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Dh with very sensitive stomach going to India, what to look out for?

28 replies

emkana · 15/12/2008 20:09

Dh is worried that instead of attending business meetings he will spend large amounts of time in the bathroom. He will be a bit off the beaten track as well, so there won't be necessarily lots of western type food available. Any tips?

OP posts:
soapbox · 15/12/2008 20:13

Take plenty of immodium and diorlyte.

Drink lots of bottled water.

Do not eat salads or fruit (as they may have been washed with germy water).

MummyGorilla · 15/12/2008 20:19

Eat vegetarian at all times. Hot food only. Hand cleanser before you eat, and wipe cutlery with a clean napkin.

zookeeper · 15/12/2008 20:19

avoid ice.

emkana · 15/12/2008 20:21

re fruit - what about bananas and oranges which haven't been peeled yet, should be okay shouldn't they?

OP posts:
Myrrhcy · 15/12/2008 20:22

An Egyptian friend once said squeeze a bit of lime or lemon into your mouth before eating and don't eat in places which cater for tourists.

Mind you my brother went for a few months and didn't get ill once.

Always wash hands before eating. It will be expected anyway (we are a bit lax here)

KnickKnackNaNollaig · 15/12/2008 20:25

Get a really good brand of probiotic, one that doesnt need to be in fridge. Take 1 everyday before and while he's away. Take 2 or 3 a day if he gets sick.
Solgar multi-billion dophilius is expenaive, but one of the best there is, and really worth every penny.

no tap water. only bottled water. make sure bottle is sealed when they give it to him and not just a re-filled bottle.

no ice. no ice cream.

triffictits · 15/12/2008 22:20

ok - this sounds odd, but believe me, I spent a lot of last year working in India (numerous visits)....he must avoid rice.

The first time i ate it (after not listening to colleagues who had been before) I was very very ill. All my colleagues who went out after me and ate it were also ill. Its because they tend to leave it standing in water that is tap water.

Also be careful of fruit and salad and ice. Of course no water.

On the plus side, if he does get ill, the doctors there are fantastic and have brilliant remedies for anything!

tkband3 · 15/12/2008 22:28

He should avoid really cold drinks. Apparently, really cold drinks when you are really hot can upset the stomach very badly and are often the cause of 'delhi belly' rather than the food.

And I got ill the last time I was in India from eating vegetarian noodles - I was 8 weeks pregnant, so avoiding all shellfish (even though we were in kerala, right by the sea) and meat (more for squeamish reasons) and was ill for the whole of the last week because the oil they cooked the noodles in was off.

So whilst there are certain things he can do to avoid being ill, like only drinking bottled water (and as KnickKnack says, checking to make sure the bottle is properly sealed before he opens it, as there are some unscrupulous people who re-fill bottles from the tap and sell them), not having ice and not eating salad or fruit that he doesn't peel himself, it really is the luck of the draw unfortunately. But as triffictits says, the doctors are fantastic.

TheBrayingBanshee · 15/12/2008 22:32

My dh was appalingly ill, as was I. Our advice is don't go.

TheBrayingBanshee · 15/12/2008 22:34

seriously though, we know people who got ill eating food off plates that hadn't been dried properly. Keep that anti bacterial soap about at all times and only brush teeth with bottled water.

elsiepiddock · 15/12/2008 22:36

Would echo ice, rice, ice cream and salad and be vigilant on checking seals on bottled water.

ninedragons · 15/12/2008 22:40

Don't eat anything raw - the worst food poisoning of my life I got from a single dried apricot. Definitely true about rice - standing rice grows really nasty bugs.

Try to eat only in posh hotels. They have their own back-up generators so their food is always refrigerated. Everyone I know who's been to Laos except me has had terrible food poisoning because the power supply there is very erratic so food goes through a freeze-thaw-freeze or chill-warm-chill cycle pretty much daily.

I'd take a couple of packets of muesli bars in my luggage, if I were him. The fewer meals you have to eat locally, the more chance you have of dodging the bugs. A British friend of Indian extraction says that still after all these years visiting cousins, he can feel his sphincter tighten as the plane touches down.

KnickKnackNaNollaig · 15/12/2008 22:47

when several of my family were in India, they generally tried to eat with the locals, not in tourist spots. They also took lots of snacks with them for whenever they were stuck. One couple travelled for several months and never had any tummy problems.

KnickKnackNaNollaig · 15/12/2008 22:48

The company he is going to visit...will they be able to give advice on where to eat/not to eat when he gets there?

Nighbynight · 15/12/2008 23:40

the food on the aeroplane on the way home

FleurDelacour · 16/12/2008 00:15

My OH visits India once a month for work. As well as following the advice already on here he avoids putting his head under the shower and doesn't let shower water touch his mouth. He has had no problems.

chandellina · 16/12/2008 13:14

much of this sounds a bit alarmist to me. i've been twice for a month each time and worst i got was a one-day tummy bug after eating in a very posh place. we ate in a mix of local and tourist places.
it really is the luck of the draw, and i guess some people have less bacterial defenses than others ...

KnickKnackNaNollaig · 16/12/2008 18:57

OP mentioned her DH has a sensitive tummy, which was why I recommended the top notch probiotics .

Just remembered another small tip...always use bottled water for brushing your teeth!

I have to say, on the whole I agree with what Chandellina just said. My family were reasonably cautious, but not OTT, and had zero problems. I think they lived on bananas, bottled water, rice and chick pea curry.

KnickKnackNaNollaig · 16/12/2008 18:58

Keep forgetting to add...hope he enjoys his trip, or at least enjoys the experience

georgiemum · 16/12/2008 18:59

Watch out for inc cubes in drinks. My sis was very smugly travelling the world without any ill effects until she had an ice sube in a drink.

Puked for distance and accuracy for a week.

georgiemum · 16/12/2008 18:59

Watch out for inc cubes in drinks. My sis was very smugly travelling the world without any ill effects until she had an ice sube in a drink.

Puked for distance and accuracy for a week.

Drusilla · 16/12/2008 19:02

When I went we lived on cooked vegetable dishes from local places and were fine until I got blase and had something with raw tomatoes around the edge of the plate. Then I was quite ill for a few days!

stuffmyturkey · 16/12/2008 19:07

You are not protected in fancy hotels, not much you can do about it though. Even McDonalds (no beef) can give you a bug here from the salad in the burgers.

Having said that, he'll probably be fine. If he's on business he's not going to be eating street food anyway. But he shouldn't hesitate about sending meat dishes back if he's not convinced they're cooked properly.

stuffmyturkey · 16/12/2008 19:08

Imodium keeps you ill for longer. Unless he absolutely has to attend meetings etc he should always let it get out of his system before going down that route.

beforesunrise · 16/12/2008 19:17

you have already had excellent advice but just to reassure you- i have been to India twice, and to Morocco and Egypt (the latter camping in a bedouin place- well it seemed like a good idea at the time!) and have never been sick. i have been in both cheap and middle range accommodation, used public transport, travelled around A LOT. my top tips:

take the probiotic as someone else has said- start taking them about one month/2 weeks before going, and keep going while you're there. in fact if he has a sensitive tummy it's a great idea on its own

be religious, no, obsessive about washing hands. it really is key.

stick to vegetarian food, readily cooked. no buffets. no salads. no fruit unless still with skin on (and obviously peeled). no food from the hotel minibar.

drink only bottled water, and use it to brush teeth too.

if at all unsure about the cleanliness of knives and forks- use your hands! (after having washed them well, obviously). most indians use their hands anyway, and cutlery may not be regularly washed. (this tip i got from an indian friend)

do not assume that posh places are a safer bet than mid range ones- in fact they may be less safe if turnover of food is less frequent!

if you are really really worried- get his gp to prescribe a wide ranging antibiotic before he goes, which he can start taking at the first sign of illness (seem to remember i got that from my gp before my first trip).

wherabout is he going? in my experience (limited!) south india much cleaner than north india!

last but not least- i hope he doesnt get too stressed about it, indian food is amazing and deserves to be enjoyed, and india is an amazing place!!!