snorris

I have some questions about the seafood/fish cuisine in Italy. I keep reading about calamari, octopus, cuttlefish, sardines, etc. Would some of you foodies elaborate a little more on some of these dishes and let me know if I need to take an extra supply of immodium if I decide to partake of any of these unfamiliar foods. My husband & I are your average american seafood eaters. Shrimp, oysters, snapper, grouper, crab, lobster, halibut, salmon, etc.

cigalechanta

You are mentioning food I eat at home and I never need immodium.

vedette

If you eat all that ocean stuff, I think you are unlikely to need Immodium on account of the Italian seafood. But a lot of travelers get upset from different ordinary bacteria in one area than the bacteria their bodies are used to at home. It's not a matter of sanitation being worse, just stuff your body isn't used to. I always carry Immodium when I travel.

Scarlett

I always carry Immodium but mostly because of water in strange places for me. Like cigalechanta, those are foods we eat here in the US and I have never gotten sick from eating them.

elaine

Anyone can have unpleasant reactions to all sorts of food. Sometimes I react to changes in water; it's not that the water is contaminated, it's just a different combination of minerals and sometimes I react. If you eat seafood anyway without a problem, no reason to think that you'd react badly to other seafood.
In any case, due to an allergic reaction once, I always have benadryl and immodium in my handbag.

djkbooks

I pack absolutely everything "just in case", for everywhere we go, but have never, ever, needed Immodium (usually the opposite).

I have to agree with Scarlet - stick to bottled water. It's well worth the (nominal) extra expense. The local water is more likely to give you problems, if you experience any (which you may not), than the local foods.

It's not that there's anything wrong with the water, just that it's "different".

Believe me, I quickly figured this out after attending several computer seminars in New Jersey!

Scarlett

Topping this for snorris.
I would guess that the odds of a person having a stomach problem from drinking the water, going from one state to another are limited.. just going by my own experience. I have gotten sick plenty of times on trips from food and water, but I have never gotten sick drinking the water in Georgia while living in Florida or from living in NY and drinking the water in NJ or Mass.
Seafood can bother some people even at home.
If you think you will be susceptible to a reaction, either take some good meds or skip that dish..
I hear that you cannot get a bad meal in Italy though, so I think this will not be a problem for you, snorris. Have a great time!

ira

Hi sn,

You have answers on both of your threads.

elaine

Hi Scarlett
Actually, I can relate an interstate gastrointestinal aquatic problem:
A friend of mine has a summer cottage on a lake. The drinking water comes from a pump that feeds from a natural spring ( drinking water not directly from the lake, tho' the spring feeds the lake too).
Every time I (and other visiting friends) drink this supposedly pure spring water,we get bad cases of heartburn, and and yet none of the locals have this reaction. We actually did an experiment among ourselves once with a control group, and only the spring water-drinking visitors got the heartburn. The old pump was replaced years ago with galvanized steel; no difference.
The locals can't understand why we effete city people, accepting lord knows what in our usual drinking water, don't react well to their country water.

I go there, I bring my own bottled water. Give me the asphalt jungle, those woods ain't safe

snorris

To Ira & Elaine - I thought I was in the Italy forum when I posted but wasn't so that's why I posted twice.

Marianna

My husband and I have eaten numerous seafood specialities while dining and cooking in Italy. I read somewhere (perhaps here) to be careful eating seafood from the Bay of Naples (not sure where you are going), but we have never had a problem. However, I always carry a little supply of Immodium, Pepto Bismol, etc. just in case.

Go prepared and enjoy, snorris!