Sods bloody law ! just arrived and dosed with the cold :/(

So, as the title says "sods bloody law" after weeks of working my ass of to get everything in order for my trip I've just arrived in BKK to amazingly find myself dosed with the bloody cold out of know where it seems ! :-(

Departed Dublin on the Eitihad flight which I found to be spot on, I hadn't flown Eitihad before and was pleasantly surprised by the level of service and comfort even in the cheap seats at the back where I was !

So after something like 18 or 19 hours door to door I couldn't understand why I was so wrecked on arrival ( at 10am) and ended up taking to my bed for a "quick nap" and didn't wake up until 8pm !!! And worse still still felt like crap to the point of thinking maybe ill not even bother going out !

However I'm glad to say common sense prevailed and I ended up sending out for a BB rooms massage boy who gave me a great massage and even better sex which seemed to wake me up a bit :-)

i then headed out to Soi twilight which even at 11.30pm was quite quiet for a Friday night and with the bar opposite hotmale bar being closed for renovations there wasn't much craic about, so after grabbing a quick beer there i ended up meeting up with an old Thai fuck buddy and went together with him to DJ ( where i instantly of course regretted being him the moment i walked in ! )

So after long session back at my room ( trying to shift my cold just you understand) another Thai fuck buddy friend has just called to go out to dinner - which apparently he tells me must involve sex before we go - which to be honest I could see far enough right now as I'm feeling like crap - my my the things one has to do just to keep the peace it seems !! :-)

[anonone]

Hey NIrish. Glad to hear from you...and even better since you are back in Thailand. Looking forward to hearing about your further treatments for the cold. Your activity beats the hell out of a trip to the pharmacy and chicken soup. :sign5:

Cheers.

[joe552]

I'm telling you, it's God's punishment for going to Thailand and not taking me. :bounce:

seriously (?) I'm sure you'll be fine in no time and having even better fun. Keep us updated.

[dab69]

now just go sneeze on the next few pushy mamasans
that can't take the hint

HATE the thought of giving my cold to
a cute guy I would off- I just go have drinks
and go to bed all alone.

good excuse in pushy bars> Mai sabai lek- cough cough sniff sniff

[Oliver]

My sympathies. Either I get a cold on the way to Thailand, or on the way home.
It's the result of spending twelve hours in a filthy environment where the air is constantly re-cycled; if one passenger gets on the plane with a cold, you can be damn sure that a hundred will have caught it before the plane lands. It is well-known that the quality of the air has become worse since smoking was (quite rightty) prohibited. The airlines save money by not bothering to clean the air properly. And we suffer.

I was advised by a doctor to put tea-tree oil up my nose every couple of hours or so. I've been doing this for years; now the smell reminds me of Thailand!

It has improved my chances of avoiding the bugs but has not solved the problem. I now use one of those surgical masks that Japanese girls used. I soak it in the tea-tree oil.

The problem is that I look a dick. I probably smell a bit strange, too.

[Neal]

Regrettably it seems that everyone has a cold here in the LOS also. B my b/f has had a wicked cold for about a week. I try too keep him a couple of arms lengths away unfortunately. This is a very wicked bug that is going aound causing either extreme coughing and in sme cases laringitis.
Good luck and stay safe!

[UncleTom]

I always suck a "Fisherman's Friend".

It doesn't help the cold, but hanging around the beach all night takes my mind off the runny nose :dontknow:

[dab69]

I always suck a "Fisherman's Friend".


hope the Friend is cute and
doesn't catch your cold.

go "sun" it off at the beach
and drink it off at night (the cold)

I find colds don't last nearly as long
in the warm tropics

[cameroncat]

Traveling by Air in the winter time with a plane full of people with colds and recirculated air, you are at great risk of catching a cold just as you arrive for your vacation. Not much you can do about it...

[dab69]

I am sure HEPA filters are just too
damn expensive for planes.

[a447]

Some of the info posted above is not quite accurate.

You most likely got ill owing to the sudden change in climate on arriving in LOS and a reduced immune system response caused by fatigue, cabin pressure and, most importantly, low humidity. This is not because of filthy air (it isn't filthy), nor on account of the air being recirculated.

It is true that the air is recirculated, but not the same stale air throughout the flight. Approximately half the air is recirculated and the other half enters the cabin from outside the aircraft via the engines. The air is replaced entirely every 3 or 4 minutes. Also,the 50% of air that is recirculated first passes through a HEPA filter which, as you know, removes 99.9 of bugs. The reason why all the air isn't replaced at the same time is for easier temperature control in the cabin.

The air on a bus or in a movie theatre is much dirtier than the air on an aircraft, as is the air in offices where people work day after day. In fact, even hospitals do not change the air every 3 or 4 minutes.

The lack of humidity is the major problem for passengers' health. Germ-stopping mucous surfaces dry up and allow the bugs to enter our system, so you will only catch something from a passenger sitting nearby, not from germs floating around the cabin.

There is very little moisture in the air at high altitude. The only option would be to introduce moisture into the cabin via water tanks. Water = weight = higher fuel consumption = higher costs. And of course, the integrity of some of the metal parts of the airframe is compromised my moisture (although these days, composite materials are widely used).

So I think you'll find it is here that the airlines save money, not by allowing its passengers to sit in dirty air throughout the flight.

[christianpfc]

Another note on air in planes and Thai cinemas: I always found the temperature to be too cold in airplanes and in Thai cinemas and I wondered long time why this is so. Then I had an epiphany: For the operator and for the other passengers/customers it is more convenient/pleasant* if everyone is slightly cold than if everyone is slightly hot (sweating).

*not pleasant for me if I'm cold instead of sweating, but pleasant for everyone else

[Halfhansum]

Does anyone else suffer with thier feet in Thailand ?
I walk for miles in the uk without problems, but within a couple of days in los, i get blisters ..
Always put it down to the heat, softening my skin, but never heard anyone else complain..
:dontknow:

[Khor tose]

You probably know this, but the Thais have a great over the counter cold medicine called TIFFY. Works as good as the Coricidin I take at home for a cold and it is only pennies for a package of 4 pills.

[Neal]

Hi KT. Yes Tiffy is very very good. Just make sure it will not interact with other meds you are currently on. I can't take any over the counter meds as I am on so much shit already. A quick call to your docor should answer that for you. :sign5:

[egel]

Does anyone else suffer with thier feet in Thailand ?

Yes me.
Feet are dry and hot after a week or so and the skin tends to crack around the heels. Can be quite painful.
Get some E 45 Cream (for feet) and rub in twice a week and all is fine. Ignore what it says on the packet to do it twice a day!

[anonone]

You most likely got ill owing to the sudden change in climate on arriving in LOS and a reduced immune system response caused by fatigue, cabin pressure and, most importantly, low humidity. This is not because of filthy air (it isn't filthy), nor on account of the air being recirculated.

It is true that the air is recirculated, but not the same stale air throughout the flight. Approximately half the air is recirculated and the other half enters the cabin from outside the aircraft via the engines. The air is replaced entirely every 3 or 4 minutes. Also,the 50% of air that is recirculated first passes through a HEPA filter which, as you know, removes 99.9 of bugs. The reason why all the air isn't replaced at the same time is for easier temperature control in the cabin.

The air on a bus or in a movie theatre is much dirtier than the air on an aircraft, as is the air in offices where people work day after day. In fact, even hospitals do not change the air every 3 or 4 minutes.

The lack of humidity is the major problem for passengers' health. Germ-stopping mucous surfaces dry up and allow the bugs to enter our system, so you will only catch something from a passenger sitting nearby, not from germs floating around the cabin.


Excellent summation from a447 on this. Increasing your intake of water on long flights will be the most effective thing you can do to if you tend to get sick after traveling.

I am amazed at how many times certain tales take on credence and are just accepted. This is the same as people who think going out in the cold weather means you will catch a cold. :violent1:

[christianpfc]

Does anyone else suffer with thier feet in Thailand ?
I walk for miles in the uk without problems, but within a couple of days in los, i get blisters ..
Always put it down to the heat, softening my skin, but never heard anyone else complain..
On the contrary. In Europe, I suffer from weak athlete's foot which never goes away (probably the fungus is in my socks* and my shoes), but after a few days in flip-flops in Thailand it is gone (but comes back when I am in Europe). There is a slight problem with the bar/bridge (of the flip-flop) between the large toe and the next toe chafing my skin, but I get used to it.

*I have heard daily change of socks is beneficial, I might try some day.

[cameroncat]

a447 is correct. You are much more likely to catch a cold on a plane from direct contact with a sick passenger within close range to you or from touching everything from bathroom door handles to overhead compartment handles. Catching a cold in winter has more to do with people being inside and spreading germs than it does the actual temperature. As he said, getting very little sleep on a long flight and then immediately partying it up upon your arrival will do a number on your immune system and make it easier to catch something from that cute thai boy you hired or that sauna at the Babylon LOL