Water

TexasGirl2Dr

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Jun 18, 2017
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Hey all!

Soooo my brother and his wife just arrived from Punta canna today (they went for a wedding) all was sick from the "water"...So is there a water problem there?


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Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
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Duh. Don't drink the tap water here. Don't eat fruit and vegetables washed in tap water here. Don't use ice cubes made with tap water here. Don't drink luke warm coffee made with tap water here etc.
 

Fulano2

Bronze
Jun 5, 2011
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Hey all!

Soooo my brother and his wife just arrived from Punta canna today (they went for a wedding) all was sick from the "water"...So is there a water problem there?


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Sooooo how do you know it is the "water"???
 

TexasGirl2Dr

New member
Jun 18, 2017
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Sooooo how do you know it is the "water"???


They mentioned that it was the water. They all had diarrhea and vomiting after the first day someone told them that it was from the tap water. They stayed at a resort, I'm worried became when I visit I will be at a villa where we cook our own meals. I was advised to wash everything off with bottled water


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ctrob

Silver
Nov 9, 2006
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Don't worry. Just take precautions.

It's possible some new kitchen employee screwed up and used tap water for something they weren't supposed to. If you're doing a villa, there are 5 gallon jugs of water available everywhere. And very inexpensive.
Bring some meds just in case.
 

Bob K

Silver
Aug 16, 2004
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This is nothing new. NEVEFR drink tap water here, in fact don't even brush you teeth with tap water. Bottled water is cheap so use it! A 5 gal blue bottle of water here is 35 pesos (less than 73 cents US).
We wash all veggies with a diluted chlorine bottle water mix.
Bob K
 

Fulano2

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Jun 5, 2011
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How can you even think of drinking tapwater in a third world country???? I lived in NY for about a year and didn't even drink tapwater.
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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They mentioned that it was the water. They all had diarrhea and vomiting after the first day someone told them that it was from the tap water. They stayed at a resort, I'm worried became when I visit I will be at a villa where we cook our own meals. I was advised to wash everything off with bottled water


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Go to the pharmacy and get Prodom. This will stop stomach problems almost immediately.
 

Fulano2

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Jun 5, 2011
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Unless it is a intestinal infection (fever, formula1 stool, vomiting) Then you go to the next colmado and buy amoxicillin or dickoxacillin, for acouple of days.
 

TexasGirl2Dr

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Jun 18, 2017
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They drank the water unknowingly. They did not know and I myself wouldn't have known if it wasn't told to me. In Texas we wash our food off in tap water we did this in Aruba and Jamaica I didn't think it would be different else where.


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Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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Before coming here, visit a travel medicine doctor/clinic. Get your booster shots updated. Ask for some travelers diarrhea/Cholera prophylaxis (vaccine). Visit this doctor/clinic at least 8 weeks before arriving in the DR. You can do a lot to keep yourself from getting sick, but you cannot control what others do in restaurants, cafes, bars or even the vendor where you buy your vegetables.

If you have to peel it to eat it, you're generally ok. If not it needs to be washed well, cooked well and eaten hot, not just warm. Beware of cold salads, ice cubes and buffets where people are digging in without washing their hands. After you have been here numerous times or live here, your immune system is better able to handle some of the bugs you can easily pick up. First time/infrequent visitors or the truly naive can and do get sick, some die. The DR is not as bad as some countries, but it's not Texas either.
 

josh2203

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Dec 5, 2013
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They drank the water unknowingly. They did not know and I myself wouldn't have known if it wasn't told to me. In Texas we wash our food off in tap water we did this in Aruba and Jamaica I didn't think it would be different else where.

Each country is different, if you are a well-versed traveler, you find out about your destination before traveling. I began traveling to tropical countries with my parents when I was about 8 years old (1992). Internet was not that big of a thing at that time yet (at least in my eyes), yet there was no shortage of basic information available as to in which countries the tap water is drinkable and in which not.

Nobody I know has ever gotten sick of the water or food or fruits while traveling, but I have heard rather disturbing experiences from other people (you really need to be careful). I have traveled alone and with my family in a few countries (with two very small children), and none of us drink tap water anywhere (if not due to health risks, due to taste), unless we are in the very northern Europe where I was born.
 

Fulano2

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Jun 5, 2011
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Every (ex) backpacker knows it YOU DONT DRINK TAPWATER. I got even very sick in Honduras in a comedor where the woman juró por sus hijos y madre that the water was from a bottle and safe. Well I didn't see the bottle but saw the loo for a couple of days.
 

Juan Bosch

Active member
Dec 8, 2015
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When taking a shower you must keep your lips sealed.....many people don't think about this when showering....you end up visiting the toilet many times....
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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I don't drink tap water in DR, but I have ice cubes with drinks, wash fruits and vegetables with tap water, smile and sing in the shower, brush my teeth twice a day with....the horror....Tap water !!!!!!!

Never had any problems, nor did my 2 children.

It could also be food poisoning :devious:
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
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Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
I don't drink tap water in DR, but I have ice cubes with drinks, wash fruits and vegetables with tap water, smile and sing in the shower, brush my teeth twice a day with....the horror....Tap water !!!!!!!

Never had any problems, nor did my 2 children.

It could also be food poisoning :devious:

Exactly what I thought, since they were probably in an AI in Punta Cana. Some of the food at those buffets stay out way too long.

I brushed with tap water for literally decades, then after reading DR1 I bought a mini bottle with dispenser for the bathroom. After a year or two of carrying it back and forth to the kitchen to refill it, I gave up. Back to tap/well water. No difference for me healthwise. Mr. AE has never used anything but the tap.
 

Dr_Taylor

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Oct 18, 2017
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Hey all!

Soooo my brother and his wife just arrived from Punta canna today (they went for a wedding) all was sick from the "water"...So is there a water problem there?


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I do not drink tap water; however, I do brush my teeth with it. My friends here who live in the barrio do not drink the water, so you know that I am not going to do it. This includes the water at the all-inclusive resorts.
 

Fulano2

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Jun 5, 2011
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For brushing we use tapwater. We are not "overfino". Next step is wash your hear with agua Crystal..