steve54

Wow, that's a new one for me. I would eat any fruit I could peel and feel safe - perhaps not.

Last 2 times I struggled to eat anything other than toast and brought real food back in over a few days.

I have used antibiotics both times previously as 2 days and imodium were just not doing the job, what I hope to be able to do is avoid the symptoms from day 1

I will do as much as I can to stay well and reduce the risks, but I am going to do what I'm going to do and if I get sick I will be disapointed but just deal with it like I have in the past. My main hope is that if I do get sick it's short term and curable (food poisoining, crabs or the like), rather than treatable but not curable (AIDs, Hepatitus) I have been vacinated for a much as I can and take PREP and DoxyPEP when in Thailand

I try to avoid jiuces and ice as well, stick to drinks froma sealed bottle or can, I don't have breakfast at the hotels, most often a late start and pancakes at a local cafe.

I am paranoid about water, brush my teeth with bottled water, rince the tooth brush with it as well. Perhaps I am just dlicate

OK, on my past 2 trips to Bangkok/Pattaya I got sick and lost 2 days each time followed by an additional day or so of still not being 100%. I hate being sick and losing a significant portion of my available holiday. On my last trip "ianoxon" from the Pattaya forum suggested that a Cholera vaccine offers some protection from food poisoning, so this post follows on from that suggestion and I have done is a bit of AI research and considered the benefits for me for future trips. So here are some details that I have found out (cut and pasted from a long-winded AI series of questions and clarifications): The Cholera vaccine protects against Cholera and enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) that produce heat-labile toxin — these can cause a type of traveller’s diarrhoea. There is no/ZERO protection from other forms of food poisoning such as Campylobacter Non-ETEC E. coli Salmonella Shigella Norovirus Staph toxins Parasites (Giardia, etc.) Having said that in “my view” the use of untreated water to clean utensils and prepare food combined with our hobby puts us more exposed to this type of food poisoning/infection than perhaps a sexually inactive tourist of say Europe (with treated water and higher food hygiene standards). Apparently ETEC is one of the most common causes of traveller’s diarrhoea in Southeast Asia and we are maybe at an increased risk. So the vaccine itself can offer partial, short-term protection against ETEC-caused diarrhoea. This short term appears to be about 3 months. For ETEC traveller’s diarrhoea (the partial protection): Peak protection: in the first 1–3 months after completing the course Meaningful protection fades after ~3 months Virtually gone by 6 months (but still effective for Cholera for a total of 2 years) The vaccine is taken orally in 2 doses Ideal schedule: Dose 1: about 3–4 weeks before travel Dose 2: about 1–2 weeks before travel You are protected starting 1 week after dose 2 Booster One dose, at least 1 week before travel (Only valid if your last course was within 2 years) So, this to me seems a valid and useful option for annual travellers and not so useful for residents (who perhaps have hardened up and have a bit more tolerance to local water/food than us blow-ins). Anyway, my next trip is planned for early next year and I will be dosed up with Dukarol (the Cholera Vaccine) and hopefully avoid getting sick.

My understanding is that there is no problem taking them together (I have been prescribed both for use together later in the year on my intended Thailand trip). I believe that PREP can be taken ongoing but DoxyPEP is an antibiotic intended to be taken either after an exposure or at half dose for a max period of 28 days - so in my case I will take DoxyPep daily during my 2-3 weeks trip. One aspect of DoxyPep that I was advised about and quite relevant to Thailand is that when taking it the user is at a significantly higher risk to get sun burnt and as such hats/shade and sunscreen become more important.