Staying Healthy on Your Trip

[OrlandoGringo]

Please provide feedback. 

I've been to Colombia approximately 16 times over the past 15 years spending 1-3 weeks there per visit in cities such as Bogota, Cartagena and Bucaramanga. 

About six years ago I got really sick in Bucaramanga.  It turned out I had a bacterial infection of my intestines.  I was vomiting and had diarrhea.  I couldn't keep anything down.  After a couple of miserable days I went to the hospital for the night for fluids (I was dehydrated) and anti-biotics.  I attributed that episode to sausage pizza that I ate the night before I got sick or on draft beer I drank at a local casino.  But the fact is I really don't know what caused that. 

This past December I was in Cartagena and ate a chorizzo from one of those roadside cooks that's out there every night and in the same spot serving food to multitudes of people.  The next morning I had a repeat of what had happened previously.  This time, however, the vomiting was more violent.  I ended up in the hospital in Boca Grande for several days getting antibiotics and fluids via and IV. 

I plan to go to Cartagena again in June to visit my fiance.  I plan to be very, very careful.  Although it is my understanding that the tap water there is safe I will, neverthelesss, only use bottled water to brush my teeth, drink, etc.  Also, I will avoid all roadside vendors as well as shrimp and pork. 


What other steps might I take to stay healthy when visiting there?  I had thought about buing and taking antibiotics once I get there as part of a short-term regimen to snuff out any bacteria that I might contract.  Thanks in advance for any helpful feedback. 

[Woody]

Also, I will avoid all roadside vendors as well as shrimp and pork.

What is the reasoning behind this one? Going kosher?

[Researcher]

  I have followed a couple of general rules in my travels.Don't listen to anyone that says the water is safe to drink.Maybe it is or maybe it isn't. Don't drink the water and don't eat anything that has been washed with the water, unless you can peel it. Try not to get the water in your mouth or eyes in the shower and use bottled water to brush your teeth. Don't drink anything with ice in it either.

   I know it sounds too restrictive but once I got in travel mode I followed these rules and have rarely been sick and then it was only the runs.

    Researcher

[OrlandoGringo]

What is the reasoning behind this one? Going kosher?

lol!  It is my understanding that shrimp and pork spoils faster than some other foods.  Maybe I'm mistaken and it's not necessary but like Researcher stated in his post, don't eat anything that needs to be washed with water so I guess that would rule our shrimp cocktail.  As for fried shrimp maybe that would be ok but once you've puked violently for a couple of days and get stuck in a hospital one tends to be a little paranoid.   

[Researcher]

   I would also not eat any meat that wasn't cooked thoroughly.Especially chicken.I have travelled with guys who didn't follow these rules and wondered why they spent alot of time in the bathroom.


      Researcher

[Researcher]

     Also OG,  you might want to check the CDC website to see what vaccinations they recommend.


 Researcher

[OrlandoGringo]

Will do, thank you!

[euforia51]

     Also OG,  you might want to check the CDC website to see what vaccinations they recommend.

Researcher ... what about resurrecting the thread you started a few weeks back?

http://www.planet-love.com/forum/index.php?topic=6088.0

[utopiacowboy]

I guess years of drinking out of the cattle trough have served me well - I never get sick even drinking the tap water I wasn't supposed to drink in Monteria.

[whitey]

The tap water isn't safe on the coast if you're not accustomed to it.

I've been to Barranquilla/Cartagena/Santa Marta 9 times, and I used to get sick almost every trip.  After a few trips, my (now) wife told her mother to start using bottled water in the juices when I ate at the house, and I haven't been sick again since ... that includes a 6 week stay around Christmas.

I use tap water to brush my teeth without any problems, but anything more than that seems to be a killer.

Besides staying away from the street meat, you need to be careful with fruit and fruit juices you buy off the street, since it will be washed or mixed with tap water.

[OrlandoGringo]

Whitey, after what I went through I'll take your word for in on the tap water!   

I suppose one thing we can also remember to do that wasn't yet mentioned is WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY! 

Nothing ruins a paradise trip like becoming violently ill.  Talk about the school of "hard knocks".  I learned my lesson, I hope!   

[Jeff S]

I'm going to bet that it had nothing to do with the sausage, nor the chorizo cooked on the roadside grill. It was probably far more likely vegetables, fruits, fruit juice, horchata, or some other non-cooked item washed in water or made with contaminated water - maybe fresh vegetables (chopped herbs, onions, etc.) picked from the fields and not washed. It only takes 140 F to kill all harmful bacteria (Pasteurization) so unless you eat medium rare pork or chicken, it's sterile.

The deal is that the people there have been eating those bugs all of their lives, so their bodies know how to handle it. That's why they don't get sick and you do.

Give up pork and shrimp if you like but I'd wager you ate or drank something uncooked that did you in.

[OrlandoGringo]

Well now I'm trying to remember.   

[OrlandoGringo]

Ah ha!  I did enjoy drinking cantaloupe juice.  That was the only juice I ever drank.  Maybe it was that! 

[Researcher]

   Here is a link with some good info:http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/content/survival-guide.aspx


      Researcher

[OrlandoGringo]

Thank you!