Diarrhoea-hit family get Bt40,000 hospital bill after eating at “fine-dining” restaurant

[ChakaKhan]

 

[bodga]

19 hours ago, Berkshire said:

This story doesn't make sense.  Everyone who's lived in Thailand long enough must have been hit with the diarrhea before, or some manner of food poisoning.  I certainly have, one time so severe that I had painful stomach cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea for days.  But I never bothered to go to the hospital and recovered.  So to pay 40,000 bt for diarrhea....bizarre.

Yeah I  just sleep in the bathroom for a couple  of days or within sprint distance of  it.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, Don Mega said:

20k is a lot for a trip to the hospital for a bout of food poisoning, did the person spend the night in ICU ?

No.. they had the cubicle next door [trap 1]!

[pookondee]

20 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Nobody forced them to use private hospitals.

Would have cost them nothing at the local government hospital.

Or they could have purchased a packet of Loperamide (Imodium) for 20bht.

Nail on head there.

certain people would have to be the biggest whimps ive ever seen anywhere in the world.

 

Have a slight muscle pain?

Go to a quack that gives them 3 courses of different pills for something a cream would probably fix.

 

Take those pills on top of whatever "health" tonics, naam yah, and whatever assortment of other rubbish meds they take but dont need..

 

Then later, wonder in amazement why they are diagnosed with alcoholic liver yet never took a drink.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Long ago I ate at an expensive restaurant in Bkk night before leaving LOS. That night I had extreme d's and vomiting. Went to the airport ( Don Muang ) and checked into the airport hotel till time to go. Never occurred to me to go to a hospital. Was fine by end of flight.

Same thing happened back home the night before flying to Sydney. So ill that my GF had to drive to the airport, and once arrived in Sydney passed out in the hotel room. Woke up several hours later and was fine. Never even thought of going to a hospital.

[bristolgeoff]

Welcome to the thai hospital charges.not many farang  there now they  to RIP off.travel insurance where was it .the restaurant of course will say not our fault.i would have gone to chemist got some drugs to help, and back to the hotel and wait it out.the toilet would be your best friend for a day or 2. Happen to me in cnx a few years ago not expensive foods  it  was the runs for  a few days room and toilet my best friend then

[geriatrickid]

21 hours ago, Berkshire said:

This story doesn't make sense.  Everyone who's lived in Thailand long enough must have been hit with the diarrhea before, or some manner of food poisoning.  I certainly have, one time so severe that I had painful stomach cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea for days.  But I never bothered to go to the hospital and recovered.  So to pay 40,000 bt for diarrhea....bizarre.

not bizarre.  Some  of the seafood related GI infections are lethal,especially shellfish.  There most likely was extensive dehydration and  extensive lab work to identify what it was. B 40K isn't that expensive.

 

 

[scammed]

its more of a case of, rich people dont have to bat an eyelid to make safety first,

not so rich rather take their chances that its going to end well.

im not into medicine as a matter of principle so generally if it isnt too bad

i wait until 2nd day to see if the body can fix it by itself,

but if the trend isnt what i want it to be, i go straight on a norfloxacin diet,

and then within 2 days im back to normal whatever it was

[DrTuner]

  

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Cheap as chips on Lazada, 140bht/Kg

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/1-kg-epsoms-salt-magnesium-sulfate-i451514193-s834250241.html

Got to love the description:

Quote

Will make the body clump, have laxative properties as a defecation Transfusion, phlegm and blood. Popularly used in the treatment of fish.

 

For maximum effect mix with 5kg of MSG and down the hatch. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooyyyyyy!

Edited July 31, 2020 by DrTuner

[DUNROAMIN]

"Fine Dining in Thailand" never heard of before.

[Senior Player]

7 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

not bizarre.  Some  of the seafood related GI infections are lethal, especially shellfish.  There most likely was extensive dehydration and  extensive lab work to identify what it was. B 40K isn't that expensive.

 

 

You are correct. There can be lethal infections from bad shellfish. According to the report, the bill in question was spread over more than one family member. The first bill was for 20,000. Again, it's unclear why the other family members were charged an additional 20,000.

 

I think the reason why this particular case has aroused so much interest is that many of us have had something similar after eating dodgy seafood or drinking contaminated water, but haven't immediately rushed to the hospital for tests or treatment, hoping that we could get the restaurant to cover the medical costs afterwards. The vast majority of us simply pop down to the local pharmacy and get something to ease the problem, and self-care for a few days.

 

Treatment of food poisoning depends on the cause; most people self-care in a few days, but some cases may benefit from specific antibiotic or antiparasite treatments once the cause is identified.

 

The story is quite vague. I'm still unsure as to why the other family members decided to have the same battery of tests, especially when the first family member had already had them. Surely the results would be exactly the same? Why not wait for the first test results to come back and simply get the same medication as prescribed? Meanwhile, just self-care. If the first person's tests come back as something really serious, then you know you've got a problem and also need specific antibiotic or antiparasite treatments as well. I guess what I'm implying is that the family became hysterical rather than approaching it from a wait-and-see approach.

[flinc2020]

On 7/30/2020 at 12:27 PM, scammed said:

ime, it takes antibiotic to kill off the bacteria, immodium could well make it worse

24 hours of clear fluids only, if symptoms persist continue with the clear fluids and use loperamide to stiffen the stools and act as an anti-spasmodic. In 90+% of cases that will suffice. Usually only if the diarrhea contains blood or is accompanied by vomiting would the need for antibiotics be indicated. Bearing in mind that the antibiotics won't cure the symptoms, they simply attack the suspected cause. If this, as was suggested by the article, was caused by seafood then even antibiotics may not be of any use as viral pathogens could be the root cause. Either way, go with the clear fluids ONLY for 24 hours, if symproms improve then dry toast can be eaten. If symptoms don't worsen you're pretty much good to go.  

[samtab]

How can people be so stupid ? I had food poisoning once, the real one, from eating a chicken steak at a street restaurant.

 

I checked google and there is only 1 thing to know and remember:

if you cannot keep any liquid that you drink after 3 days, go to hospital. Not difficult to understand, right ?

The 3 first days I was throwing any liquid that i tried to drink, but fortunately the fourth day I was able to drink and keep it, then start to eat.

 

There is nothing else to understand or to do, but people are too idiot to even get this ? They deserve all the money spent at cheating hospitals !

 

And if someone still doesn't know in 2020 that taking imodium is totally stupid, maybe time to find a cliff...

 

 

 

 

[samtab]

On 7/31/2020 at 6:44 PM, Senior Player said:

Treatment of food poisoning depends on the cause; most people self-care in a few days, but some cases may benefit from specific antibiotic or antiparasite treatments once the cause is identified.

 

you would be a champion to even find a doctor who could identify anything, especially here, so saying it is totally useless.

 

 

[samtab]

On 7/31/2020 at 9:25 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

Long ago I ate at an expensive restaurant in Bkk night before leaving LOS. That night I had extreme d's and vomiting. Went to the airport ( Don Muang ) and checked into the airport hotel till time to go. Never occurred to me to go to a hospital. Was fine by end of flight.

Same thing happened back home the night before flying to Sydney. So ill that my GF had to drive to the airport, and once arrived in Sydney passed out in the hotel room. Woke up several hours later and was fine. Never even thought of going to a hospital.

 

This is why it is smart to eat only burgers before flying. Maybe time to know something ?

 

 

[jwest10]

On 7/30/2020 at 7:53 PM, digger70 said:

So you're one of them Hi So Hobnobs that Looks Down on Us Normal people. 

You wait hobnob , Karma is on it's way. ????

kARMA NEVER EXISTS WELL i HAVE NOT SEEN IT

[digger70]

3 hours ago, jwest10 said:

kARMA NEVER EXISTS WELL i HAVE NOT SEEN IT

You wait ,One day It Will Get Ya.   ????

[jwest10]

On 8/5/2020 at 5:25 PM, digger70 said:

You wait ,One day It Will Get Ya.   ????

It was me talking about but others

[Mister Fixit]

On 7/30/2020 at 12:27 PM, scammed said:

ime, it takes antibiotic to kill off the bacteria, immodium could well make it worse

Yup, Imodium just bungs you up.  It does nothing to treat the bacteria which caused the problem but it does stop the squits very effectively.  

 

Far better to use norfloxacin which is an antibiotic and will treat the actual infection, and then just keep hydrated.  

 

 

[Mister Fixit]

On 7/30/2020 at 1:13 PM, Berkshire said:

This story doesn't make sense.  Everyone who's lived in Thailand long enough must have been hit with the diarrhea before, or some manner of food poisoning.  I certainly have, one time so severe that I had painful stomach cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea for days.  But I never bothered to go to the hospital and recovered.  So to pay 40,000 bt for diarrhea....bizarre.

Thais are hypochondriacs and will go to the hospital if they feel a shiver.  The people in this story would be highly unlikely to even think of trying to treat something for themselves.  Probably very sensible and rightly too, if you are throwing up and get diarrhoea very soon after eating seafood.

[Mister Fixit]

On 7/30/2020 at 7:39 PM, musicscene said:

Do you get your Epsom salts in Thailand as I have not been able to find any after using the supply I brought with me from the Uk 

Just ask a pharmacy for magnesium sulphate.  That's all Epsom salts are and it's available here in pharmacies  too 

[Mister Fixit]

On 7/30/2020 at 8:41 PM, BritManToo said:

Like any disease, after you've had it, you acquire immunity.

My first year in Thailand I had terrible runs once a month, took antibiotics often.

Now hardly ever, and even on the rare occasion now, just for one poop.

You won't get immunity from bacteria on food that's on the turn or gone off.  

 

Much more likely that your guts have become accustomed to the prik bon and other stuff that Thais shovel into their food.  

 

[Mister Fixit]

On 7/30/2020 at 9:09 PM, CGW said:

Hard for me to find "food" grade in Thailand, I just order from Iherb.

Just ask for it at any pharmacy.  Not all of them stock it, but many do

[Mister Fixit]

On 7/31/2020 at 12:03 AM, whaleboneman said:

Certainly it would, but very dangerous to collect.

Why on earth would it be?

[chiangmaixpat]

Judging from the information from the coverage, they must have eaten at a Japanese restaurant.

Both sea urchin and capelin are popular items in Japanese seafood.

Looks like the case of food poisoning caused by Vibrio bacteria(living in sea/salt water, killed by fresh water and boiling).

Because their conditions started within 12 hours after taking the food in question.

Intensive hospital care is not  really essential for that diarrhea  as it is rarely  fatal.

It is a pity that they spent B40000 for treatment.

I usually  resort to B10- Noxzy  when I got one.

They seem to be ripped-off twice in one same day; first by the expensive diner, next by the hospital.

I honestly don't believe diarrhea treatment really costs that much in any hospital.

When I went to Ram Hospital(Chiang Mai's  first class private hospital) for diarrhea in 08, it costed me no more than B500.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by chiangmaixpat

[Youlike]

On 7/30/2020 at 8:13 AM, Berkshire said:

This story doesn't make sense.  Everyone who's lived in Thailand long enough must have been hit with the diarrhea before, or some manner of food poisoning.  I certainly have, one time so severe that I had painful stomach cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea for days.  But I never bothered to go to the hospital and recovered.  So to pay 40,000 bt for diarrhea....bizarre.

After more than 10 years in thailand i never had food poisoning....i don't eat oysters and mussles though.

 

Now ask me if i got food poisoning in India.