Stomach Problems in the Red Sea - how to avoid!

[chris_hull23]

Hi - I've been to Egypt three times (6 weeks in total) and only got slightly ill for one day. I'm no expert but I have seen people who take lots of care to avoid salads, ice, water etc, then they don't wash their hands after they've been in the sea and go and eat some crisps with their hands. I'm a big believer that it is the bugs we aren't used to that cause the problems...

My golden tips.

1) Alcohol Gel - Not just before you eat, but all the time. Think about it, hundreds of people touching (toilet) door handles, cups, sun loungers etc. Not all of them wash their hands especially the kids. We're not used to these germs so best kill them off all the time. When you come out of the sea, before you touch food, and just regularly. That way you're not accidentally passing dodgy germs to your mouth.

2) Good hotel (or pick your food carefully) - I'm careful of poor hygeine in the kitchen, washing salads with tap water, not cleaning plates and glasses properly. In a sense you have to be lucky, but I have eaten salads and cold meats every day and not gotten ill, but we do keep a very close eye on the waiters and practices of the kitchen staff before we trust certain foods. If in doubt I stick to stuff that has been fried and get it as soon as the waiters bring it out so I know its well cooked.

We use the same practice in Bangkok, Mexico, Vietnam etc and never have any serious bouts of illness. Alcohol gel is number 1 on my list of things to take though.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[String]

Or just buy it over there.

 

[TSandM]

String, I don't want to leave anybody with the wrong impression of the liveaboard operator. We had a couple of people get sick while we were still in Cairo; a couple others got sick shortly after boarding the boat (probably picked up whatever it was in Cairo) and I got sick after we had left the boat and were river crusing on the Nile. I tried very hard to see if I could narrow it down to one, shared exposure, and I couldn't.

 

[String]

Ahhh. Nile cruises are a completely different scenario to diving areas!

Its far from rare to have people suffering from that - even a slight spray carried by the wind will do it. Simply being on a boat and breathing that stuff will do it.

Edit:- forgot to add in my experience hotel swimming pools are a more likely culprit for illness than food or anything else too.

 

[chris_hull23]

Or just buy it over there.

Yep - that lead to an amusing game of charades in the chemist in Vietnam once, but we got there in the end.

 

[Searcaigh]

Edit:- forgot to add in my experience hotel swimming pools are a more likely culprit for illness than food or anything else too.

Great place for ear infections too.

I have been traveling to Egypt for over 15 years on business and usually stay in pretty decent hotels when in Cairo. The only time I was ever ill was after a lunch in a restaurant when I did not have a beer with the meal.

Eat freshly cooked food and if you suspect it has been laying around for a while then avoid it. All the other tips mentioned are worth taking note, I usually bring some immodium with me just in case, but never antibiotics.

 

[bubbles01]

Wow guys you have been brilliant - thank you so much for all the information.

 

[bracko]

when you say "travelled the world" where exactly?

Nepal, Mongolia? Cambodia and Laos? or just 1st world countries and areas that cater to 1st world tastes?

someone said go to good hotels... I actually disagree, most expensive hotels I've been to in SE asia and China try to cook western food and meat which creates more stomach problems than the safety blanket it gives you, case in point i received a serious food poisoning from Ruffles in Singapore.

here are my tips...
-Drink LOTS of water... i mean like 3L++ a day, yes that's a lot and if you hate water buy some lime flavouring or just squeeze lime into the bottles.
-Forget about avoiding washed salads and the like, you can't escape it and you need a lot of the nutrients from leafy greens and fruit. I tried to do this the first time i was in SE asia and by the second day of carefully asking and making sure all the ice we had in the 5+ fruit crushes we were drinking per day was made from purified water realised the fruit was cut and washed using tap water. IMO you're more likely to injest a serious amount of bacteria from a piece of meat than a few drops of water.
-[within reason] Eat in restaurants that the locals eat in... apart from usually being the best food they're the restaurants that get the highest turnover usually, so their food will be the freshest. Be careful but not pedantic about it, most eastern and middle eastern restaurants aren't going to be 100% clean by western standards but if they are turning over a lot of meals, then chances are there isn't the time for the food to pick up bugs.
-Reduce your meat intake and increase your vegetable intake. i know most people like their meat, but especially for diving you need to be eating foods with the best energy uptake. fruits, leafy greens are all fantastic for this, anything with beans, seeds, nuts etc etc... are all better than a meat rich diet especially when diving 3-5 times a day.

this is generally what i stick to and I rarely have problems. also one last point which is a bit disgusting, but necessary... if you think you're heading down the path to food poisoning and you feel rotten about 2 hours after eating, 2 fingers down the throat straight away. get the crap out of you ASAP (so to speak) and drink at least 4L of water then stay around a bathroom. and also see if your Dr. will give you some general antibiotics for gastro before you leave.