Will the food and water in Greece be safe for me? What precautions should I take?
May 22nd, 2006, 04:15 PM
#1
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Will the food and water in Greece be safe for me? What precautions should I take?
I'm going for three weeks next month. I read something about not eating fresh fruit and veggies unless you peel them yourself or they are boiled. It makes the water and produce sound really dangerous. Perhaps what I read was dated advice?? I really like fresh fruit and veggies. But, especially since I have a chronic gastrointestinal illness, I have to be very careful. Would anyone help with their knowledge or experience, or guide me to the better sources of reliable info on this worry?
May 22nd, 2006, 04:24 PM
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Uhhh, I think you're confusing Greece with 3rd world Asia and Africa.
My travel doctor didn't even recommend hepatitis B for Greece. My hepatitis A shot (the one I got for the US, by the way) was enough for him.
Not once did I read anything about tap water, or fresh fruits and vegetables. I never had a problem the 10 days I was there in Oct 2004. But then I have a cast iron stomach.
I loved the huge salads with tomato wedges, feta cheese and doused in oil oil and basil. Had one most every meal except breakfast.
My travel doctor didn't even recommend hepatitis B for Greece. My hepatitis A shot (the one I got for the US, by the way) was enough for him.
Not once did I read anything about tap water, or fresh fruits and vegetables. I never had a problem the 10 days I was there in Oct 2004. But then I have a cast iron stomach.
I loved the huge salads with tomato wedges, feta cheese and doused in oil oil and basil. Had one most every meal except breakfast.
May 22nd, 2006, 05:53 PM
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My husband and I were in Greece for two weeks last May and two weeks earlier this month. We ate what we wanted, drank what we wanted (including tap water and fresh produce) and never had a problem. Greece is pretty much like the rest of Europe, I would assume. As I understand it, anyone can have a minor problem if they have sensitive GI tracts just from the change. Mexicans sometimes come to the US and have stomach upsets. But as far as serious illness like food poisoning or parasites, I'd think your chance is about the same as in the US. Where did you read these food and water warnings?
May 22nd, 2006, 06:30 PM
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I kind of wonder where you read that advice, also. I haven't been to Greece in about 15 years, but even back then, I ate and drank anything I wanted and had no problems. I was in Athens, and then a couple islands. I love Greek food, and had plenty of fresh food. I never read anything telling me to be careful of the food, and it is a modern country. I don't have any temperamental stomach problem or chronic illness, though, so if you have something special, I think your doctor must be the one to advise you correctly. YOur doctor should give you advice or refer to you to a knowledgeable travel doctor. There are doctors who specialize in that.
May 22nd, 2006, 07:05 PM
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I do find that this is quite a personal thing. I never thought that I had a sensitive stomach, but I've had reactions to tap water in many other places - including other states and in Canada. I suppose if you're worried you should start off slowly.
May 22nd, 2006, 07:21 PM
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I was in Greece for a week a month ago. I didn't notice any problem with the water or food. The water in Athens didn't taste very good, but that's typical of many big cities in Europe.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no warnings of any kind regarding the water or food in Greece.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no warnings of any kind regarding the water or food in Greece.
May 22nd, 2006, 07:36 PM
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Bottled water is avaiable cheaply everywhere. Even the locals drink it. The tap water's safe to drink but may not taste very good, especially on the islands where it comes from deep wells. It'll have a sodium-taste to it. Other than that you can eat anything that strikes your fancy.
May 22nd, 2006, 08:07 PM
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I wouldn't worry about fresh produce, per se.
Or, even the drinking water.
Due to the time change, however, many people find their "regularity" way off. And, often, "different" water (no matter how "safe"
exacerbates the "condition".
Gosh, but I could not have been more "uncomfortable" during a trip to New Jersey (from Massachusetts).
Bring Metamucil capsules (if your doctor approves) for adjusting to the time difference and drink only bottled water as opposed to tap water.
Or, even the drinking water.
Due to the time change, however, many people find their "regularity" way off. And, often, "different" water (no matter how "safe"
exacerbates the "condition".Gosh, but I could not have been more "uncomfortable" during a trip to New Jersey (from Massachusetts).
Bring Metamucil capsules (if your doctor approves) for adjusting to the time difference and drink only bottled water as opposed to tap water.
May 22nd, 2006, 08:27 PM
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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website is the definitive guide to traveller's health:
http://www.cdc.gov/travel
On the CDC website, Greece is considered part of Western Europe ... the other Balkan countries are Not.
Greek food, water, etc, are as safe as in the USA or Canada.
But, I would never eat food subject to spoilage, off some street vendor's cart anywhere ... in USA or Greece !
http://www.cdc.gov/travel
On the CDC website, Greece is considered part of Western Europe ... the other Balkan countries are Not.
Greek food, water, etc, are as safe as in the USA or Canada.
But, I would never eat food subject to spoilage, off some street vendor's cart anywhere ... in USA or Greece !
May 23rd, 2006, 01:49 AM
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Greek food is among the healthiest in the western world. On the smaller islands (eg Antiparos) vegetables served in restaurants are often picked in the owner's garden that morning, so couldn't be fresher. If you buy your tomatoes in a supermarket, you will be amazed at how tasty they are when left on the vine until fully ripe.
May 23rd, 2006, 05:12 AM
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My heartfelt thanks to all of you! I'm so relieved! I had always envisioned Greece as a modern European nation in this regard and was surprised (and so dismayed!) when I read the stuff about the water quality in Greece, and the attendant risk with fresh veggies and fruits. I'm so glad to know they were wrong and I can look forward to eating LOTS of Greek salads!
I retraced my steps and found out the bad information I came across was on Magellan's website. If you look under their travel info and select Greece, then "water quality" you get: "The water supply in Greece is contaminated with viruses, bacteria and protozoa. Travelers should treat water before drinking to avoid potentially serious health problems." Those of you with direct knowledge of Greece may want to write to Magellan's to get this corrected! (Hopefully it's just an innocent mistake--unconnected with the fact that they sell the travel gear to treat the water!)
The other piece of misinformation was my fault. On Magellan's site, when you select Greece and look under "Health Risks" they list a lot of precautions including ensuring that fresh food is boiled or peeled yourself. When I went back to that and scrolled up a bit I realized that, although this is listed under Greece, it is labeled as general travel advice from the CDC applying to any destination.
Of course, I realize (now) that one shouldn't get travel advice from a website that sells travel clothes, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who got bored with shopping and wandered off the path!
For others who may come across this thread with issues like mine, I'll also include some info I got from my doc yesterday. Since I have crohns disease, any bug that produces diarrhea can land me in the hospital (the same is probably true for those with ulcerative colitis.) The doc gave me a prescription for the antibiotic Cipro. I plan to fill it and carry it with me. If I get traveler's diarrhea, then taking the Cipro for 3 days should clear it up. He says it's usually caused by a variant of E. Coli that your intestines aren't accustomed to. For me, it's a "can't hurt, might help" idea because when I've taken Cipro for other things, it's had a quieting effect on my Crohns. He also gave me a prescription anti-D medication which is supposed to be much more effective than the over-the-counter versions. Finally, he said if I get a high fever with the diarrhea to go seek professional medical assistance. He gave me enough Cipro for 3 episodes during my 3 weeks there. I don't know if the Cipro approach is advisable for healthy people or not, but it might be worth asking your doc about.
He vaccinated me for the hepatitis variant you can get through food (I think that's hep A). We skipped the other hep vaccine (B?) because that is transmitted along the same vectors as AIDS, so the same personal precautions one takes for AIDS (safe sex, etc.) would be effective protection against it. Although I momentarily thought "can't hurt? might help?" I decided not to take the chance of even an obscure side-effect this close to my trip.
Ellen
I retraced my steps and found out the bad information I came across was on Magellan's website. If you look under their travel info and select Greece, then "water quality" you get: "The water supply in Greece is contaminated with viruses, bacteria and protozoa. Travelers should treat water before drinking to avoid potentially serious health problems." Those of you with direct knowledge of Greece may want to write to Magellan's to get this corrected! (Hopefully it's just an innocent mistake--unconnected with the fact that they sell the travel gear to treat the water!)
The other piece of misinformation was my fault. On Magellan's site, when you select Greece and look under "Health Risks" they list a lot of precautions including ensuring that fresh food is boiled or peeled yourself. When I went back to that and scrolled up a bit I realized that, although this is listed under Greece, it is labeled as general travel advice from the CDC applying to any destination.
Of course, I realize (now) that one shouldn't get travel advice from a website that sells travel clothes, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who got bored with shopping and wandered off the path!
For others who may come across this thread with issues like mine, I'll also include some info I got from my doc yesterday. Since I have crohns disease, any bug that produces diarrhea can land me in the hospital (the same is probably true for those with ulcerative colitis.) The doc gave me a prescription for the antibiotic Cipro. I plan to fill it and carry it with me. If I get traveler's diarrhea, then taking the Cipro for 3 days should clear it up. He says it's usually caused by a variant of E. Coli that your intestines aren't accustomed to. For me, it's a "can't hurt, might help" idea because when I've taken Cipro for other things, it's had a quieting effect on my Crohns. He also gave me a prescription anti-D medication which is supposed to be much more effective than the over-the-counter versions. Finally, he said if I get a high fever with the diarrhea to go seek professional medical assistance. He gave me enough Cipro for 3 episodes during my 3 weeks there. I don't know if the Cipro approach is advisable for healthy people or not, but it might be worth asking your doc about.
He vaccinated me for the hepatitis variant you can get through food (I think that's hep A). We skipped the other hep vaccine (B?) because that is transmitted along the same vectors as AIDS, so the same personal precautions one takes for AIDS (safe sex, etc.) would be effective protection against it. Although I momentarily thought "can't hurt? might help?" I decided not to take the chance of even an obscure side-effect this close to my trip.
Ellen
May 23rd, 2006, 09:00 AM
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I'm not so sure about getting Hep A for the US as being too cautious. My husband and I had scheduled innoculations for a trip to Egypt, just boosters of the ordinary and Hep A, when we got a call from my daughter who had recently returned from a business trip in CA. A couple of days after her return she woke up feeling a bit of GI disturbance. Around noon she got a call from one of the people she had met with on the trip to ask if she had eaten in a small restaurant next to the hotel where she stayed. When she said she had, he suggested she check with a dr. since a newspaper article said one of the employees had turned out to have Hep A and anyone who had eaten there in the last couple of weeks was advised to get a gamma globulin injection or take GI symptoms seriously. Turned out that her GI problem was just a 24 hr. bug, but she had to be tested to make sure. That certainly renewed my resolve to get the Hep A vaccine - you never know when you may be in San Diego, after all.
The Pharaoh Revenge my husband and I suffered from rampant consumption of Egyptian salads was our own fault - and only lasted 6 or 8 hrs. Hep A may be relatively mild but it can be a gift that keeps on giving for months. And you may get that gift when you have dinner out at your favorite restaurant next week. If you have any kind of predisposition to GI illness, it makes sense that Hep A could affect you worse than some people.
Ellen, good that your dr. gave you a Cipro Rx. We're advised to get some when we go to the Galapagos/Amazon in Dec., though in my case I'm not sure it should be Cipro since I am allergic to Levaquin, which is in the same family. But Cipro is the drug of choice. You probably won't have any trouble but now you'll have a little extra reassurance, which will probably help you enjoy the trip more.
The Pharaoh Revenge my husband and I suffered from rampant consumption of Egyptian salads was our own fault - and only lasted 6 or 8 hrs. Hep A may be relatively mild but it can be a gift that keeps on giving for months. And you may get that gift when you have dinner out at your favorite restaurant next week. If you have any kind of predisposition to GI illness, it makes sense that Hep A could affect you worse than some people.
Ellen, good that your dr. gave you a Cipro Rx. We're advised to get some when we go to the Galapagos/Amazon in Dec., though in my case I'm not sure it should be Cipro since I am allergic to Levaquin, which is in the same family. But Cipro is the drug of choice. You probably won't have any trouble but now you'll have a little extra reassurance, which will probably help you enjoy the trip more.
May 23rd, 2006, 09:21 AM
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polly...i'm not suggesting that it is not possible to get Hep A in the US or anywhere else. i was more commenting on the irony that if an american said they were getting a hep A jab to visit western europe, the response would be an angry outcry that europe is not a developing country, etc, etc.
May 23rd, 2006, 10:03 AM
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........When I asked my doctor if I
should get shots to protect against
HepA/B for Sicily he told me his wife
just recovered from HepC - she got it
from a stay in a v. swanky hotel in
California. (Not sure if I should
mention the name of the hotel). So
the virus is lurking where you would
least expect it!
should get shots to protect against
HepA/B for Sicily he told me his wife
just recovered from HepC - she got it
from a stay in a v. swanky hotel in
California. (Not sure if I should
mention the name of the hotel). So
the virus is lurking where you would
least expect it!
May 23rd, 2006, 10:36 AM
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" ... HepC - she got it
from a stay in a v. swanky hotel in
California .. " ?!?!
Seems unlikely; per CDC Hep C is
"transmitted primarily through activities that result in the exchange of blood; it is less commonly transmitted by sexual activity. The most frequent mode of transmission in the United States is through sharing of drug-injecting equipment among injecting drug users."
There's also No vaccine available for HepC.
If it was my wife, I'd wonder what she was doing in that "swanky hotel" to catch HepC !
from a stay in a v. swanky hotel in
California .. " ?!?!
Seems unlikely; per CDC Hep C is
"transmitted primarily through activities that result in the exchange of blood; it is less commonly transmitted by sexual activity. The most frequent mode of transmission in the United States is through sharing of drug-injecting equipment among injecting drug users."
There's also No vaccine available for HepC.
If it was my wife, I'd wonder what she was doing in that "swanky hotel" to catch HepC !
May 23rd, 2006, 02:54 PM
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We regularly stick to bottled water while traveling in France--not because the tap water isn't good but because chemicals used in water purification vary from area to area, and it's easiest to stick with water from one spot.
