Forums > General > Traveling Mexico

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aaction1

Sep 12, 2005, 9:21 PM

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First time travleling to Mexico question

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Hello all
I read a few weeks ago about something you can take a week or so before going to Mexico that may help prevent traveler's diarrhea(nice way to put it) . We are taking some people that have never been to Mexico and they are worried.
Thanks for any help
Richard

sfmacaws

Sep 12, 2005, 9:39 PM

Post #2 of 56 (6252 views)

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Re: [aaction1] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Acidophilus is what we take year around, I also recommend to friends that they start taking it a few weeks before they leave and for a few weeks after they return home. It gives your 'good' flora and fauna a better chance at defeating any aliens.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Bear

Sep 13, 2005, 3:05 AM

Post #3 of 56 (6240 views)

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Re: [aaction1] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Drink bottled water, wash your hands frequently, especially if you handle the "dinero of the
republic". There are drugs here prescribed by local
doctors that can whip "Mexico's finest" bugs in short
order, that are not avialable in USA yet. All in all,
most gringo upset systems are the result of travel
nerves and too much fun, not food.

HHERRINGTON

Sep 13, 2005, 4:12 AM

Post #4 of 56 (6236 views)

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Re: [Bear] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Agree with all above, but want to add:

Watch were you eat, especally taco stands. If the person handling the food also handles the money skip the place.

Carry disinfectant wipes to clean your hands when you can't wash them before eating.

If you can't get bottled water then drink cokes or cerveza.
----------------------------------------------------

Life is too complicated to be expressed in one liners.

gpk

Sep 13, 2005, 6:50 AM

Post #5 of 56 (6213 views)

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Re: [HHERRINGTON] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Don't eat from any street vendor! Who cares who handles the money--more important is where they go to use the bathroom. (Answer: They probably go around the corner or in a vacant lot.) There are many types of problems to encounter and no single medicine prevents/cures them all. A friend in San Miguel recently got amoebas. Other friends have gotten salmonela, typhoid, and ghiardia.

Bubba

Sep 13, 2005, 8:31 AM

Post #6 of 56 (6195 views)

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Re: [gpk] First time travleling to Mexico question

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I elected not to comment.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Sep 13, 2005, 8:37 AM)

Ed and Fran

Sep 13, 2005, 8:56 AM

Post #7 of 56 (6189 views)

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Re: [gpk] First time travleling to Mexico question

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A friend in San Miguel recently got amoebas. Other friends have gotten salmonela, typhoid, and ghiardia.

We usually get trolelotes from our local steet vendors. Of couse when we lived in Tampico we used to get tamales.

E&F

toddmc

Sep 13, 2005, 9:10 AM

Post #8 of 56 (6185 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] First time travleling to Mexico question

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I don't know where the original poster is located,

But here in Canada we have a vaccine for Turista.
It will dramatically reduce your chance of getting it, or if you still get it, reduce the severity.

I have used it and have had no problems.

It is called Dukoral and here is the website for it.
http://www.travellersdiarrhea.com

as always, your mileage may vary!!

Todd

aaction1

Sep 13, 2005, 9:43 AM

Post #9 of 56 (6177 views)

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Re: [toddmc] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Thanks to all
When we go to Chihuahua City we stay at the same place and watch where and what we eat, so we have never had a problem. This will be the first time to take friends with us I would hate for them to get sick. I agree the worry can sometimes get to you.
We will be moving to the Chihuahua area in 2 or 3 years when I retire and would love to have our friends visit from time to time.
Many will ask why Chihuahua?
1. Our home is here in Lubbock only 9 or 10 hour drive.
2. We have a second home at Ruidoso NM only 6 hour drive.
3. We love the beauty of the mountains and the desert.
Thanks again
Richard

Miguel Palomares

Sep 13, 2005, 3:04 PM

Post #10 of 56 (6127 views)

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Re: [gpk] First time travleling to Mexico question

Quote

Don't eat from any street vendor! Who cares who handles the money--more important is where they go to use the bathroom.

True. Unfortunately, the situation in restaurants is not likely to be any different. Where do the cooks and waiters go? To the restaurant john. And then they rush back to work, not washing their hands anymore than do the folks on the street. I have been in restaurant johns and have seen it happen more than once, employees rushing in and out.

The problem is ignorance, sloppiness, etc., and you will find it just as quickly inside a restaurant as at the sidewalk stands.

So, just eat at home.

From Tzurumutaro, Michoacan, "The Village of the Darned."
_______________________________________

The nuts and bolts of moving to Mexico:
http://michaeldickson.blogspot.com/
The dark side of living in Mexico:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/
Scintillating life in a Mexican pueblo:
http://tzurumutaro.blogspot.com/
http://tzurumutaro2.blogspot.com/

gpk

Sep 13, 2005, 3:57 PM

Post #11 of 56 (6119 views)

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Re: [Emiliano Palomares] First time travleling to Mexico question

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My experience in Mexico is that most (really almost all) Mexican men (can't say what happens in the ladies' room) wash their hands IF there is water. They also use soap if available. A survey in the last couple years said in the USA the odds were less than 50-50 that a man would wash his hands after going to the bathroom. This doesn't mean restaurants are safe--many have inadequate bathrooms, to put it mildly--just a bit safer. I get a stomach problem 2-3 times a year here in Mexico--almost never when I lived NOB.

Miguel Palomares

Sep 13, 2005, 5:01 PM

Post #12 of 56 (6107 views)

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Re: [gpk] First time travleling to Mexico question

If there is water in the public john, and there often is, but not always. If there is soap, and there rarely is. I remember that survey-study thing you mention, and I believe it was referring to guys taking a whiz, not sitting. Big difference in the germ department.

I recall the study revealing that men usually washed their hands after a whiz if other people were in the public john. There was a hidden camera. If nobody was there, they just walked out the door.

But, perhaps I am getting a little too, too, something with this.

I still do not think the risk is much greater at a popular street stand than it is in most restaurants. I rarely have problems, and I eat at certain street stands regularly. The problem is lack of education, in both the English and Spanish meanings of the word.

Now, let us move on to more agreeable subjects, like when Ms. Schmidt is rejoining us!
From Tzurumutaro, Michoacan, "The Village of the Darned."
_______________________________________

The nuts and bolts of moving to Mexico:
http://michaeldickson.blogspot.com/
The dark side of living in Mexico:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/
Scintillating life in a Mexican pueblo:
http://tzurumutaro.blogspot.com/
http://tzurumutaro2.blogspot.com/

tony

Sep 13, 2005, 5:01 PM

Post #13 of 56 (6106 views)

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Always carry TP!!

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Even if you don't get sick ALWAYS carry toilet paper as some restrooms will not give you enough to
work with - if you know what I mean.

"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are."

johnv

Sep 13, 2005, 5:30 PM

Post #14 of 56 (6096 views)

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Re: [aaction1] First time travleling to Mexico question

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I think that the diarhea, amoeba, dysentary, or whatever comes mostly from food and especially from restaurants. It's very easy to drink responsibly, ie. beer, soda, bottled water, boiled beverages, etc. But with food it's more dificult if you eat out. When I came here looking for a rental property in 2002 I had to eat in restaurants exclusively for 2.5 months. On average, I got varying degrees of illness every 2 weeks, eating 2 meals out per day. So I would plan on possibly getting sick once out of every 28 times that you eat in a restaurant at the absolute minimum. For the uninitiated to Mexico crowd I would cut that down to once every 10 meals, in the beginning. I have also gotten sick once in 3 years from oysters from the supermarket. (very very sick). Eating my own cooking I have had one problem in 3 years and that was due to the oysters from the local supermarket. If you do your own cooking, being wary of seafood and fish, and to a lesser extent meat, I think your chances are about nill of getting sick.

Esteban

Sep 13, 2005, 5:38 PM

Post #15 of 56 (6090 views)

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Re: [johnv] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Telling someone to avoid seafood is rediculous. What you have to do is learn to buy seafood correctly. I would never buy seafood at a supermarket except for frozen salmon. Our seafood is bought directly from the fishermen and we look for bright red gills and clear eyes. We buy shrimp and have never had a problem but we buy from the shrimp specialists called Las Changueras. Clams and oysters are bought from a whole sale dealer. The clams are fresh daily. It's easy to test a clam...just open it up and see if it moves. If it's still alive, you're clear to go. The seafood at most of the big markets here in Mazatlan looks terrible. If you smell seafood, it shouldn't smell anything close to ammonia. If it does, forget it.

johnv

Sep 13, 2005, 5:46 PM

Post #16 of 56 (6088 views)

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Re: [Esteban] First time travleling to Mexico question

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I wasn't telling anyone to avoid seafood. I said to be wary of seafood. In the interior of the country, sometimes the only choice is a supermarket. I presently live in the interior, as do most on the forum. Good fish and seafood is easy to find on the coast, and is much less of a problem.

aaction1

Sep 13, 2005, 5:57 PM

Post #17 of 56 (6085 views)

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Re: [johnv] First time travleling to Mexico question

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I'm sure if our friends read this thread they would back out of going with us. We try to keep them safe.
One other thing! what is the cost of gas there now? We were there 2 or 3 weeks ago and the gas was about the same as here. But now it's $2.65gal and going down.
Richard

johnv

Sep 13, 2005, 6:02 PM

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Re: [aaction1] First time travleling to Mexico question

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US$2.25 +/- .05

aaction1

Sep 13, 2005, 6:03 PM

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Re: [johnv] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Thanks

Rolly

Sep 13, 2005, 7:52 PM

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Re: [aaction1] First time travleling to Mexico question

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The price of gas in Mexico is not subject to the wild swings as in the USA. The price goes up very slowly.

Rolly Pirate

jtomich4

Sep 13, 2005, 10:03 PM

Post #21 of 56 (6019 views)

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Re: [Rolly] First time travleling to Mexico question

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We travel through Mexico in an RV for five or six months a year and eat tacos al pastor from street vendors whenever we please. You know, the vertical rotisserie, with pina and lots of salsa. We pull over for pollo asado as well, with all of the fixings. We seldom suffer. Almost never. Last year, we had lunch with some relatives staying at the Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, just north of PV, and became seriously ill for several days. The kind of ill that makes you wonder if you're going to make it, or even if you want to. Just goes to show you, shit happens. Most of the time we prepare our own food. We wash our hands and soak the veggies in an iodine solution. Some years we don't have any stomach problems. We trust our instincts, always looking for the happy diner. If it doesn't seem OK, don't eat it. I've eaten a lot of street meals, and I don't believe they're any more risky then the high end restaurants as long as you're paying attention. Thanks, John

In Reply To

julian3345

Sep 14, 2005, 7:48 AM

Post #22 of 56 (5987 views)

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Re: [gpk] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Twice a year, I do a three day course of something called DAXON which is meant to kill off the parasites, amoebas, etc. No prescription needed in spite of what it says on the box. Perhaps your friends should pick up a box of these capsules to take after they get home. Not all of the critturs which cause internal problems are food or water borne...pinworm eggs are blown around on bits of dust, for example. I've observed that food is left out on the stove top far too long in homes and restaurants...when I asked some friends why they didn't put leftovers away in their beautiful large refrigerator, they said that the food sitting on the unlit stove was cooked, therefore safe! They use the nearly empty refrigerator mostly for cold drinks. Joan

LindaM

Sep 14, 2005, 2:24 PM

Post #23 of 56 (5937 views)

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Re: [aaction1] First time travleling to Mexico question

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I don't think anyone in this thread mentioned the Pepto Bismol preventative. Fifteen or twenty years ago the University of Texas did a study where two groups ate and drank exactly the same things in Mexico but one group took 3 Pepto Bismol tablets before each meal and at bedtime. No one got sick in the Pepto group - lots got sick in the other group. Prior to living here full time we always took our Pepto when travelling and never got sick and never suffered any side effects from the Pepto as can happen with some turista perventatives. The other thing I'd like to mention, again based on a study conducted in both Houston, Texas and Guadalajara is the picante sauce sitting out on the table in most restaurants. In both cities a large percentage (don't remember the numbers) of the tested salsa contained enough e-coli bacteria to cause illness. I used to get sick much more often before I read that study and began avoiding the salsa. If you've ever been sick due to e-coli you would do anything to keep from getting it again!

Cynthia7

Sep 14, 2005, 3:41 PM

Post #24 of 56 (5919 views)

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Re: [julian3345] First time travleling to Mexico question

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Daxon is a great antibiotic for parasites. It works in the intestinal tract and not in the blood stream.

gpk

Sep 14, 2005, 3:57 PM

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Re: [Cynthia7] First time travleling to Mexico question

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If you get sick in Mexico, go to a doctor. It will probably cost under US$20.00 and you'll be able to find out if you have a bacteria, virus or parasite--all different and all requiring different treatments. Why does everyone seem so afraid of seeking professional help?

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