Sickness - Food poisoning??

zoya19 · Mar 11, 2002

Hello,

I have been to the DR many times and have never been sick.

A friend of mine has just returned from the Coral Marien in Puerto Plata and is really sick.

The doctor is pretty sure it is food poisoning.

I am looking at going to this hotel for my honeymoon and was wondering if anyone else has been ill from this hotel or hotels in the area?

Thanks,
Kathy

Hillbilly · Mar 11, 2002

Unless you can pinpoint just what was eaten, and more importantly, where it was eaten, it is very tough to say.

Food poisoning is vary rare. However, serious illness can result from improper storage of seafood or meat products. While rare, this does happen, here, there or anywhere.

If you plan well and make your wishes clear to the Food & Beverage Manager as soon as you arrive, I am sure that you will have the mos memporable of vacations/honeymoons...

I do not think I would change plans due to one incident...

HB

Ken · Mar 11, 2002

A couple of additional recommendations:

1. Don't buy food from street vendors no matter how good it smells/looks. Some of these vendors continue to use oil after it has gone bad and this can cause a bad case of stomach upset.

2. A good many hotels, especially the all inclusive, rely heavily on buffets. Use the same precautions you would at a picnic. Some foods, such as mayonese, don't withstand exposure and heat. Unless you are one of the early eaters, I'd stay away from foods that can spoil if not properly refrigerated at all times.

3. Avoid salads unless certain proper precautions have been taken in washing the ingredients. By proper I mean washed in purified water.

4. All meats should be well cooked. If you prefer medium rare, wait until you get back home.

5. Don't drink the water out of the faucet unless it is treated.

6. Avoid ice that isn't prepared comercially.

Dolores1 · Mar 11, 2002

Take a look at the DR1 Travel Health Page at http://dr1.com/travel/prepare/health.shtml

Bugsey34 · Mar 11, 2002

dont drink the water!

Another piece of advice - I got sick once from ingesting sea water at El Moro beach in the national park in Monte Cristi. A big wave came by and took me under and i gasped and took in a lot of sea water and was quite sick a la food poisoning later. It may just be that happens with any sea water, and i have swam there since with no problems at all, but i know other people that had the same problem, so be careful with that!

zoya19 · Mar 11, 2002

thanks

Hello,
Thank you everyone for your information.
I have always been careful when I travel and will continue to do so.
Thanks for the tips and advice.
Kathy

Jim Hinsch · Mar 11, 2002

I don't know about sea water sickness or food poisoning, but getting sick while staying at all-inclusives in the Dominican Republic is definitely NOT rare. In fact it is COMMON.

Anybody who doubts this hasn't paid attention to the news over the past few years. It got so bad at one point that tour operators were cancelling the destination and sometimes more than half a resort was sick at the same time.

I can't speculate as to the cause any better than the next guy, but it has nothing to do with too much sun or too many pina coladas. Could be the food, could be bad ice, could be old juice, could be the spreading of excrements on the landscaping as part of "recycling", ... who knows.

I've been sick in the DR just 2 times in over 100 DR trips. Both were at all-inclusives (Melia All Suiites and Bavaro Beach Palace). Most of my trips are not at all-inclusives.

John El ?nico · Mar 11, 2002

jim hinsch

I had been many times in those AI resorts you mentioned and never been even close to get sick.
The only time i got sick was at the Costalunga in boca chica, it wasnt the food, but it was the enviroment. too many prostitutes and low class tourists around.
JH . REMEMBER THIS PLACE IS TO INFORM. If you dont get free stay at AI resort in Punta Cana you better keep your cheap comments to yourself.

Christine_deb · Mar 11, 2002

VERY SICK

I returned home from the LTI on Sunday March the 3rd? I believe it was the thrid. I became extremely ill on the 28th and still am very very very sick. I have lost 12 pounds in 11 days. Make sure your friend has a parasite test. I still am not sure exactly what the problem is in my case, expecting more clear results tomorrow. I did not eat anything outside of the resort.

Jim Hinsch · Mar 12, 2002

Re: El Unico - just what was reported in many places, I give the sources

You never got sick, I did. Neither means a thing statistically.

Fact: In the recent past few years, there were an abnormal number of tourists getting sick at many of the big AI's. It was in the papers, discussed to death here on the forum, and there are tons of reports on Debbie's Dominican page. Many tour operators in England cancelled. It cost DR tourism a lot of money.

It was also reported that many resorts cleaned up their food handling procedures and less people are getting sick. Many tour operators have since added the DR as a destination again.

Make of it what you will.

John said:
I had been many times in those AI resorts you mentioned and never been even close to get sick.

doug · Mar 12, 2002

getting sick

I believe that if you go to any foriegn country and over indulge in any particular beveridge or food....your body will soon begin to reject it(from one end or the other...

..)

Hillbilly · Mar 12, 2002

Jim and I don't usually see eye to eye on a lot of things, but I get the feeling that he is very close to being right on this case.

I can remember the discussion here on the BB and it was in the papers.

I am inured to things Dominican:

I don't pet animals, except my own and I wash my hands right away. I see tourists do this all the time and then eat..

I do not eat funny tasting stuff. Just because it is there doesn't mean you have to eat it.

I always wash my hands before eating anything. #1 way to avoid getting any sickness.

In a lot of developing countries, people forget to do these things.

AND the DR Tourism Ministry had better get its finger out and start supervising these places, place form letters in all the rooms in order to list complaints and address the complaints forcefully. Never heard of self addressed envelopes??

Good luck on getting well.

Hummm, now that you mention it...12 pounds in 11 days? hey! Where did you stay? I can use some of that....

HB

jeanette · Mar 12, 2002

sick

People get sick everywhere not just in the DR. I remember in Cancun there were people sick at the hotel. I was sick after I arrived home but it could have been the plane food. A friend of mine ended up in the hospital after a Jamaica vacation. A few years ago right here in Connecticut over 100 people got food poisoning at the Oyster Festival. Food handling has got to be regulated. Proper refrigeration is imperative. Some of those outdoor buffets do not have the food properly heated. I am especially wary of chicken and beef. The temperature has to be hot enough to keep the organisms at bay, lukeman doesn't cut it.

Misty · Mar 12, 2002

I have also been to the DR many times and have only been sick once and never from a resort. I had bought a sandwich at the SD airport before heading back to Canada and became very ill. Things were so bad I ended up in the hospital and off work for a week. They gave me cipro to kill the virus in my body. Word of advice, be very careful using Immodium. I know other people think the stuff is great but in my experience I was told that because I used Immodium, I had kept everthing inside instead of getting it out of my body, which made things worse. That was last April and I have been back five times since without a problem.

Christine_deb · Mar 12, 2002

Sick

I was not pointing any fingers or saying that the Dominican is worse or better than any other place. And of course this could have happened to me in Toronto, but it didn't. I stayed at the LTI. This illness has not dissuaded me from pursuing my new interest in moving to the Dominican Republic and my love for the country. Except now I look at everything I eat or drink and think "hmmmm is there a little bug living in there that is going to live off my body if I drink it?" *sorry couldn't resist my last comment* C'MON- if I can see the humour in it.......

Search

Search

Sickness - Food poisoning??

zoya19

New member

Hillbilly

Moderator

Ken

Platinum

Dolores1

DR1

Bugsey34

Bronze

zoya19

New member

Jim Hinsch

Bronze

John El ?nico

New member

Christine_deb

New member

Jim Hinsch

Bronze

doug

Member

Hillbilly

Moderator

jeanette

New member

Misty

New member

Christine_deb

New member