Diarrhea

[GungaDin]

Imodium & a full roll of dunny paper with the cardboard core removed, in the back pocket.

Try it!

[ClareQuilty]

I rarely get sick in Thailand, and certainly less often than I did back in the States (food is cleaner here than there), but when I do it is almost always due to eating in a 'nicer' restaurant, particularly a farang food place. If you eat what the locals eat, and avoid the places where Thais are just cooking for farangs, you'll have a lot better luck.

By the way I just looked up this thread to find out about erfuzide - just popped my first one after two days diarrhea.. we'll see how it goes!

[phetaroi]

I rarely get sick in Thailand, and certainly less often than I did back in the States (food is cleaner here than there)

You must be crazy.

[ClareQuilty]

You must be crazy.

Why would food be cleaner in the US?

[phetaroi]

You must be crazy.

Why would food be cleaner in the US?

There was a period of time back around 1970 when I worked at a food store with an in-house deli and a complete "meat department" in the States. I won't say that everything I saw was perfect food handling, but my dad was in food service with the military, and believe me, cleanliness standards were well beyond what I've seen here in most places.

Out on the street I see food that has been unrefrigerated for hours, and perhaps even days. Two days ago I saw a food vendor on the street put water from a boot into the large pan in which she was washing cooking utensils. A couple of months ago I saw a food vendor washing used bamboo satay sticks with dirty wash-water and then laying the sticks out on the sidewalk to dry so they could be used again. Have you ever visited an old-fashioned wet market (meat market) here? Do you think it's good to leave a pan of chicken curry out in the open air with no covering and no refrigeration for 14 hours straight? Do you realize how many food handlers here have hepatitis? When you buy food along the street do you ever look at the hands of the person handling your food. A few days ago I saw sliced -- well, I couldn't even tell if it was pork or beef -- sitting out in the sun "aging", a dog came along and was licking it, and the cook just shooed the dog away and continued to leave the meat there. My Thai mate used to leave cooked meat or rice out on the counter all night and then the next morning eat it for breakfast (I say used to because now I throw it away and it's amazing how quickly better food habits occurred). Two weeks go I went in a major grocery store here and saw meat "reduced" in price that was an odd purple color and smelled really bad. Go to Chatuchak weekend market, walk back into the pet shop area where all the distemper and rabies has been identified lately, and watch the people eating right there in little restaurant stalls where there is no refrigeration at all.

[syd barrett]

Your body will build up natural immunity eventually.

I remember I suffered from loose bowels during my first six months in Thailand. I think the cause was uncooked food items such as salad items and fruit.

No matter how much you wash some salad items the bacteria is still there. Also even some fruit with skins i.e. melon can harbour much bacteria.

For short term visitors to Thailand I would recommend eating only hot cooked food and drinking bottled water. Avoid cleaning teeth with tap water and don't swallow water in the shower.

Edited March 1, 2010 by syd barrett