I'll be in DR Dec 10th for a week. I'm not too concerned about getting cholera while there, but I was thinking about taking certain pre cautions such as using bottled water to brush my teeth etc. I just had a question about resturants in DR.. Do they wash the dishes with tap water or is there purified water in DR? How do you say tap water in spanish agua de la llave? Thanks.
- Thread starter shawn27
- Start date
Question about consuming food in DR
You don't have to get paranoid, but taking simple precautions whilst on vacation anywhere is always a good idea. Brushing your teeth with bottled water might make the difference between enjoying your holiday and spending most of the time either in the loo or running to it!!
Drinking bottled water is wise and using it for your teeth, as you are planning to, is safer than water from the faucet.
Stick to good restaurants and don't buy food from vendors on the street or beach.
The ice used in good bars and restaurants is made from purified water, if you were wondering about that.
I wouldn't worry about what water dishes washed in, as long as they are washed. I have been here a long time and never heard of anyone getting sick from eating off a clean plate.
Stomach distress experienced by travelers has many causes, including eating foods they are not accustomed to or different minerals in the water, even though what they eat and drink is perfectly safe.
As a precaution, take some Pepto Bismal along and one of the products like Imodium or Lomotil , though a generic of the latter is easily obtained here at farmacias.
Enjoy your visit.
Stick to good restaurants and don't buy food from vendors on the street or beach.
The ice used in good bars and restaurants is made from purified water, if you were wondering about that.
I wouldn't worry about what water dishes washed in, as long as they are washed. I have been here a long time and never heard of anyone getting sick from eating off a clean plate.
Stomach distress experienced by travelers has many causes, including eating foods they are not accustomed to or different minerals in the water, even though what they eat and drink is perfectly safe.
As a precaution, take some Pepto Bismal along and one of the products like Imodium or Lomotil , though a generic of the latter is easily obtained here at farmacias.
Enjoy your visit.
From what I remember from biology class (a long time ago), most of the creepy things that cause the yucky-poo-poo feeling cannot live in air for very long. To get sick from a plate, it has to still be wet or have icky stuff on it from not being cleaned. If it is washed in tap water and then completely dried, it will not give you the nasty stuff.
Hope I did not overwhelm you with my technical biological terminology.
Hope I did not overwhelm you with my technical biological terminology.
Thanks guys that helped a lot. This will be my fourth visit. The first time I did have some slight stomach problems but I imagine that it was simply because I wasn't used to the food. The 2nd and 3rd times I had no problems whatsoever getting sick. I was wondering about the ice but I guess I won't worry because I've had several drinks there without getting sick.
I knew it was unsafe to drink tap water even before this cholera issue; in a strange way perhaps it's a good thing in that they are really going to be monitoring their irrigation system...
I knew it was unsafe to drink tap water even before this cholera issue; in a strange way perhaps it's a good thing in that they are really going to be monitoring their irrigation system...
i'd been to the DR twenty times before i came down with anything stomach related. i stayed with my in laws, wife and son came on the trip with me from key west, so i was used to the heat and humidity. had been in SD for at least a week, doing, eating, drinking, same as the rest of the family, as usual. i caught the stomach bug from hell, everyone else was fine. why me? what did i do different? have no clue and no blame.
Without trying to frighten the OP, I have to say that all of us catch something every once in a while. But I have also had the same experience in the US. Here, though, if I get a stomach virus, I immediately blame it on food poisoning.
A doctor explained to me that viruses mutate often, and thus there are going to be virus strains here (or in any foreign country) to which I do not have immunity. [He also said that the worst place to catch a cold is on an airplane with people from different countries.]
So it may be quite possible in your case that everyone else was immune to the nasty critter that downed you.
Before I travel to most "exotic" places where I have a concern about stomach issues, I eat plenty of yogurt for 10-14 days ahead of time.
Being bacterial, it helps with the stomach.
Alternatively, our local Sosua vet , Dr Bob, suggests ingesting a spoonful of cider vinegar every 2 days or so to keep the acidity level up. (Mix it with cold water)
The combination of these two practices should win the battle of bacteria.
WW
Being bacterial, it helps with the stomach.
Alternatively, our local Sosua vet , Dr Bob, suggests ingesting a spoonful of cider vinegar every 2 days or so to keep the acidity level up. (Mix it with cold water)
The combination of these two practices should win the battle of bacteria.
WW
That works, or you can buy Mega Acidophilus from GNC which has the cultures in pill form, if you are not a yogurt fan!
I, too, am a firm believer in the power of yogurt to help with digestion. I am familiar with Dr. Bob's vinegar cure......It's tough to do on a regular basis- for me, anyway. Instead, I improvise. I eat a lettuce salad every day. Instead of an oil and vinegar salad dressing, I skip the oil and load the salad with herbs and vinegar. Saves the calories and is healthy.
When I went to live in Africa some years ago, my doc advised against immodium or lomotil- type of meds. She said they force the bacteria causing the problem to remain in your system. She advised to take Pepto Bismol and adjust the diet...clear liquids first, then the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast.) If after 3 days, symptoms don't resolve on their own, then you have a more serious problem which may need antibiotics.
Finally, I just use common sense. I don't eat at restaurants that seem to have little business. I assume they can't afford to buy fresh food daily, and I don't know how long the food has been around or under what conditions it has been stored. Also, I look at the overall cleanliness of the restaurant and its employees, making the assumption that if they don't maintain cleanliness in the areas where the customers are, they probably don't practice hygiene back in the kitchen.
Lindsey
Yaknow.....
a very longstanding , fulltime RD resident friend of mine maintains that all the water used for growing vegetables is contaminated in some form.
After mutiple bouts with stomach issues over the years she now avoids high water content foods like Lettuce and tomatoes.
She claims to have less issues following this routine..... of course it could be simply that her immune system has developed
Food for thought ..... joke intended:cheeky:
WW
a very longstanding , fulltime RD resident friend of mine maintains that all the water used for growing vegetables is contaminated in some form.
After mutiple bouts with stomach issues over the years she now avoids high water content foods like Lettuce and tomatoes.
She claims to have less issues following this routine..... of course it could be simply that her immune system has developed
Food for thought ..... joke intended:cheeky:
WW
Well yes but I'll only be there for a week. Thanks again for all these helpful comments guys.
You'll be fine..... as Lindsey said, just be sensible.
Anytime you leave No America life is different..... I brush my teeth with the tap but don't gargle..... others won't touch the tap water - EVER.
The roadside chicken rotisseries are fine.... tasty and safe (by me)
Have fun
WW
Anytime you leave No America life is different..... I brush my teeth with the tap but don't gargle..... others won't touch the tap water - EVER.
The roadside chicken rotisseries are fine.... tasty and safe (by me)
Have fun
WW
Yeah I'm not one to blow things out of proportion I'm only mildly worried.. if cholera were air borne then of course there would be more cause for concern but after doing a little research you have to drink or eat contaminated food or water right?
Also, this may be a new thread but why is everyone concerned about infected Haitians coming in? If cholera could be caught like the cold I could understand.. also if Haitians are getting sick why aren't Dominicans? Since they share the same island doesn't rivers that flow into Haiti flow into the Dominican Republic as well? I apologize in advance if these are stupid questions. Thanks.
Several cases have been confirmed in the DR, affecting both Dominicans and Haitians. Some of the Dominican cases, interestingly, are affecting people who live in riverside slums have been linked to polluted river water in the Santo Domingo area. From DR1 News Tuesday 23 Nov:
This weekend the health ministry mentioned several new cases or suspected cases in the Santo Domingo and Navarrete areas, both linked to polluted river/canal water.
This weekend the health ministry mentioned several new cases or suspected cases in the Santo Domingo and Navarrete areas, both linked to polluted river/canal water.
If you're worried, take an oral vaccine
I've been to POP 3 times this year and I'm coming back in January. I've never had any stomach troubles and I've stayed at an AI and at my bf's fam's house....eaten foods from everywhere...even brushed my teeth with tap water just tried not to swallow any.... I drank only bottled water but I washed my veggies in tap water and we were fine. The first time I came down I didn't have time to take any vaccines prior to the trip but the second time, I took the oral dukoral vaccine for traveller's diarrea and it stays in your system for 4 months... I'm planning to take it again as a precaution with the colera concerns being heightened at this time. Unfortunately you can get a tummy bug just about anywhere. While in New York shopping this weekend with my mom and daughter we ate at Ponderosa and all 3 of us got sick. :disappoin
I've been to POP 3 times this year and I'm coming back in January. I've never had any stomach troubles and I've stayed at an AI and at my bf's fam's house....eaten foods from everywhere...even brushed my teeth with tap water just tried not to swallow any.... I drank only bottled water but I washed my veggies in tap water and we were fine. The first time I came down I didn't have time to take any vaccines prior to the trip but the second time, I took the oral dukoral vaccine for traveller's diarrea and it stays in your system for 4 months... I'm planning to take it again as a precaution with the colera concerns being heightened at this time. Unfortunately you can get a tummy bug just about anywhere. While in New York shopping this weekend with my mom and daughter we ate at Ponderosa and all 3 of us got sick. :disappoin
I agree with most of the posts. The last two should be followed. if you are prone to problems don't eat food that isn't hot when you eat it. That means anything. No fruit, raw fish. Even some cooked fish, if caught local. The eat a lot of bacteria. If you're staying at a hotel that provides all your food make sure if you eat at a buffet you eat when they put it out. Hot, hot, hot.