Can you still buy Cipro in Coz w/o seeing a dr there?

[cvchief]

Our trip was shortly after Easter, and that year there had been a ban on the importation of those confetti filled Easter eggs from Mexico because of some sort of contamination. Maybe there was a connection.

Oh, great! My sister in law smashed like 10 of them on me during Carnival. I need to get some cipro quick!!! :reaper:

 

[Mossman]

I generally trust the food on Coz, but not salads nor coddled eggs.

I avoid chicken too, anywhere: Which Food is Most Likely to Make You Sick? - Slashfood

I'll make sure to order (and eat) a chicken caesar salad in your honor when I'm on island in June. That should cover all the bases.

 

[DandyDon]

I'll make sure to order (and eat) a chicken caesar salad in your honor when I'm on island in June. That should cover all the bases.

Got cipro...?

 

[redacted]

I'll make sure to order (and eat) a chicken caesar salad in your honor when I'm on island in June. That should cover all the bases.

With that plan, it would be good if you are staying at one of those places where the bathroom sink is right next to the toilet. It just makes it easier.

But I do agree. What is life without a few little challenges? I'd even eat the Garlic Conch at Coconuts again.

My interest in a course of antibiotics is more due to the occasional cuts and scrapes you may incur followed by the tropical SW exposure. Neosporen usually take care of a little pinkness but it is nice to have a fallback plan.

 

[swamp diver]

I usually travel with a 3 day course of cipro and will start it should there be diarrhea with fever, blood or bad abdominal pain. After 20 years of traveling to Mexico I've probably used it 3 times and each time within two doses (500 mg) I am feeling fine again.

I've also now added the probiotic Florastor to my travel regimen just in case it is more likely a viral diarrhea (i.e. Norovirus) which is the offending pathogen. I haven't actually had an opportunity to take the product but likely would do so with the cipro if indicated or on its own for a milder watery diarrhea with no fever.

Florastor 250 mg and Florastor Kids probiotics medication for diarrhea. Restore Your Flora! (see list of clinical studies for those interested under Information)

With the incidence of traveler's diarrhea very high in Mexico (last time I checked it was second only to Bangladesh) prevention is the order of the day. One study tried to ascertain why this incidence was so high despite most tourists only drinking bottled water/pop/beer, etc. They compared various food sources between a Mexican town and a largely Hispanic Texan town. The main culprit for E. coli was the salsa and mayo containers left on the table in Mexico in the heat. Due to stricter restaurant inspection in Texas these containers were put in the fridge between use. Unwashed fingers end up in those salsa, guacamole and mayo containers which are great culture media for bacteria when left at 30 C (90F) for 12 hours a day!

If I don't see these containers come out of the fridge cold I move on or leave them untouched on the table.

 

[Mossman]

With that plan, it would be good if you are staying at one of those places where the bathroom sink is right next to the toilet. It just makes it easier.

But I do agree. What is life without a few little challenges? I'd even eat the Garlic Conch at Coconuts again.

My interest in a course of antibiotics is more due to the occasional cuts and scrapes you may incur followed by the tropical SW exposure. Neosporen usually take care of a little pinkness but it is nice to have a fallback plan.

I've done a fair bit of traveling throughout Mexico and have eaten plenty of chicken and salads, rare beef and raw fish, even a mezcal worm. I rarely get sick in my travels and I don't particularly watch what I eat. My stomach has a high tolerance, I guess.

I've been fortunate never to have a cut or scrape get infected in the tropics, but if that occurred, I'd just go see a local doc if I couldn't treat it with neosporin, leeches, or prayer. My exception would be a rustic liveaboard or dive resort in a remote location. Then I'd probably want to come prepared.

 

[TSandM]

I'm also lucky . . . the only place I have EVER gotten sick at all was in Egypt, where we ALL got sick at some point, and some people very ill.

Do not take Cipro for wound infections -- it is very rarely the right antibiotic. Most skin infection are due to staph or strep; trimethroprim sulfa is a reasonable antibiotics for this, these days.

 

[DandyDon]

I'm also lucky . . . the only place I have EVER gotten sick at all was in Egypt, where we ALL got sick at some point, and some people very ill.

Do not take Cipro for wound infections -- it is very rarely the right antibiotic. Most skin infection are due to staph or strep; trimethroprim sulfa is a reasonable antibiotics for this, these days.

I have heard some divers say to expect to get ill in Egypt, but that's just hearsay from me - never been there or close.

A Coz DM told me that he got bit by a moray once, took so much Cipro that his head spun, and I wondered? He may not have bothered seeing a doctor for all I can guess?

 

[Brules]

Self medication is bad mmmmk.

 

[swamp diver]

Interesting that Norovirus infection in returning travelers is far more common than previously thought. Cipro or any antibiotic for that matter will remain ineffective against this viral pathogen. The probiotic Florastor may improve the symptoms.

Noroviruses as a cause of diarrhea in travelers to... [J Clin Microbiol. 2010] - PubMed result
The Prevalence of Norovirus in returning internati... [BMC Infect Dis. 2010] - PubMed result

Interesting relationship between ambient temp and ETEC infection in Mexico. I suspect it is related to the salsas left on the table and the ability of E. Coli to grow, or the high ambient heat overcoming the ability of refrigeration to keep food stuffs in the ideal temperature range to inhibit bacterial growth.
Seasonality of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli path... [J Travel Med. 2011 Mar-Apr] - PubMed result