Vomiting every 2 weeks!

[Godiva.]

I think it's normal to get sick while adjusting to a foreign country. I never get sick at home, but here I've had colds, the flu, and pink eye all in less than 6 months!

On one of my prior visits I got stomach cramps so bad I actually passed out while on the toilet. Nothing like waking up lying on the bathroom floor looking at the ceiling. I believe the cause was a bad tiramisu I had at a restaurant.

I always joke with my fiance that Argentina is trying to kill me.

 

[xibeca]

Eating probiotics has been shown to be effective in preventing or shortening the effects of gastritis in studies.

You can pick it up in pharmacy here, it's called "Totalflora".

 

[weltawelta]

I am actually a lot healthier here. At first there was a bit of adjustment and I got sick a couple times, but now I feel great. My diet is a mix of home cooked and restaurant. I eat a lot of veggies along with meat. Less stress here helps too. As for water, I just use a Brita filter. Your body will not be used to the different mineral content here, but should eventually adapt. I think stress and worry might be the biggest factor.
Funny thing, I can't digest dairy in North America, but here I can have milk and ice cream with no problems. I was actually a clean freak back home and now I just wash my hands like normal people (not every time I touch something new). I guess it's just different for everyone though.

 

[va2ba]

I got sick the first time I was here. I think stress played into it a lot. I also had a long time where I wasn't able to sleep more than a few hours that played into it. It was a stomach bug that didn't go away for almost a month. I had to see my doctor and take a lot of medicine before that would go away.

But in the 2 years I've been here since coming back, I've only been really sick twice and both it was because we were under a lot of stress. Back home I was getting sick every 2 or 3 months, but here it is about once a year.

 

[CarverFan]

va2ba, do you remember which medicine finally helped you? And do you know what particular strain of bug was it?? Thnx!

 

[PhilipDT]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Lee, I will def use only bottled water even for tea from now.....Mhenna11, I do detox. Have done lots of fruitarian mono-mealing, recently one week on only bananas and and also several mono oj days so don't think it's toxins in my body. I never get sick in UK, guess I just can't handle the germs here!!

I see your problem.

Eat like a normal person.

Detox diets are all hogwash anyways.

 

[starlucia]

What I've noticed is that people here don't cover their nose/mouth when they cough

THANK YOU for mentioning that; I thought I was the only one going around bitching about it. As a kid, it was drilled into my head that "you cover your mouth when you cough!", so I was horrified when I saw Argentine kids coughing and sneezing into other people's faces, and their parents simply ignoring their behavior. Then I realized, how can the adults correct their kids, when they're doing the exact same thing? After suffering through a HORRIBLE month-long bronchial infection last winter, I can't help but flinch now whenever someone coughs near me on a crowded train or street.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I've definitely had a few episodes of stomach distress in BA (no vomiting, but cramps and diarrhea, which pass after a few hours.) The main suspects are milk (which I no longer use) or uncooked produce (which I now wash 200% more thoroughly than I used to.) I still occasionally get mild indigestion/stomach pain after preparing or ordering a salad, but what am I supposed to do, stop eating vegetables? And the stomach pain has never happened to me in the US or Europe, so I chalk it up to either the pesticides on produce, or the way food is handled (by people wearing no gloves who have just touched money, not washed their hands, etc.)

 

[CarverFan]

Starlucia, that's my problem, I love salads and now can't eat them here!! I have tried using hydrogen peroxide (rinsed v thoroughly) to clean veggies but it doesn't help so that points to a pesticide rather than germs. I also blanch in boiling water if poss. PhilipDT, if this thread is of no interest to you, why are you following it??

 

[PhilipDT]

PhilipDT, if this thread is of no interest to you, why are you following it??

You ate only bananas for a week! This thread is better than schlepping out to the zoo.

 

[mhenna11]

You ate only bananas for a week! This thread is better than schlepping out to the zoo.

Why it is strange? I like differences, I think it's interesting reading that this person did a mono diet. I never heard of it and looked into it. And we should help, this thread was intially put up because this person was concerned about the vomitting. I hope you are better whoever you are and you are not sick anymore.