Getting Sick in Thailand

[kodiak]

I was wondering if others have had the same experience as myself.......I have been to Thailand 4 times now.....and have always gotten ill upon returning to the US...? And im thinking it could have something to do with the air cons....? I also always stayed at the same place.......so I will be trying a new place next time and see if the same happens again........This last time i was prepared with antibiotics and meds from the doctor before i left......but still got sick anyways....?? Usually upper respiratory sickness...?

Are these air cons left uncleaned for years....I beleive there are filters that should be changed regularly....but this is Thailand...?

Do those that stay in Condos experience same..?

I was wondering if others have had the same experience as myself.......I have been to Thailand 4 times now.....and have always gotten ill upon returning to the US...? And im thinking it could have something to do with the air cons....? I also always stayed at the same place.......so I will be trying a new place next time and see if the same happens again........This last time i was prepared with antibiotics and meds from the doctor before i left......but still got sick anyways....?? Usually upper respiratory sickness...?

Are these air cons left uncleaned for years....I beleive there are filters that should be changed regularly....but this is Thailand...?

Do those that stay in Condos experience same..?

Never been sick in Thailand :cheers: ! US , oi , i not go there, i feel sick just thinking about ! :flower:

[Jetsam]

Maybe usefull if u tell us what place u stay so whe can avoid it :blackeye: , never been really sick , at least nothing worse that imodium couldn't solve in few hours.

[kodiak]

Always an upper respiratory problem...towards the end of my stay ...or just after i return home.....never had too much problem otherwise with gastro intestinal issues......

Would rather not say the name of hotel........but it is in Sunee area....

I am convinced it has to do with being in those air cons for 2 or 3 weeks at a time....and then re adjusting back home...? at least that is my theory...?

.... some wag here will cast aspersions about how you managed to contract infections everytime you visit Thailand, but I for one am convinced its a wicked combination of things. Some times bad air con, sometimes going from cool bedrooms to warm streets and then into bars (which, although atmospheric with twinkling lights and twinkling guys by night are, in the light of day, a little on the grotty side with overused and exhausted dusty air con systems). I also think if you, like I, are a smoker, you may be more prone to the afflictions of a sore throat & hacking cough.

Last time I tried using the air con as little as possible and purchased a small fan for beside the bed. There is, however, always that temptation to switch on the air and get that quick chill up your gussetts.

[TrongpaiExpat]

some wag here will cast aspersions about how you managed to contract infections everytime you visit Thailand

Well, ok but how else then?

"Close personal and prolonged contact is necessary for the cold viruses to spread. The viruses must get into the nose where they can infect the nasal membranes. The virus must attach to nasal cells after which the viruses can multiply. Inhaling contaminated droplets produced when someone else coughs or sneezes may be one way to catch a cold."

"Some people associate exposure to the cool air from air conditioners as a cause of colds. Again, it is not the temperature that is the culprit. Air conditioners remove moisture from the air which, in turn, can dry the mucous on the nasal membrane. Without a sufficient mucous layer covering these membranes, the nose becomes more susceptible to viruses that cause the common cold."

I find that saline nose spray helps.

www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/common_cold.html (http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/common_cold.html)

Also: www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/clds&flu.html (http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/clds&flu.html)

I have had quite a few bronchitis attacks both in Thailand and upon returning to the USA. I finally bought a small air filter machine at Emporium for about 4,000 Baht that I kept running in my hotel room. That pretty much solved the problem for my visits to BKK. A Thai friend keeps my air filter machine for me until my next visit.

Upon my return to California, especially during the rainy winter months, I almost always came down with bronchitis which lasted several weeks. My theory is that the changing humidity from within and outside of hotel rooms and the long dry-air flight back to the USA reak havoc on the lungs. I bought an Ionic Breeze air purifier from Sharper Image (2 for about $500) and never had a bronchitis attack again.

It works for me. I'm not sure if it will work for everone else.

American Donny

[francois]

I usually contact some sort of respiratory problem on the flight to Thailand; a follow up cough/cold while in Thailand; and a lingering respiratory problem when back home. When in Thailand there is no doubt it is from close contact with someone! The AC in the condo I stay is cleaned just prior to my arrival so that is not the cause.
Also usually come down with food poisoning so have plenty of antibiotics just in case.

Don't forget that when you are on vacation, you tend not to take care of yourself as much as at home. Less sleep, more physical activity, more contact with large crowds (DIsco, bars and saunas). All these things increase the risk of catching something because your immune system is weakened. Often the resulting cold/cough will not manifest itself until the vary end of your trip or on the flight home. It happened to me on my last two trips to thailand and a trip to switzerland last summer.

[Bob]

Everything I've read indicates that we're exposed to various cold viruses daily and that we tend to actually contract the colds when your body is ripe to do so. One doesn't contract the virus just by getting cold, warm, or wet. The virus allegedly makes its most easy entrance into your system through dry/cracked nasal passages - and I would expect that the air conditioning contributes to drying out your nasal passages.

But I think (only guessing) that we're only talking about half the problem here. When I'm home, I eat regular (for me) food at regular intervals, have decent sleep patterns, and only drink 2-3 times a month at dinners. On vacation to LOS, I'm jammed into poorly vented airplanes for long time periods, totally alter the foods I eat (let alone the times I eat), drink like a friggin' fish almost every night, occasionally get buckets of putrid moat water thrown in my face (Songkran in Chiangmai), etc., etc.

Hey, I'm just happy to come back alive.....

[fedssocr]

could also have something to do with the pollution.

my problem was food poisoning when I was there.

[Impulse]

Im sure the aircons are not cleaned regularly.I also worry about the airplanes,the huge turnover of passengers and the cleaning crew just make a cursory sweep.I was dreadfully sick two trips ago upon my return home.Im sure it was a virus,it started with an itchy rash on my foot and when lying in bed I could literally feel the pain start from my feet work its way up my body.It was like flu and my back injury flared up from whatever this was.Still dont know what it was but hopefully my immune system took care of it.lol.

[catawampuscat]

Since becoming an ex-pat and living full time in Pattaya/Jomtien, I rarely get sick and when I do get a cold
it is usually of the most mild variety and it is also rare for me to get stomach ailments.

I believe, I am healthier, living in Thailand than in the West, althou one thing to watch out for are skin ailments
like fungus, but creams are easily and cheaply available and do the job.

Considering the intimate contact I have with so many Thai guys, I am surprised I don't pick up more colds or
other ailments. I should be knocking on wood as some friends do indeed have health problems and things like
motorbike accidents and badly maintained walking surfaces take their toll and some seem to have a problem with
the pollution and dirt in the air. Almost no problems with STD's unless people are keeping them quiet and aside from
getting the crabs, relatively safe healthwise , if one takes care of themselves and thinks with the big head...

The air quality and air sharing on your long flight is a better candidate for the source of your susceptibility to infection than your hotel air-con.

[bao-bao]

My last outward-bound flight to LOS was not a pleasant trip. Not only did I have the drunk college guys whooping it up a couple of rows behind me about all the pussy they were going to get in BKK but across the aisle from me was a husband and wife with two sick kids, the three year old boy with a wracking cough that was only slowed by his bouts of projectile vomiting every hour or so (тАЬsorry, he has whooping cough,тАЭ the father apologized!) and the other three almost constantly coughing and sneezing throughout the 10 hour flight. The plane was full so my requests to be moved were futile. I myself was sick four days later. IтАЩd say тАЬyou do the math,тАЭ but it doesnтАЩt quite fit here.

From what IтАЩve read over the years, the ONLY two things one can do to avoid cold and flu-like viruses are to drink plenty of water or juices тАУ not coffee, tea or alcoholic beverages, all of which just dehydrate you more тАУ and wash your hands! Frequently. Especially if you have a tendency to touch your eyes, nose or mouth very often. The alcohol-based тАЬwaterlessтАЭ hand sanitizers are also very effective when waterтАЩs not available.

Since it normally takes the common cold 2 to 3 days to take hold after youтАЩre exposed, it seems more likely that your system's just been weakened by jet-lag, changes in your normal (or abnormal) rest patterns, a lack of hand-washing, even by having a candy bar (a study noted by HealthWorld claims тАЬcell mediated immunity is depressed by 50% for 120 minutes after ingesting 75 grams of sugarтАЭ).

You canтАЩt avoid exposure, necessarily, but you CAN do things to keep your own immune system stronger and help your body fight off germs and viruses: keep your hands clean, stay hydrated and stay rested. By тАЬrestedтАЭ I mean having a somewhat normally-scheduled nightтАЩs sleep, not staying up most of the night and then catching naps on the beach during the day. I know, I knowтАж easier said than done when weтАЩre on holiday and donтАЩt want to тАЬmiss out.тАЭ

IтАЩve long thought that it isnтАЩt the тАЬwet hair/air-conтАЭ connection that helps you catch a cold; IтАЩd always thought itтАЩs actually being sweaty and then going into an air-conditioned place that made us more susceptible to a virus but I canтАЩt find much evidence of this other than a site that said тАЬa 1998 Australian study of athletes and the levels of the blood cells that fight infection showed that getting chilled in the twenty to thirty minutes after a hard workout drastically lowered the levels of these тАЬgerm fightersтАЭ and often resulted in the subject coming down with a cold. They recommend that the athlete get a warm or hot shower right away rather than staying sweaty and getting chilled.тАЭ I think thatтАЩs pretty close to тАЬon the mark.тАЭ

As for airplanes, you probably donтАЩt want to know how unsanitary they are overall. Likewise the plates and bowls at most local Thai eateries, especially outdoor places and food carts. TheyтАЩve grown up with the local germs, we havenтАЩt. WhatтАЩs fine for the locals can be a race to the Imodium for a falang.

Drink water, wash your hands, get a decent nightтАЩs sleep. ThatтАЩs the best you can do.

I believe that too much sex can also lower your immune system.
:bounce:

[kodiak]

Bao.......thats the best advice so far I think.......drink lots of water , get decent rest.....not stay up all night then nap at the beach.....( so funny yet so true ) , and wash hands

I am rethinking my air con theory......I think your common sense aproach is probably the real cause of my sickness

But i must try and control myself better next time around.