Me: queasy for about a week after coming back from Israel. Nothing terrible.

Wife, who spent a fair amount of time in India and was sick for a day but otherwise fine there: Michigan. She was there for a business trip and essentially missed the whole conference.

When I travel to a place where I may get a foodborne illness, I take a probiotic capsule whenever I eat something. It helps a lot. The beneficial bacteria crowd out any harmful bacteria that are trying to invade your system. Sometimes if I am coming down with a foodborne illness, I take a probiotic capsule asap, and my symptoms go away. I bought a cheap bottle of probiotics from costco, which has lasted me 3 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

It's filthy, poor hygiene and they have a terrible bed bug problem, as well as lice.

Open defecation. Some posters have had random food poisoning - note some people like just done chicken or fish [could be a spot undercooked] but most who go to India even with using sealed bottled water, no ice, no uncooked produce get something nasty. Even staying in the nicest hotels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Guatemala two summers in a row for a few weeks. Both times when I returned I was terribly sick for 1-3 weeks with intestinal issues. Weird thing was I didn't have any issues when I was there - symptoms started within 12 hours or returning home.

My cousin went there on a missions project or something. Came home and noticed this bump on her face that got bigger quickly. Went to the Dr's and found out that an INSECT had laid eggs in her CHEEK.

It was effing awful! 20 years later she still has a scar there!

*Sorry for tangent.

I spent 2 weeks in Guatemala and didn't get sick once. We were careful not to drink the water and our food was also prepared with bottled water. We also only ate out at restaurants we knew were safe/had better food practices. That said, there were people on the trip who did get sick, including one woman who needed an IV she was so sick.

I have traveled all over Europe and also to Taiwain (in Taiwan we ate a lot of street food and at all the the markets) have never had an issue. Pretty sure my husband got slight food poisoning in the Bahamas.

It'll always be BARF-celona to me. Oysters. Food poisoning. Oy vey.

Anonymous wrote:My mom got the most sick in Mexico.

Between my dad and mom, they have been to India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, maybe some other SE Asian countries, Hawaii, France, GB, and some others I have maybe forgotten.

Trip to Mexico basically ruined her life for weeks! She avoided all water and produce. (Tried to eat US supplied produce only (in u.s. Govt/city center areas)). She suspects some served at a very American restaurant was local produce after all. Just ruined. She visited me directly afterward and my young child was afraid of the guest area of our home! Bathroom was a disaster.

Sorry but this is so stupid. Your mom should understand that it doesn't matter where the produce originates if it is washed with unclean water before it's served.

The United States.

Nepal for general stomach issues. Dysentery in Myanmar. Dirty water comng out of a shower in the Philippines also destroyed me.

Israel

My mom got the most sick in Mexico.

Between my dad and mom, they have been to India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, maybe some other SE Asian countries, Hawaii, France, GB, and some others I have maybe forgotten.

Trip to Mexico basically ruined her life for weeks! She avoided all water and produce. (Tried to eat US supplied produce only (in u.s. Govt/city center areas)). She suspects some served at a very American restaurant was local produce after all. Just ruined. She visited me directly afterward and my young child was afraid of the guest area of our home! Bathroom was a disaster.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is India worse than other third world places?

B/c people on DCUM love to bash India. I am not Indian but I have been there 6 times for work.
I have never gotten sick. The first time I was super careful. Now I brush my teeth with tap water and still have never had an issue.
Stay in a nice hotel. Eat in reputable places and you will be OK. it is a beautiful country that gets such a bad rap on this site.

Well, those who give them a bad rap are the ones who are slumming it in India and then get ill. If you can stay in a 5 star hotel, eat at a good restaurant instead of a road side dhaba or street food, drink bottled water - you will be fine.

I am Indian and I have long since lost my immunity to the bugs in India. The way I keep myself free of illness is to drink bottled water and brush teeth with bottled water. Eat hot cooked meals and stay away from salads or anything raw. Eat fruits that you can peel the skin away. I always load up on delicious lassi carried by most food places that are chockful of probiotics. Use odomos on skin to prevent mosquito bites and have one of the electronic mosquito repellants in the room you stay in.

Mongolia. It was worth it.

Morocco, but I would still go back. I got super sick twice in a week.

Dominican Republic. I do not stay at resorts, so that could be why.

I went to Cuba in 2006 and picked up something nasty. I also got food poisoning in Spain.