It happens a lot.

Already been sick 4 times this year (bad stomach, diarrhea, vomiting etc.)

I don't eat anything out the ordinary (no dead fish, som tum, seafood etc)

and I mostly eat at high end places (except when eating local food in phuket)

Just coming off the back of yet another tummy bug,

this time I believe it was from chicken curry at a hotel restaurant in bkk.

within 5 hours of eating i was vomiting violently, with severe cramps.

 

What causes this?

Is it a lack of basic hygiene or is it something else?

anyone else get sick from food at least once a year?

 

I can safely say that from being a kid growing up in Nashville I never once got sick from food.

That only started happening once i moved to Asia.

 

 

Maybe you are not used to the bacteria here. And, I found the one time i did get sick in Thailand it was from eating a hamburger at a high end hotel in a small city... they probably sell 99% Thai food so the beef was no longer good... none of my visitors from USA get sick on the food... stay out of the hotels. 

 

I don't go back but on my annual visits to USA many years ago, I would get food poisoned there... just not used to their bacteria... 

 

"Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!"

 

and run for the toilet!!

Being a vegetarian, i never get sick with food, but i hear many stories similar to yours, so you're not alone.

Lack of basic hygiene could be one of the reasons, but mostly i put it down to sheer carelessness, and a total ignorance about the proper use of fridges and freezers.

6 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

What causes this?

Perhaps because of this:  I don't eat anything out the ordinary (no dead fish.

 

I only eat dead fish, from the frying pan or boiling water. You should try it.

Eating mostly in high end places is by no means a guarantee that you won't get food poisoning in Thailand. Just because they charge more doesn't mean their hygiene standards are any better. 

 

,

I never get food poisoning in the states but I do here..

 

That's the perfect reason to go back to the states. Enjoy!

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I never get food poisoning in the states but I do here..

 

That's the perfect reason to go back to Texas. Enjoy!

Is there a Nashville Texas? Have I been away too long?

3 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

Is there a Nashville Texas? Have I been away too long?

Ok, my mistake. Same same, but different.

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I never get food poisoning in the states but I do here..

 

That's the perfect reason to go back to Texas. Enjoy!

Texas?

Say what??

13 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

Eating mostly in high end places is by no means a guarantee that you won't get food poisoning in Thailand.

But surely their kitchens should be better cleansed than say some street vendor selling pork on a stick?

That's just what I think.

4 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

But surely their kitchens should be better cleansed than say some street vendor selling pork on a stick?

That's just what I think.

Most of the thais, including the cookers, do not wash their hands after going to the WC

and if for some reasons they do not like you, they also spit in your food before serving you

(Girls usualy prefer to thrown the glass in the face)

 

Personally never had an issue with food in Thailand.

I have had food poisoning a few times here. It is always the seafood. And the last time it was the crab. I will never again order any dish with crab, unless I see the whole crab on ice, out front first. I think part of the issue is that it is often frozen seafood, or fresh seafood that is later frozen. Then it is taken out of the freezer, it sits around, and then it is re-frozen. They do not monitor the freshness of the product.

 

I had a friend who's family had a seafood restaurant on Cape Cod. He said they diligently monitored all of the seafood, and would throw everything away that was fresh, after just two days. Doubt that is done here. 

4 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

 

and if for some reasons they do not like you, they also spit in your food before serving you

any proof on this statement?

Sounds like prison stuff.

Being a vegetarian, i never get sick with food, but i hear many stories similar to yours, so you're not alone.
Lack of basic hygiene could be one of the reasons, but mostly i put it down to sheer carelessness, and a total ignorance about the proper use of fridges and freezers.

The worst ever case of food poisening was a vegatarian meal,i did not think it could be ,but was told by the doctor that you can get it from vegatables,,they were from Best in Pattaya. Never want to go through that again ,as for other cases used to get bad stomaches when i first came here ,but these days its rare.

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

31 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

But surely their kitchens should be better cleansed than say some street vendor selling pork on a stick?

Nope. The street, market and food hall vendors depend on their reputations, on locals returning again and again. They usually own the business, have little else, and cannot afford to blow it.

Many of the supposedly high-end places are owned by rich families who no longer give a damn. In particular, many of the families that own well known hotels have long since entered the realm of the super wealthy, thanks to land holdings and other investments that rocketed as Thailand became boomed, and rarely even visit Thailand.

So, these places are managed by lesser relatives who care even less, while the workers are whoever will accept lousy pay and hierarchical abuse. The cleanliness of your food is their very least concern, even if they had every had any training.

Ultimately, your experience does not really matter to anyone involved because you can always be replaced by another tourist.

Another symptom of the same phenomenon: small businesses rarely overcharge or shortchange you, whereas it happens all the time in "classy" places.

Seriously, consider "downgrading" to high-quality places frequented by Thais, or even just standard places. Personally, I avoid actual street food, but that has more to do with the oils used. In a pinch, you can eat well and safely at any Big C food court, then work up from there.

Never had actual food poisoning even once over almost three decades of visits to, and long stretches living in Thailand. I have, however, ended up puking from a dirty pint glass in a girlie bar in Chiang Mai. Probably not washed in clean water. That was nasty, but mercifully brief. What people imagine is food poisoning can often be something as simple as that, or ice ... ice machines can be absolutely filthy.

 

6 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

any proof on this statement?

Sounds like prison stuff.

Of course i haven't

it's just an urban legend ????

7 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

12 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

 

and if for some reasons they do not like you, they also spit in your food before serving you

any proof on this statement?

Sounds like prison stuff.

100% true. Never send food back for a replacement or reheating in Thailand unless it remains visible to you at all times. Thai humor can be quite brutal.

If something is wrong with your food, either let it slide or complain and don't come back.

I'm 59 next month.

I've had food poisoning 3 times in my life.

Once in Portugal, the worst case, tuna sandwich from a late night franchise filling station.

Twice in Chiang Mai, on two different trips, eating the same Khao Soi dish, prolly the same (famous) restaurant.

Moved here in 03, i eat Thai street food, i eat in Thai spit and sawdust cafes, i eat Thai food in upmarket outdoor restaurants.

16 years, weekly, sometimes daily eating Thai food out.

Twice food poisoning.

Pretty good score.

3 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

The worst ever case of food poisening was a vegatarian meal,i did not think it could be ,but was told by the doctor that you can get it from vegatables,,they were from Best in Pattaya. Never want to go through that again ,as for other cases used to get bad stomaches when i first came here ,but these days its rare.

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Surely it's quite possible to get sick from eating vegetables, but the chances are much less.

Being travelling in India in the 70s and 80s, one could get sick from eating and drinking anything, sometimes even without eating anything !

For sure it's also very subjective, it may need some time to build the right anti-bodies, and some people may be stronger than others.

19 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

Most of the thais, including the cookers, do not wash their hands after going to the WC

and if for some reasons they do not like you, they also spit in your food before serving you

(Girls usualy prefer to thrown the glass in the face)

 

Personally never had an issue with food in Thailand.

Chefs, kitchen staff, waiters spit in food in every country in the world, get over it.

 

 

6 minutes ago, donnacha said:

100% true. Never send food back for a replacement or reheating in Thailand unless it remains visible to you at all times. Thai humor can be quite brutal.

If something is wrong with your food, either let it slide or complain and don't come back.

Never send food back.... same in every country, no exceptions.

Just now, scorecard said:

Never send food back.... same in every country, no exceptions.

sorry, but If i order a steak well done and it is served to me bloodied & still moving on my plate then it is definitely being sent back.

No exceptions.

Just now, kellersphuket said:

sorry, but If i order a steak well done and it is served to me bloodied & still moving on my plate then it is definitely being sent back.

No exceptions.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Hepatitis.

3 minutes ago, donnacha said:

Welcome to the wonderful world of Hepatitis.

what do you mean?

I don't eat steaks raw.

do you?

Only got sick a couple times and always at some food court style place. Never any problem with street food or mother inlaw somtam ????

19 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Surely it's quite possible to get sick from eating vegetables, but the chances are much less.

Being travelling in India in the 70s and 80s, one could get sick from eating and drinking anything, sometimes even without eating anything !

For sure it's also very subjective, it may need some time to build the right anti-bodies, and some people may be stronger than others.

From what I have read in the US there is more case of salmonella in vegetable than meat and eggs. The reason is that they use manure that hasn't been aged properly. 

14 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

sorry, but If i order a steak well done and it is served to me bloodied & still moving on my plate then it is definitely being sent back.

No exceptions.

Up to you. But no doubt you have some special / personal guarantee that your steak will of course tampered with. In this situation I basically don't trust restaurant staff anywhere. 

 

35 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

But surely their kitchens should be better cleansed than say some street vendor selling pork on a stick?

That's just what I think.

Unfortunately you can get food poisoning from just about anything, and rice being kept warm or reheated is the number one cause of what is commonly known as "traveller's diarrhoea", which probably explains why it is most common throughout Asia.

 

Also remember that vegetables, if they are washed in store, are washed with the very same tapwater which I will not drink direct from the taps here for obvious reasons.

 

I do remember getting the runs from some mushrooms I bought and cooked here, and wondered if there was something in the water/soil in which they were grown? I say this because a project I was working on in Libya had a large area which was "flooded with water" in an effort to grow their own vegetables, but this was abandoned after many people got very sick eating the melons which were grown there, mainly because this water was from the toilet system!!

 

As for street food, well I won't touch anything off a street cart, mainly because I've seen the state of the oil in which items are cooked (old and rancid with an infinite amount of carcinogenic properties) and do you really believe that if a piece of chicken has not been sold on the day of display, that it is thrown away? It may not even be put on ice until the next day when it is cooked/eaten.

 

I worked in Nigeria at the time of the Biafran war and have eaten some absolutely disgusting food, as well as working in Libya, but the most severe cases of food poisoning I ever had were in the UK from eating some undercooked chicken at a training centre, which landed me in an isolation ward in the hospital, and from eating something in a restaurant in Kho Samui, which landed me in the local hospital on a drip for four days.

 

Apart from that, any little "touch of the squitters" (rare for me these days) usually goes away within a few hours and of course drinking plenty of fluids helps as well as some electrolyte powder or the like.

I have only had food poisoning once in the 30 years I have

lived here and that was in the first week.

 

You must have a very weak stomach and the food here

does not suit you,maybe you should return to Nashville.

regards worgeordie

26 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

what do you mean?

I mean that spit on your steak can be a vector for hepatitis.

 

26 minutes ago, kellersphuket said:

I don't eat steaks raw.

do you?

Well, look, you say you like your steaks "well done" which raises the question: why not just order a burger rather than ruin a perfectly good steak?

That, however, is merely a matter of sanity. If you feel that you must order steaks well done, okay. Instead, let's look at the more pressing matter of you not contracting hepatitis.

The price of a nice steak in a nice restaurant is around 1,000 baht, which is around $30.

The price of a 3-month course of hepatitis treatment is around $84,000.

There is no guarantee you will have the right type of hepatitis and, even if you do, no guarantee it will work, in which case you can look forward to spending a few miserable years on dialysis before an awkward, painful death.

So, you avoid returning food in restaurants for essentially the same reason you avoid blowing ladyboys: there can be unexpected consequences.

With that in mind, if you like your steak cooked to a cinder, simply use your phone take a photo of how you like it done and show that photo to the server. He can then fully convey to the cook just how serious you are about ruining your food.

You will probably get your charred remains, while cleverly avoiding an exotic new infection, everyone wins.

If, after all your effort, you still don't get it how you like it, mai pen rai, write off the $30, tip the waitress, leave, and don't return to that restaurant.

I'm not kidding. Returning food in restaurants is seriously dumb. Also, never be rude to your server while ordering. Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant can tell you that.