How to get rid of Ixchel's revenge aka turista

[DandyDon]

Good thread; cute title. More of a General Travel topic, yet will probly help more here. The only time I have been ill on a trip was a flu relapse on a cramped Blackbeards, not only ruining the trip but no resources available at sea and no help from the crew. If one had to get sick, Coz would be a nice place for it - but I'd rather avoid it still.

AI buffets are indeed worrisome. The last time I stayed at one, I needed something, could not find a waiter anywhere, so went back into the kitchen. No cooking. It all all been delivered from another location, leaving me to wonder about the handling? The next day, I tried to eat at the outdoor lunch buffet still wearing my dive skin - but the lukewarm food had flies walking on it. The drunks were eating it, but I couldn't. I marched over to the restaurant still wearing my dive skin, sit down at an outdoor table, and they waited on me ok. I escaped that place a couple days later and swore to never repeat a Coz AI! I've done one since in Roatan but no problems, altho I avoid salads.

I have no concerns about the Coz restaurants, their ice, etc, altho again I avoid salads. The hotels I've stayed since the AI escape have all supplied filtered RO water in room pitchers, but I like to make full pots of coffee in room and mix kool-aid or crystal lite for my own jugs so I just grab a 5 gallon bottle of RO water to take to the room, or tip a porter to bring me one. Tilt to pour works ok.

I don't like the idea of taking Pepto as a preventative, but maybe some actually need to. I do take a few boxes in my bag just in case, whether I go to a country south of the Rio Grande, to another state, over even within Texas. Food mistakes happen anywhere, but I never eat anything cooked at a US convenience store. :shocked2:

On physician made a good case for a 5 year typhus vaccine, but I didn't. I just stick to the safer choices as I travel.

Hydrating early and often is important to traveling and to diving both, so I work at it - not until I arrive unfortunately as I hate airplane lavatories and looking for airport heads, but once at the hotel - aggressively!

And I test every tank I breath to rule that out.

 

[MMM]

I never get sick in Coz. I eat at restaurants heavily patronized by locals; if they don't have good sanitary practices and customers get sick, word gets around quickly. Not so much at tourist restaurants. I also eat food from street vendors including the guy that comes around caleta with the pot full of empanadas for the same reason. We have bottled water at the house but I don't hesitate to rinse my mouth with tap water after brushing my teeth. Be careful with what you put in your mouth on the east side: no electricity and therefore no refrigeration OR hot water for washing dishes! I tell myself that a shot of tequila is good for killing off bugs. ;^)

I have found I'm more likely to get sick eating at airport restaurants for some reason.

 

[TSandM]

Part of the problem with recommendations for diarrheal illnesses is that they are not all the same.

If you have an outbreak at a resort or on a ship, it is quite likely to be viral. Bismuth preparations aren't useful for viral enteritis, but anti-motility agents like imodium can help limit symptoms.

"Food poisoning" can be due to preformed toxin. This is likely to be the problem with foods like buffet offerings that sit out at temperatures that aren't high enough to prevent bacterial growth. Again, anti-nausea and anti-motility agents can limit symptoms, but there is no antidote to the toxin. Luckily, such illnesses are usually very self-limited.

The biggest Montezuma's revenge problem is with a strain of E. coli (not the Jack in the Box kind, thank goodness) that secretes a toxin. Bismuth binds this toxin and prevents the symptoms, but as somebody has already mentioned, the effective dose is HUGE. This is one of the illnesses where oral antibiotics ARE useful, and I generally take a supply of Cipro with me, although you can buy it over the counter in Mexico.

To be most careful requires avoiding all tap water, all tap water ice, all unpeeled vegetables (eg. salad greens) or fruits -- and hoping that the restaurant kitchen isn't rinsing their cooking implements in tap water.

I had no problems in Coz, and have never had any problems on the mainland, either, and I make no real effort at all to be careful. I eat salads and drink things with ice in them. But my husband gets sick for a day every single time we go down there

 

[budaman]

We've been going to Cozumel for a couple of decades now & neither of us has had issues with the Revenge. Usually start mixing in yogurt into our diets before going and once there, put lime on or in just about everything....maybe the enzymes in the lime help with bacteria. Also, only drink bottled water. Never had a problem with ice in drinks at the popular restaurants.

Of course, now that I say that, we'll probably both get sick this weekend while we are down there.

Mike

 

[annlaur]

Out of over 2 years in total traveling or living in Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica, I only got sick twice (obviously, not counting alcohol-induced discomfort).

Once in Cozumel :
I had nachos during SI on the beach. Greasy chips, lots of cheese and beans, tons of jalapeños… before doing a 90 minute dive…
I was fine underwater, but the pain right after surfacing was out of this world.
Poor gas management, you might say.


Now the real horror story. It happened about 10 years ago in a remote village in Guatemala. A totally deserved hit:
I had met two volunteers from a non-profit organization who invited me to go camping with them in some supposedly beautiful mountains hours away from civilisation. We had dinner in the nearest village, a very small place whose only "restaurant" was a local's kitchen.

I should have noticed that everyone else was drinking coke or Fanta. But noooooo.
I had to ask for coffee.
When the lady brought me a cup of instant Nescafé mixed in lukewarm well water with stuff floating in it, I should have turned it down. But noooooo.
Out of stupid politeness I drank it.
Did I mention we were camping in the wilderness and had a 2-hour hike to catch a 4-hour chicken bus ride the next day ?



Other than those two instances : nothing, zilch, nada (until my next blonde move).

Not sure why that is. I eat lots of yogurt, but I do that at home too, and my stomach gets upset quite often.
I suspect it's the lack of stress, or the fact that I put chile sauce and lime juice on pretty much everything that goes through my mouth there (years ago, a Mexican waiter told me that mosquitoes would stop eating me alive if I did that. Not a 100% effective as a repellent, but I've noticed a big difference. Plus it tastes so good).
Or maybe it's because I grew up in the French countryside and ate tons of berries straight off the trees and built some kind of immunity.
Or sheer luck.

I don't eat much salad since I don't care for it, buy peeled fruit slices from street vendors (cheap and easy), drink purified water (either bottled or from a big garafon), try to brush my teeth with it (usually forget and use tap after the first couple of nights), eat at local restaurants or market stalls.

The only thing I'm really careful about is washing my hands (either with soap and water or using an antibacterial gel) often, and always right before eating.

 

[DELMIKE]

my problem is just the nopposite.when my vacation starts my system shuts down.i try to find things to make the magic happen.

 

[CaptEsteban]

Why NO ICE ??

The restaurants/motels etc., will tell you that their ice is made from filtered water, but I know for a fact that is not always the truth. PLUS,,, our water quality standards are higher than theirs. The locals can be used to the bacteria levels in their food & drink, but us Gringos can get sick consuming things that they do every day. I have taken an ice cube & smelled of it, & it had a slight sewage smell .

 

[terrylowe]

Agree with all of the above. Also remember to close your mouth in the shower. (I've done that one)

 

[lulubelle]

I'm not sure that the quality or type of resort has much to do with. I got this when staying at the Four Seasons Puerta Vallarta.

My solution is to carry antibiotics for traveler's diarrhea. If I have them, I don't get sick. If I don't, I get sick. I take no special precautions otherwise other than to choose bottled water. Personally, I don't eat off of buffets anywhere, nor do I eat any meat products from street vendors.

Happy to see some tales of prevention. I'm not fond of GI bugs.

 

[DandyDon]

my problem is just the nopposite.when my vacation starts my system shuts down.i try to find things to make the magic happen.

Sometimes constipation is a symptom of dehydration, but there are others - like DCS. Hydrate early and often!

Still, it can happen I know as we throw our routines off. A mild laxative timed to work lonnnng before boat loading is sometimes goo.d