Anybody else get the runs regularly?

[electricbumblebee]

Did anyone else find themselves getting sick constantly when they first came to Thailand?

When I came here earlier this year, it seems I had diarrhea regularly. I just counted (yes, I keep a record, hey, don't ask) and it looks like I've had about 4-5 bouts of it. This is strange because I only drink bottled water, and I buy high quality groceries and cook at home. (Little or no eating out.) I've also had some inflammation and back pain that tends to act up around these times, and I had a tonsil infection a last month, and this month it seems I've caught yet another stomach bug.

What gives? Is this normal?

[chickenslegs]

You keep a record of your diarrhoea?

[FritsSikkink]

Maybe stop cooking yourself and start eating out.

[CharlieH]

Probably better suited to the Health forum.

MOVED

[Satcommlee]

Maybe Irritable Bowel Syndrome (read up on it)

[Loptr]

If you come from a western country where the food is pasteurized, irradiated, x-rayed, GMO'd and anything else that will kill the bugs, it will take you longer to adjust to the food in Thailand... You might try taking probiotics to build up the bacteria in your gut, but that stuff gives me the runs too...

[Bald Eagle]

My butt looked like a blood orange when I first got here.

Now it looks impeccable. It even has a beard now.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Bald Eagle

[tartempion]

Yep, had scrambled eggs at yesterday's breakfast Novotel Cha Am, not really warm and running, should have avoided such food.

I have this kind of problem weekly, take two pills of some med I brought from Europe, don't have them right here for the brand name though.

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[longstebe]

Only if I stay in the village for more than 3 days.

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[ezzra]

Maybe stop cooking yourself and start eating out.

Au contraire, eating out is what gave him the runs in the first place, it's got to be

a parasite of some sort, and if it persist, see a doctor.....

[Bernard Flint]

I have a cast iron stomach

[GaryB1263]

I have a cast iron stomach

I used to. You are very lucky. Enjoy it. For me Diarrhea is routine. I also keep Cipro and Azithromycin in my condo for occasional use.

[JDGRUEN]

Don't eat the street food.

[Gsxrnz]

OP - are you talking about just having loose bowel motions? That's quite normal in Thailand, and doesn't bother me.

However, if you're getting the genuine runs then you better check with a doctor.

I define the genuine "runs" as being when you have to run to the toilet with your knees together while tightly clamping your anal sphincter muscle.

Tears appear in your eyes and the vision of actually crapping your pants before you get there become extremely vivid.

And when you do get there you have the choice of undoing your belt or closing the toilet door because you haven't got time to do both.

Finally, when you get there with milliseconds to spare, you suddenly find religeon and thank the Supreme Being for His mercy in preventing total disaster.

Anything less than the above is just normal in Thailand.

[i claudius]

When i first came here 24 years ago i got a terrible case of the runs ,eventually i went to a small pharmacy and the Thai pharmasist said to use ERFUZIDE ,YOU CAN GET TABLETS OR LIQUID ,IT WORKED STRAIGHT AWAY ,I RARELY NOW GET THE RUNS BUT WHEN I DO I ALWAYS USE IT ,ITS FAN BLOODY TASTIC sorry about the capitols thats what comes of not looking at the screen , you can get it at farcino or most chemists. ps i find the liquid best

[wow64]

Your body will get more used to it.

Never shat properly when I first came here.. Now used to it I have the opposite problem when I go back to my home country.

First 6-9 months the simplest things would make me loose.. Even kfc sometimes lol.. Hang in there no wonder they have the bum gun here/spicy bum washer

Edited July 27, 2014 by wow64

[slipperylobster]

OP - are you talking about just having loose bowel motions? That's quite normal in Thailand, and doesn't bother me.

However, if you're getting the genuine runs then you better check with a doctor.

I define the genuine "runs" as being when you have to run to the toilet with your knees together while tightly clamping your anal sphincter muscle.

Tears appear in your eyes and the vision of actually crapping your pants before you get there become extremely vivid.

And when you do get there you have the choice of undoing your belt or closing the toilet door because you haven't got time to do both.

Finally, when you get there with milliseconds to spare, you suddenly find religeon and thank the Supreme Being for His mercy in preventing total disaster.

Anything less than the above is just normal in Thailand.

Thanks for the memories...

[slipperylobster]

By the way, a rather interesting side effect of augmentin (an antibiotic) is the hardening up of your stools.

I found this out by accident yesterday. I has some cistitis and was on this antibiotic. Never had a problem with hard turds until this morning. Then I read the side effects.

Well, not recommended as a treatment...but if I get the runs real bad, it would not hurt to pop a small doze of augmentin.....very careful..and occasionally. Diahrea could be amoebic or viral or just bacterial. Ruling out the others over one sometimes helps.

[FBN]

Avoid taking antibiotics if not absolutely necessary and an infection is proven. Chronic type of diarrhoea may result as the normal bacteria in the gut is not given time to re-establish. Take probiotics and natural yoghurt.

If the diarrhoea appears after a carbohydrate load of food, amoeba may also be a factor but that requires specific treatment.

[Brit_Doggie]

A good product Disento tablets from the pharmacy.pack of four only about 15 baht,will clear up the watery stools.

Have used them many times before,

[slipperylobster]

if we did not want to bother crapping in the woods, we would ratf_ck some "C" Rations (back in the day) and open up a tin of cookies and a tin of peanut butter. That combination would bind us up tight for 2 or 3 days.

[FritsSikkink]

Maybe stop cooking yourself and start eating out.

Au contraire, eating out is what gave him the runs in the first place, it's got to be

a parasite of some sort, and if it persist, see a doctor.....

Read the OP, he doesn't eat out.

[wotamess]

Anything containing loperamide will work; this is what the branded products use, but you can get dirt cheap generics here that will do the job. I've been here just under a year, and have major problems in this area that I never had before.

Avoid loperamide products if you're an alcoholic or suspect some liver problems.

[katana]

A good product Disento tablets from the pharmacy.pack of four only about 15 baht,will clear up the watery stools.

Have used them many times before,

Have wondered about Disento before and its active ingredients. From the picture, it contains several antimicrobial agents:

Diiodohydroxyquin

Furazolidone

Neomycin Sulfate

Phthalylsulfathiazole

as well as a bit of light Kaolin to absorb toxins from the gut.

It's common for visitors to LOS to get an upset stomach and end up requiring antibiotics. Wonder how safe Disento is to take over an extended period? Did you get any side effects with it?

[katana]

Just came across this for Furazolidone:

"...Furazolidone is no longer available in Europe and the US. Though an effective antibiotic when all others fail, against extremely drug resistant infections, it has many side effects, and as with other nitrofurans generally, minimum inhibitory concentrations also produce systemic toxicity (tremors, convulsions, peripheral neuritis, gastrointestinal disturbances, depression of spermatogenesis.) Nitrofurans are recognized by FDA as mutagens/carcinogens, and can no longer be used since 1991..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furazolidone

Although, if you Google any drug, you can turn up dangerous side effects.

[bofhman]

Even simpler. Just have a few drops of Chlorine Dioxide aka water purifier in a glass of water. It will resolve just about any stomach bug or food poisoning in less than an hour. Works for me perfectly every time and costs about $8AU for two bottles - the solution and an activator. It's a one to one ratio. Takes a minute to prepare. Cannot get any simpler than that. Don't leave home without it!

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[FBN]

Chlorine dioxide is not intended to be ingested; it is a toxic chemical that can have very severe health effects.

It carries several FDA warnings and is considered to be quackery; please read forum rules when posting.

[Munger]

I have a cast iron stomach

NO, you have NOT. Your reply in the Pattaya street food thread, you said you get sick more in the UK, USA. Not that "cast iron" is it, if you get sick eating in the UK/USA ?

[wotamess]

I have a cast iron stomach

NO, you have NOT. Your reply in the Pattaya street food thread, you said you get sick more in the UK, USA. Not that "cast iron" is it, if you get sick eating in the UK/USA ?

Poor Bernie...

I imagine that a cast iron stomach could cause countless digestive difficulties - from my earlier years when I "experimented" with Guinness (supposedly full of iron) - (notice how if you're a celeb they say you "experimented" with drugs rather than "he was a pillock & did this or that etc?" - we get carboshed as drunks, hippies or junkies - they get to "experiment"...), I noticed that the dark brew had a somewhat darkening and reductive imposition on the seating qualities (black stools like rabbit turd$).

Then again, maybe he doesn't count puking as having a weak stomach?

[papa al]

"I just counted (yes, I keep a record, hey, don't ask) and it looks like I've had about 4-5 bouts of it."

Surely if you kept a record you would know if you had 4 or five bouts of D.

Which s it?

Math is not you strong suit?

Counting past 3 is challenging?