 'back on track' shall we say.

Giardia is a much more common parasitic infection. Giardia forms cysts that are quite resistant and can be in ice. It also common in many animals. It's quite common in California especially with campers. Carried by beavers. 

Thai city water is filtered (sand filters) so city water should be fine unless contaminated after treatment.

Giardia is hard to detect in normal stool examinations and requires 3 stools over a week period. In fresh liquid stools its very active and moves like a floating leaf. There is also an antigen test which is better if offered.

[cardinalblue]

The probability of their sickness from their trip is quite...whether is was a particularly fish or vendor is irrelevant 

 

their symptoms were quite generic so it could be many things...

 

not as simple to diagnose as some here make it sound...

[rickudon]

You can get food poisoning anywhere. Several people in the UK died from eating sandwiches in a hospital last month. My brother got a weeks worth of bloody diarrhea from a burger in Epsom in May. I have had dysentery from airline food in Libya and more prolonged bouts of diarrhea in Australia than any other country. Also attacks in USA, West Africa and Singapore, within days of arrival. 

 

In Thailand i have had about 3 bouts in total over 11 years. So i would say out of all the non-European countries i have visited, once of the safest food wise. And i eat a lot of pad Thai!

[boonnoon]

I lived in Thailand for 30 years, ate Thai food for practically every meal,and never had any stomach problems!  The article doesn't say if the children were also infected.  It's not always found in food, can be carried on anything and infection is common worldwide. No way they knew after such a length of time what caused their illness.

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/dientamoeba/faqs.html

[Bartman1369]

10 hours ago, bkkbudddy said:

Greetings, 

I had many episodes of food poisoning in Thailand!  Therefore,  I'm very careful of what and where I eat in Thailand!

Food poisoning or alcohol poisoning. A friend got they same when first arrived on holiday. Drinking a bottle of JD in his room. Not enough water and dehydration makes it very easy. Also brushing teeth with tap water or eat fresh fruit cleaned poor quality water.

 

Mostly not the food because hot temperature frying and soup foods kill most bacteria. 

[ericthai]

11 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

Pretty easy to narrow down the meal that starts an episode of food poisoning.....

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
 

The article says they only felt ill after returning home, so how can you figure out which meal it was days, week later?  I got food poisoning,  but I still dont know if it was my meal in Vietnam the day before or something I ate when I returned to Thailand that night. 

[WM1]

Hello Everybody....We are talking "Parasites" here!!!   Not bacteria!!! Parasitic symptoms take weeks to manifest and cause what they experienced and they continue to weaken the host more and more until treated! I haven't read through the 7 pages of this forum to see if anyone mentioned this because I am astounded at the BS out there!  We need an Infectious disease expert or doctor to weigh in.  Their symptoms line up with the timeline of their return and place of infection, we just can't be sure where this parasite was lurking while they were in Thailand.

[Matt Farmer]

So many trolls and supposed experts on this website...

I'm currently in the exact same situation as this couple, and it is awful. Debilitating fatigue and confusion for 3 months now.

 

1. Why can they say it was from Pad Thai?

Well for me, I can trace my infection back to raw chicken (a little smelly) purchased from BigC, I know because I had a horrible headache and confusion a few hours after thoroughly cooking and eating it at home. I had no other questionable food before that.

 

2. Why did they wait 2 years?

I bet they didn't. I've been to 4 doctors in Thailand and have done every test. Can't find the cause of the infection anywhere. I've tried 6 different antibiotics, anti-parasites, and anti-protozoa, the drugs help for maybe 1 day then the fatigue comes back. These bugs are quickly becoming antibiotic resistant in Thailand.

 

3. But still, why 2 years?

The fatigue is completely overwhelming. Getting out of bed nearly takes a miracle some days. I used to be an young entrepreneur and weight lifter, now I struggle to get off the couch. Doctors in Thailand already started to give up on me because they couldn't find anything. Now I'm back in America and going through all the tests again. The parasite they had is commonly occurring in many people, and is not typically tested for in a stool sample. It would take so much pure will-power to fight with doctors to continue testing for these obscure parasites, they are lucky to have figured it out.

 

I'll be testing specifically for this parasite now, hopefully I can fix this. I don't remember the last 3 months of my life, it has been a complete blur.

 

 

[scoutman360]

Quote

I am a guy who survived a serious case of Ecoli and Cdiff after a visit to Thailand. It took me 3 months to recover. I am 100% sure it was the airplane food. Cdiff can be serious and I read that only 30% of people fully recover. I was lucky. This story has much more to understand.

 

Quote

 

 

 

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm.... I think this story sounds very “fishy” ?

[Destiny1990]

I know loads of delicious thai dishes but i don't know any Australian dish.

[RJRS1301]

Wonder what they may have eaten at the resort.

Hard to think the parasites would survive high cooking temp of the pad Thai. 

Always eat street food, high temp cooking, fresh, never stuff that prepared and sitting out though.

Only time sick from food in Thailand was from the restaurant in 5 star hotel

 

 

[gk10002000]

16 hours ago, Tayaout said:

After many years I got food poisoning only twice. Twice In a food court! I never eat in these kind of place anymore. I eat street food all the time and never had any issue. 

agreed.  many food court food has been sitting out for hours or re-used from the day before.   And at night, when they are closed, I have grave doubts about how the food is stored. 

[Fireyfish]

26 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Wonder what they may have eaten at the resort.

Hard to think the parasites would survive high cooking temp of the pad Thai. 

Always eat street food, high temp cooking, fresh, never stuff that prepared and sitting out though.

Only time sick from food in Thailand was from the restaurant in 5 star hotel

 

 

same experience here .... if I eat at a street stall I pick one that all the Thais eat at and watch the cook and any food handlers before ordering  or if I have a Thai friend with me I go with the one that they say ' yes this one clean' .... in 25 years of coming to Thailand twice per year I have only been sick once and that was from a high end restaurant in Khon Kaen's top hotel and I only ate there because visiting friends were staying there and shouting .... boy was that a mistake   months of recovery 

 

[bubba]

Unlike majority of parasitic infections, D. fragilis is more prevalent in well-developed countries as opposed to disadvantaged and resource poor nations. Globally, the prevalence of D. fragilis ranges from 0.3% to 90%, occurring in multiple countries including many urbanized cities such as Los Angeles, California and Sydney, Australia.

 

Dientamaoeba fragilis

 

Perhaps they should book the next flight back  to Thailand where D. fragilis is less prevalent?

 

[darhut]

17 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

I never ate street food when I lived in Thailand (except fruit), I also never got sick. How long has the raw food been out of the refrigerator or freezer. Where does the operator of the food stall go to the toilet and where do they wash their hands?

 

Another thing worth knowing when flying, most airlines in the world ban seafood from pilot's on-duty diets.

They are not blaming street food the accusation is against food from a food court.