canterbury417

Just wondering, as my husband has a weak stomach. What should I bring withme from home as far as meds?

KimJapan

We've never been sick in Thailand. I think that it's partly luck and partly hygiene. Use common sense...don't eat ice cream out of a street vendor scooping cart (thawed and refrozen over and over), stick to reputable establishments, and by all means wash your hands often and especially before eating/drinking.

If you have medicines that you regularly take, of course, bring them. Thai pharmacies stock most everything, and many meds are available without a prescription. Simple diarrhea medicine is readily available. Be aware that a change in diet, climate and time zone can bring on bouts of diarrhea/constipation that are not related to any sickness at all...many cases of traveller's diarrhea are simply adjustment to a diet suddenly high in unusual tropical fruits or spice, for example. If you are concerned, you may want to be extra careful, gradually increasing fruit and vegetables over a period of a few days if you don't normally eat lots of them.

Many people avoid ice and salads like the plague...I think that you'll have to decide that for yourself. We tend to eat whatever we like and drink whatever we like...but control where we do that.

You might also check the CDC website for traveller's health information that you might find useful.

laurieco

The safest thing to do is...DON'T DO IT!! If you eat salads or have ice in a drink outside a 5 star hotel, you are asking for trouble. I won't even eat a raw salad in a 5 star hotel. I've gotten extremely ill from this and it's just not worth it. Brush your teeth with bottled water as well. Ice is okay in the very top hotels but I wouldn't trust it anywhere else. Bring immodium, though you can buy it easily in Thailand but you should have some on hand just in case, believe me, you do not want to have to run around looking for it at an inopportune moment!

Kathie

I only at salads at five star hotels, and likewise with ice. However, I understabd that most ice used in hotels and restuarants in Bangkok is made commercially with purified water, so it is probably safe. Nonetheless, know fully the water precautions at www.cdc.gov/travel and vary from that at your own risk.

Carrabella

There is a popular chain of restaurants called ,I think, MK, which advertises that its vegetables are triple washed in sterile water. For those of us who don't eat in 5 star restaurants, it is very cheap and fun to watch groups of Thais enjoying their meals - lots of community "Shabu Shabu" cooking.

Hepatitis A can be caught even in a 5 star hotel,from food prepared by an infected person - have vaccinations before you go. This can be a serious disease.
As stated, for travellers' diarrhoea, medicines are readily available should you need them - but try oral rehydration formulas first.

harzer

I drink the tap water in BKK, Singapore and KL without any problsm exctp it a fecks my typin.

I eat off the street vendors carts and in the markets all over the country.

I never touch ice or salads.

I have been following the above rules since my first trip to BKK in 1961.

Harzer

rhkkmk

this week we embark on our 7th trip to bkk....we have very strict rules for ourselves to avoid sickness:

nothing but bottled water---EVER, excption is the shower...

we never eat from any street vendors, EVER...

we eat no salads...we do not drink table water either except on the last trip we started to do so in some 5* hotels...
NO ICE period..
at mcdonalds we have no ice in drinks and have bottled water instead...no lettuce either in sandwiches...

we avoid buffets, except for breakfast ones...

if you did not peal the fruit we do not eat it usually...mango being an exception..

we prefer custom cooked meals...ones that have not been sitting around for some time on a steam table...

we have never had a problem following these guidelines...

as said above use common sense and never be tempted...this will assure a bad belly problem on your trip---ere on the side of caution...

rhkkmk

FORGET FROZEN DRINKS---make them after you return....

Neil_Oz

Don't know about Thailand, but we often ate from street stalls in China and Vietnam, and always brushed our teeth with tap water, with no ill effects. We didn't stay in 5-star hotels (but then, we never do) and didn't eat at McDonalds (but then, we never do). However, if your husband is particularly susceptible to bugs you'd be best advised to take the more cautious approaches advocated by some other posters.

orgy7

yes.. as most said just don't bother..

and don't eat the things I usually eat here in BKK

-salads
-tap water
-raw oysters
-stall food
-super spicey food

hell right now im fighting a bad case of diahria wich has lasted for a couple of days.. maybe I'll go too doctor tomorow.. lol..

laurieco

I eat super spicey food in Thailand, at hotels and in regular restaurants and don't have any problems. the spiciness won't cause you to get sick, unless you have a very sensitive stomach or never eat anything remotely spicey. Just make sure it's cooked well.

rhkkmk

well cooked and recently cooked...

TracyB

We only drink bottled water and brush our teeth with bottled water (no exceptions)..Absolutely no ice in drinks even in 5*.Never eat raw vegetables and eat fruit only that you peel yourself and only eat at street vendors if it is something like Chai (in India where they boil the shit out of it), and we rarely get sick..However, sometimes you just end up with a stomach ailment no matter what you do to avoid getting one..But do take every precaution you can and that is all you can do..When we were in India, some of the people on our tour ate raw vegetables and street vendor food and never got sick once..So you never know!! I once got sick in Thailand after eating ice cream, but I deserved it..

glorialf

I only use ice and eat salad at the Oriental Hotel where I know I am safe. Everywhere else I use bottled water. I will eat salads in other 5 star hotels or restaurants but that's it. There's no drink in the world worht wrecking my vacation over so I tend to err on the side of caution.

I only do buffets at five star hotels.

welltraveledbrit

Wow I guess I'm in the minority here. Along with orgy 7 we ate everything!

No salads? How can you resist the green papaya salads?

We ate on the streets and at markets...wonderful grilled fish with a salty crust stuffed with lemongrass, small chive flavoured star shaped dumplings. Outside Chaing Rai we drank strange, sweet and colorful homemade cordials in pink and brown, perhaps hibiscus and coconut flavours?!.

We ate at the resorts, on the street and at small local restaurants with no ill effects. However, I must admit I grew up partially in west africa and I think this may help, but my husband's a new Yorker and he had no problems either.

I'm not at all convinced that food in a 5 star hotel is really any guarentee of safety...my brother backpacked around India years ago and had no problem until he ate at the Lake Palace in Udaipur!

When we travelled in India last year I was more cautions and brought cipro plus a strong anti-diahreal which was very effective...I think you need a prescription for it in the US but it's worth getting if it alleviates any concerns.

However, while I went the pharmocological route briefly in India it's worth noting that some medical advice suggests that while keeping up the fluid intake it's better not to medicate for such problems.

Hope you have a great trip.

BillT

Ok so two people go to BKK and eat from the street vendors and don't get sick- now do you want to bet your vacation on those odds?

OJudy

Like others have suggested, you need to use common sense. If the place looks clean, you can give it a try. If it doesn't, move on. It's the same thing I do here in the US when eating out.

But there is one additional thing I do when traveling that I don't do at home -- I have some yogurt for breakfast every morning. I think that the active cultures provide some benefit because I have never had a problem.

Craig

We are also very careful. Spicy food doesn't bother us (well, my wife maybe a little) but we brush our teeth with bottled water and don't do salads, ice, street vendors, etc. We did get sick in Bali - probably our hotel restaurant, we think. We had Cipro with us though and we were back on our feet within 24 hours.

CFW

Well-taveled, You're back! How was your trip? Anxious to hear more about it -- Sounds like you had a great time food-wise.

orgy7

I should probably not be countded as a thai "tourist" Ive been living here for 2= years.. and have gotten sick many times..

it seems that people tend too always blame the last thing they last ate or posibly the cheepest thing.."it could not have possibly been from lord Jims"..

saying the above I believe I gotten sick from eating at KFC, ultra spicey food at a decent local resteraunt and drinking fruit yogourt.. .

----------------
I wonder what people in forums like lonely planet and ohters where the travalers tend not too eat at 5 star places say about this subject.. I get the feeling they don't suffer from diahria that much since they tend too be well traveled and have wrecked thier stomoch enough too be able too handle most of the street stall food that comes thier way.. for us backpackers burger king is a 5 star resteraunt..