Errol

is stomach illness/traveler diarhea a problem in thailand? <BR>I know of the infamous bali belly in bali but was wondering if it is any better or less likely to happen in thailand. <BR>My fiancee is extremely stomach sensitive and although would like to visit Thailand, am worryied about gett ill. <BR>I know not to drink the water but anything else?

Ursula

Errol: I don't think you have to worry too much when following this: peel it, cook it or forget it. Also very important don't put ice in your drinks even if the water should be ok (i.e. in a top hotel). But the very cold can harm your stomach. Besides that avoid to eat too many fruit and salad stuff the first days and try to get slowly accustomed to Thai food which is absolutely delicious. Don't eat too spicy either. That's is actually no problem. The spicy sauces often come separately. Hope that you and your fiancee will enjoy Thailand. I do love it from North to South, not so much Bangkok though, but it has to be seen as well. Good trip!

JC

I am also extremely stomach sensitive. Amazingly, I was relatively ok during 2 wks of travel in India, but in Thailand, I came down with some weird stomach ailment (the horrible D) on my second day there. I was being really careful too! I think it was the juice I bought from a vendor at a temple. The juice was bottled and marked "pasteurized," but perhaps their bottling and pasteurization standards aren't the same as ours in the US. My stomach ailment lasted only a day or two, but my stomach was never quite right for the the entire trip. On a more positive note, my boyfriend was ok through the entire trip. Also, my parents were there for a week-long trip and neither experienced any stomach problems. My father has a sensitive stomach, too. So, yes, there's a risk of getting a stomach ailment, but I wouldn't let it get in the way of a trip to Thailand. I loved it there in spite of my stomach troubles.

Ricky

Don't eat the packed fruit/ice cream on the street.

xoxo

I had just the worst stomach upset in Pattaya, I thought I'd never make it back to Bangkok......

Andrea

I've been to Thailand twice and never had any trouble. <BR> <BR>In any "lesser-developed" country, you run more of a risk of being bothered by this type of thing, but certainly thousands of Western tourists travel to Thailand every month, and MOST won't get sick. <BR> <BR>If your fiancee has a weak stomach, she should just be super cautious with what she eats. Bottled water only (and wipe condensation off first), cooked restaurant food only, and she *SHOULD* be fine.

lynn

Errol - <BR> <BR>You can use ice cubes; just make sure they have a hole through them like a donut. This means they came from a special filtered machine. They're O.K. <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR> <BR

Ursula

Lynn: What I meant is that very cold can upset your stomach (not only because of bad water used for ice cubes). Why otherwise would all people in hot countries like Africa drink hote tea. Only stupid tourists like we are sometimes want to have chilly drinks. ok? But I guess it must be difficult for you Americans; you use much more ice in just about everything than we Europeans do.

Florence

Stomach upset in tropical climates comes essentially from drinking instead of eating enough solid cooked food. Even in a safe country like Japan, I've seen tourists getting horribly sick in the hot humid summer: they mistakenly thought that you can survive by only drinking in the humid heat and that the colder, the more hydrated they would be. <BR> <BR>This leads to an imbalance in your bodily fluids that can make you very sick indeed. <BR> <BR>So the recipe in tropical climates is: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it, sip cold but not iced drinks, and have enough solid cooked food everyday.

jennjen

I was on google trying to fun four about upset stomach in Thailand, because I have one!

About an hr after dinner, I felt average but ok. Woke at 2am still feeling a bit average. A woke at 4am as I had to rush to the bathroom! For the rest of the morning, I have been continuously going and feeling very average!

My partner and I shared everything yesterday, except for a cocktail I had with ice cubes! I have a weak stomach anyway so I'm not 100% sure if it was the ice cubes or the food.

I don't recall holes being in them but I also wasn't paying attention as I wasn't aware of that until I read the comments here.

Anyway, just wanted to add my 2cents. I'm hoping this is only going to last the day and ill be back to normal tomorrow

rhkkmk

suggest that you do not eat street foods... bottled water only... avoid buffets

kmkrnn

Be sure to keep hydrated... Even if it goes in one end and out the other. f after a few days still having symptoms or it get worse you may need antibiotics. Any pharmacy can give you something.

Hanuman

Jennjen - my advice is to "let it flow"

Kathie

I think you get the award for the oldest thread topped - the original post is from 2001.

If you are still ill tomorrow, or if there is blood in your stool or you have a fever, you should get treatment. Bangkok has excellent medical care. Go to Bumrumgrad or another local hospital.