How'S Your Health?

[septeen]

Being a prospective immigrant to Thailand, I have been studying the chit-chat on this forum for some considerable time. No use going into details in this message because all of you folks living there will know for sure what I'm on about. It's most obvious.

My inescapable conclusion (from a distance) is, that Thailand is a totally unhealthy place to live.

There's no question that the cities are hugely polluted. Living out in the country isn't really the answer because of the problem of isolation, and insect-borne diseases. What say you? -Septeen

[Slaps]

Well you moan a lot

So at least you'll have Thai Visa

.

[surayu]

My health is great thanks! but the constant heath will make you feel kind of thaired, i hope you can cope with that...

[MrMarquis]

Personally I've found Bangkok to be a really unhealthy place to live for the few months I've been here:

* Air pollution is INSANE. You are breathing in a toxic soup 24/7. Emission controls don't seem to exist.

* Difficult to find a decent place to go running - air pollution is a major issue and also traffic makes running on the streets prohibitive.

* Tap water is gross and probably polluted. When you take a shower you're absorbing all that stuff through your skin.

* General quality of meat and vegetables is quite poor compared to back home in NZ.

* Prepared food is cheap but it tends to be heavy on the carbs (rice / noodles) and light on nutrient rich meat and veges.

* Tons of additives and additive rich flavorings in all the food. Lots of MSG.

* The whole of BKK is filthy, rats and roaches running around everywhere (although this doesn't directly affect your health obviously).

* It's very expensive to rent a place with even basic cooking facilities (so you can cook your own healthy meals) without taking on a lengthy lease. I would love to rent a basic apartment so I could cook my own meals but I haven't found one for any kind of reasonable price.

* Poorer selection of vitamins and supplements eg. I've found it difficult to find a good quality whey protein powder for a decent price.

* Unless you speak Thai then seeking minor medical assitance can be problematic eg. if you go to the chemist they won't speak English, so you just have to read the labels until you find what you're looking for.

* It's almost inevitable that you will develop a drinking problem when you move here ;-) at least at first.

[LuckyLew]

Decision made, you can stay where you are

Best of luck to you

[CharlieH]

What a load of Boll**ks ! The same could be said of almost any major city.

It just depends where you want to locate yourself.

I have no problem with Air quality

No problem having a nice green fresh area to exercise for FREE whenever you want.

Also a short drive to the nearby mountains also provides fantastic walks fresh and free.

I can eat fresh fruit and vegatables or quality protien whenever I want, made to however I want it.

Never seen a rat or roach anywhere

Renting a detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home is very cheap.

Never had any problem with a chemist or Hospital or communicating with them and I only speak basic Thai.

I dont drink, and have never had a problem staying away from it.

Insect borne diseases ?? whilst I have no doubt they exist I have never heard or met of anyone actually suffering from them.

The cost and most of all the standard of living is far superior to what I left in the West.

Yes it has problems but in comparison to the gains, it fantastic.

[w11guy]

Personally I've found Bangkok to be a really unhealthy place to live for the few months I've been here:

* Air pollution is INSANE. You are breathing in a toxic soup 24/7. Emission controls don't seem to exist.

* Difficult to find a decent place to go running - air pollution is a major issue and also traffic makes running on the streets prohibitive.

* Tap water is gross and probably polluted. When you take a shower you're absorbing all that stuff through your skin.

* General quality of meat and vegetables is quite poor compared to back home in NZ.

* Prepared food is cheap but it tends to be heavy on the carbs (rice / noodles) and light on nutrient rich meat and veges.

* Tons of additives and additive rich flavorings in all the food. Lots of MSG.

* The whole of BKK is filthy, rats and roaches running around everywhere (although this doesn't directly affect your health obviously).

* It's very expensive to rent a place with even basic cooking facilities (so you can cook your own healthy meals) without taking on a lengthy lease. I would love to rent a basic apartment so I could cook my own meals but I haven't found one for any kind of reasonable price.

* Poorer selection of vitamins and supplements eg. I've found it difficult to find a good quality whey protein powder for a decent price.

* Unless you speak Thai then seeking minor medical assitance can be problematic eg. if you go to the chemist they won't speak English, so you just have to read the labels until you find what you're looking for.

* It's almost inevitable that you will develop a drinking problem when you move here ;-) at least at first.

Excellent post that sums up Bangkok well. I disagree with the last part though. I know many expats in Bangkok and none have developed a drinking problem. I think that the expats that have drinking problems had them before they came here.

But I'm still quite healthy. I have regular check-ups, including blood tests and my levels of nearly everything are pretty good. In fact I am more healthy living in Bangkok than I was when I lived in London. Yes, there's lots of pollution and the place is filthy, but that's no reason to get unhealthy. You'd obviously be better off in a non-polluted city, but there are other ways to protect yourself.

I get my supplements sent from the US, as the choice here is very bad and very expensive. It's cheaper to get them from the US, even after taking into account customs fees and shipping. And they only take a few days to get here.

Medical costs here are a small fraction of what they are in the USA and UK, so you can get good healthcare for very reasonable prices.

Price of accommodation isn't cheap, but it's not as expensive as many other capital cities. A 1-bed condo in central Bangkok can be rented for 20,000 baht, but more for a better one. In London a 1-bed apartment would cost maybe 75,000 baht. So it seems cheap to me after living in London.

[w11guy]

What a load of Boll**ks ! The same could be said of almost any major city.

It just depends where you want to locate yourself.

I have no problem with Air quality

No problem having a nice green fresh area to exercise for FREE whenever you want.

Also a short drive to the nearby mountains also provides fantastic walks fresh and free.

I can eat fresh fruit and vegatables or quality protien whenever I want, made to however I want it.

Never seen a rat or roach anywhere

Renting a detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home is very cheap.

Never had any problem with a chemist or Hospital or communicating with them and I only speak basic Thai.

I dont drink, and have never had a problem staying away from it.

Insect borne diseases ?? whilst I have no doubt they exist I have never heard or met of anyone actually suffering from them.

The cost and most of all the standard of living is far superior to what I left in the West.

Yes it has problems but in comparison to the gains, it fantastic.

Never seen a rat? Where do you live? There are 100s of rats all over Silom. I see them most days and sometimes 5-6 in one go. Roaches all over Silom as well. Sound like you live outside the central areas though. It's very polluted in Silom. And most streets are filthy. But there are parks to exercise in and the air quality doesn't seem to bad there. Also true that you can but plenty of fresh fruit and veg that is good quality. Depends where you eat.

[aarn]

Big cities the same the world over - expensive, vehicle exhaust fumes, rats/roaches, fresh food expensive, lack of running places (at least BK has Lumphini).

Go west young man - or as in my case, go south. Jog on the beach 9and suck up negative ions0, eat local food without preservatives, you are never isolated if you are within 20 km of Tesco/BigC/transport hub. If you develop a 'drinking problem' - maybe it will be because you didn't bring in enough supplies, affordability of sato is very favourable... AA

[bangkokburning]

My hunch is that BKK air pollution is at least no worse than most metro areas in the US. We have many blue sky days and a brown day is rain and haze, not pollution. Of course much pollution you can't see. Chaing Mai has its issues - I never can figure out the attraction. I love the south and Issan is great if you can deal with the heat and landlocked nature of the place.

I am never, ever sick - although I could say this when I lived in the US. I am far healthier than I would be in US, we travel a lot and swim a great deal in the lovely Andaman. We hike in the mountains as well.

I certainly eat far better. I love the food and if and when we go back that will be sorely missed. I love Thai food. Fruit, not the same stuff but it's still plentiful and tasty. I enjoy tropical fruit more than stone fruit anyway. Fruit here is Us1.25 a kg and there is US6 a half kg (and tastes like hell). The vegetables in US are all picked green and sent from outside the country.

Here is the shit you eat:

http://www.rawstory....ins-pink-slime/

So have another McD's or another pile of Hamburger Helper and think about how great my life is compared to yours.

Oh, did I mention I have a lovely Thai partner 15 years my junior?

L O S E R

Edited March 9, 2012 by bangkokburning

[lifeisthefun]

Let's see, Septeen, you don't like cities because they're dirty and the countryside because you get lonely.

You've got a problem, kid, which Thailand or Switzerland or any country on earth can't solve. Because it's inside your head and you're going to be carrying it with you wherever you go.

[Sateev]

...

Never seen a rat or roach anywhere

...

How's that Braille computer working out for you?

[Cloggie]

Just stay where you are!

[eek]

Main health issue might be the possible headache you may receive from fellow expats who tend to jump on their soapboxes for any given reason.Thankfully, however, its usually within the realms of thaivisa.

I think its sensible to weigh up pros and cons, especially regarding health, but as others have pointed out, this can be an issue in many large cities. However (based on assumption, not fact!), i would tend to think Bkk may be less regulated, thus has more pollution (im sure others will kindly point out if im wrong to assume this..).

Personally I dont have a lot of faith in the medical side of things here. Long story, but still, i choose to be here.

There is a lot of choices where to live, depending on what you requirements are. All you can do is give it a shot and have a contingency plan.

[DP25]

It's fine, thanks. Air is fine in Bangkok, it's just hot and humid, a lot less smog than I see in parts of the US. Exercise at night so it's not so hot out. Tasty food is cheap and healthy and available everywhere, especially fresh fruit. Take care of yourself and you'll be fine. Most unhealthy people I know here are so because of too much eating, too much drinking, and lack of exercise. Very easy to fall in to that routine, I did myself for a while

[thomdixon]

Any place in the world it takes a minimum amount of money to grow up healthy and then to maintain said health.

If you have enough money for a clean place in a clean neighborhood and enough to buy quality food, and there are shops here that sell premium quality meats, then it is no more difficult to maintain health here than in any other major city.

[TomTao]

No problems where I live (not Bangkok), clean beaches, fresh food in the market everyday, you get that when you live near a farming area, fresh meat at the market everyday, butchered that day except on Buddha day, no animals are butchered on Buddha day, water quality is good, got a public exercise area in town that has areas for walking/running, aerobics, badminton, etc. The hospitals and clinics have staff that speak enough english to meet your medical needs. How healthy you are here depends on you, what you eat/drink, how active you are and your ability to adapt to a new environment. I've been here for two years and not had a problem to date.

[WhizBang]

Personally I've found Bangkok to be a really unhealthy place to live for the few months I've been here:

<SNIP>

Time for you to leave then.

[miksguevara]

What a load of Boll**ks ! The same could be said of almost any major city.

It just depends where you want to locate yourself.

I have no problem with Air quality

No problem having a nice green fresh area to exercise for FREE whenever you want.

Also a short drive to the nearby mountains also provides fantastic walks fresh and free.

I can eat fresh fruit and vegatables or quality protien whenever I want, made to however I want it.

Never seen a rat or roach anywhere

Renting a detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home is very cheap.

Never had any problem with a chemist or Hospital or communicating with them and I only speak basic Thai.

I dont drink, and have never had a problem staying away from it.

Insect borne diseases ?? whilst I have no doubt they exist I have never heard or met of anyone actually suffering from them.

The cost and most of all the standard of living is far superior to what I left in the West.

Yes it has problems but in comparison to the gains, it fantastic.

never seen a roach, sorry m8 i dont believe u

[attrayant]

I weighed over 100 kgs when I arrived here in November. I just weighed myself and I'm 88.1 kgs now. And that's with zero effort toward weight loss. So in that respect, I feel great. I credit this to the tremendous amount of cheap fresh fruits & veggies that are available everywhere. Back home, I could get a pineapple for $5. Here I can get 5 of them for just over $1, and the vendor will peel and slice them up for me (hint: go to the outdoor markets, not Big C or Tesco). Same with mangos. I'm puzzled by the occasional post I've seen here where folks complain about the high cost of supplements. I don't know, perhaps these are people who live on nothing but 7-11 cheese dogs and big gulps. But it seems to be you really have to try hard to be nutrient-deficient what with the wide variety of cheap fruits and veggies here. Several times a week a veggie truck drives up and down my soi and I can get all sorts of yummy things dirt cheap. I realize that not everyone has kitchen facilities to prepare veggies, but the streets are lined with vendors selling so many different kinds of fruits & stir-fried veggie dishes. Again this is my experience, which may be different from somebody living in a less populous area.

When I first arrived here was a several week adjustment period when I had the scratchy eye, sore throat symptoms that I usually associate with hay fever in the USA. Here, I suspect it was more due to the smog. I took some Claritin and was miserable for a few weeks. Since then, I feel more or less normal. I no longer take the Claritin, and I feel like I've adjusted and the air quality doesn't bother me much any more.

I lived in Washington DC for 46 years before I came here. I would say that the roach population is the same here but the rat population is definitely lower. This is not based on any scientific study done by me, it's just my casual observation. What with all the stray cats running around, it makes sense that the rodent population would be kept in check.

I've gone to a pharmacist probably a half dozen times. Each time they have spoken English well enough to effectively service me. In my experience the fancy chain pharmacies (Boots, etc.) are more likely to have a pharmacist that speaks good English.

[Bpuumike]

"But I'm still quite healthy. I have regular check-ups, including blood tests and my levels of nearly everything are pretty good. In fact I am more healthy living in Bangkok than I was when I lived in London."

Where in Bangkok would you recommend for regular check-ups?

[nocturn]

What a load of Boll**ks ! The same could be said of almost any major city.

It just depends where you want to locate yourself.

I have no problem with Air quality

No problem having a nice green fresh area to exercise for FREE whenever you want.

Also a short drive to the nearby mountains also provides fantastic walks fresh and free.

I can eat fresh fruit and vegatables or quality protien whenever I want, made to however I want it.

Never seen a rat or roach anywhere

Renting a detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home is very cheap.

Never had any problem with a chemist or Hospital or communicating with them and I only speak basic Thai.

I dont drink, and have never had a problem staying away from it.

Insect borne diseases ?? whilst I have no doubt they exist I have never heard or met of anyone actually suffering from them.

The cost and most of all the standard of living is far superior to what I left in the West.

Yes it has problems but in comparison to the gains, it fantastic.

never a rat or a roach? really?

[Nisa]

Is there some hidden meaning I am missing in the OP?

No use going into details in this message because all of you folks living there will know for sure what I'm on about. It's most obvious.

If talking about general health, there is no reason to believe there should be any over concern of Thailand being unhealthy. And unless you lived out in the wilderness on some of the country's borders there is no real concern of insect-borne diseases.

Of 163 countries examined, Thailand Ranks in the top 63 (US scored 61) for overall index for Environmental Health and Ecosystem Vitality. Environmental Health refers to the extent to which deficiencies in water quality, air pollution, and other factors cause health issues and reductions in quality of life. Ecosystem Vitality measures the health of a country’s ecosystem by evaluating such factors as agriculture, biodiversity and habitat, climate change, fisheries, and forestry. http://www.globalshe...rformance-index

And basing life decisions, such as moving to a new country, on what Thaivisa posters say is surely not the way to make informed decisions. There is lots of credible and sourced info out there if you want facts and not opinions from mostly bitter people with negative views ... especially considering that is not a trait common of Thais.

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do.

Edit: PS. depending on where you come from, you will likely find that the health system here for foreigners is incredibly cheap, fast and of good standards. Very inexpensive insurance is also available to foreigners for any major health issues that require a stay in the hospital.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Nisa

[ignis]

never a rat or a roach? really?

No idea why, but there is no more here than any other place...... Left school in 1965 started in a bake house, switch on the lights at 3am and the place was full of roaches, had roaches in south of France and Portugal, have a few here, but lift the drain covers and there are 100s here........ Rats for over 60 years no matter where I have lived there has been rats, here is no different only the Thais call Mice rats, have far fewer Mice in the house here then in the UK, Big Rats have seen many here in Markets and Cities, but no more then in Europe... Difference here is rats run around with no one taking any notice, in UK people scream rat rat.

Now here we do get Cobra's and other snakes, there again in UK often we got Adder's in the garden.......... did not get in UK or many other places in Europe, but have many here is Alligators 2.5 and 3 m long big ones, only 2 houses in the Village have had them go into the house, normally only in the road and a call to the Government men brings them to the Village and catch them........... Did have a problem about 6 years ago and again last year with some 2m long Lizard thing, looked like a snake with legs and loved to dive into the pond and maul or eat the fish...

Health, so much better here, still 8+ years on still the best move I made.

Edited March 10, 2012 by ignis

[FritsSikkink]

Everybody has to die sometime

[bendix]

I suggest the OP stays where he is, shuts the door, closes the curtains and never EVER goes outside again. There are too many risks.

[crusader79]

Air pollution in Hong Kong has become a major concern (at certain times of the year), but splitting my time between there and Bangkok I have found the latter to be far worse. If I leave my windows open for any length of time the bottoms of my feet turn black -- perhaps it's simply a question of different kinds of pollutants, but dust in HK is just dust, not black grit. I shudder to think what the lungs of longtime BKK residents must look like, it would be interesting to attend an autopsy.

[DP25]

Air pollution in Hong Kong has become a major concern (at certain times of the year), but splitting my time between there and Bangkok I have found the latter to be far worse. If I leave my windows open for any length of time the bottoms of my feet turn black -- perhaps it's simply a question of different kinds of pollutants, but dust in HK is just dust, not black grit. I shudder to think what the lungs of longtime BKK residents must look like, it would be interesting to attend an autopsy.

This is one of the craziest things I've ever read. I suggest you clean your floor so your feet won't turn black

[Nisa]

Air pollution in Hong Kong has become a major concern (at certain times of the year), but splitting my time between there and Bangkok I have found the latter to be far worse. If I leave my windows open for any length of time the bottoms of my feet turn black -- perhaps it's simply a question of different kinds of pollutants, but dust in HK is just dust, not black grit. I shudder to think what the lungs of longtime BKK residents must look like, it would be interesting to attend an autopsy.

Hong Kong has some of the worst air pollution in the world. Far worse than Bangkok and unlike Bangkok it is getting worse. You might consider that your foot test method of testing air quality is not an accurate gauge to measuring dangerous pollutants in the air.

[djayz]

Yeah, I completely understand your concerns: Afterall, Thailand and the other Asian countries are the ONLY countries on the planet with health/pollution problems.

My advice to you is to stay in your mother's womb - and I am being serious about this. No joking.

The air here is so bad...