will eating the food make me sick?

JoeJoe

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Mar 6, 2006
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Ok since I am going to live in Santo Domingo for almost five months I was wondering what I food I should stay away from and what food is safe to eat. I havent had too much much out of Canada and I'm a little scared about getting extremely sick. Any tips or suggestions? Thank you :)
 

heldengebroed

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Mar 9, 2005
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JoeJoe said:
Ok since I am going to live in Santo Domingo for almost five months I was wondering what I food I should stay away from and what food is safe to eat. I havent had too much much out of Canada and I'm a little scared about getting extremely sick. Any tips or suggestions? Thank you :)

I find the Dominican diet rather healty. I have a rather sencitive digestive system and since i eat Dominican i have gained 7 kg ( was 13 but i found that a bit to much) and have less problems with ....(lets say the 20 meter flat)

Greetings

Johan
 

juanita

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Apr 22, 2004
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Try to only eat steamed vegetables in restaurants and stay away from salads. Eat fresh salads at home where you can clean it yourself. Everything else should be fine, all restaurants serve bottled water so no problem there. Oh eih! Bring your jar of Kraft peanut butter.
 

Rocky

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This may sound insane, but it has been my observation, that those who drink alcohol, are less prone to getting food poisoining, then those who don't drink.
I guess the alcohol helps kill the bacteria/parasites/microbes.
If you are drinking water that you don't trust, squeeze some line into it.
If you are very prone to Montezuma's revenge, get a cat. Let the cat sample your meat before you eat it. Dogs will eat any ole' garbage, but cats will turn their noses up to anything that is even slightly off.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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It is common for new arrivals to have some problems, not because they are in the Dominican Republic but because of the changes in food and water. Emodium and lomitil are readily available in the farmacias.

Do not eat food sold by street vendors. That is a sure way to get sick. You may get away with it for awhile, but you will be on borrowed time.

Yes, eat salads at home, but be sure to clean everything first. This does not mean rinsing it with running water. Soak the lettuce, etc., in a big bowl with a little clorox or Purrrisssima in it.

Drink only bottled water or water treated with Purrissima.
 

trina

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Jan 3, 2002
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Rocky said:
If you are drinking water that you don't trust, squeeze some line into it.


I have a better anecdote. If you are drinking water that you don't trust, squeeze some lime into it.
 

macocael

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Aug 3, 2004
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Living in fear of getting sick is silly because eventually you will get sick. You may be visiting someone's house and they will offer you fresh juice -- maybe their hygiene is not equivalent to yours, but you will not necessarily know that and you would be rude to turn down the offer (depending). So maybe you get sick. Big deal. A little diarrhea never killed anyone (well, actually it kills infants worldwide at a high rate, but you certainly wont die!).

Take normal precautions. Water is the main agent for parasitic infection. Drink purified water whenever possible. But some foods here are tricky, particularly pork, so be sure that the pork you eat is fresh. When you buy it, smell it.

Also beware the beso de ciguatera! Ciguatera is form of food poisoning carried mainly, if I remember correctly, by snapper and a couple other types of fish that feed around coral reefs. They digest a particular sort of bacteria and thus transfer the poisonous reaction to the next guy up the food chain -- you. You can read up on symptoms and remedies on the net.

A few home remedies for parasitic infections: if you have giardia, which is a common parasite, you can take Flagyl (metronidazole) to kill it. Some infections however do not respond so well and require a medicinal cocktail. In the meantime, to flush your system out, you can try te de sen, which is a purgative tea that also relieves constipation. You can also put two or three carrots and 2 or 3 cloves of garlic in a juicer, drink that down. Potent, a little "hot" on the stomach for the first five minutes, but once your stomach calms down, you will find that the parasites will stop bothering you. Dont know why, but it has worked on more than one occasion.
 

Larry

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Mar 22, 2002
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--dont drink the water

--dont eat food from street vendors

--eat in "good" restaurants...avoid cheap places. In a cheap place, you might encounter food that has been left out or the might use ice in the drinks that has not been purified.


I have only gotten sick from food here one time. It was in Sosua a few years ago in the place next to Bologna (I dont remember the name). I had the tuna salad and the mayonaise they had used in it had obviously gone bad.

About 10 years ago, I was in Mexico and drank the tap water...you can imagine what happened. So I take it very seriously when people tell me to avoid the tap water. I think if you avoid the water and eat in reputable places, you will be fine.

Larry
 

juanita

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In Canada go to your Natural Food store and get some grapefruit seed extract (drops) and use it your drinking water, natural and excellent to kill parasites.
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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macocael said:
Living in fear of getting sick is silly because eventually you will get sick. You may be visiting someone's house and they will offer you fresh juice -- maybe their hygiene is not equivalent to yours, but you will not necessarily know that and you would be rude to turn down the offer (depending). So maybe you get sick. Big deal. A little diarrhea never killed anyone (well, actually it kills infants worldwide at a high rate, but you certainly wont die!).
A little diarrhea won't kill you but Hepatitis A may (and if it doesn't, you may wish you are dead while suffering from it). Vaccination is not 100% effective as I contracted it (probably from a salad) after previously receiving the full course of Hep. A vaccinations. Never eat anything uncooked from a source that doesn't have a trusted potable water system. It is the same as eating salad washed in a toilet.
 

Larry

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Mar 22, 2002
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Howmar,

I am curious..


How did you discover you had contracted Hep A and what were the symtoms?


I am assuming you contracted it in this country...


Larry
 
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HOWMAR

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Larry said:
Howmar,

I am curious..


How did you discover you had contracted Hep A and what were the symtoms?


I am assuming you contracted it in this country...


Larry
Fever, jaundice, fatigue, nausea, vommiting and swollen liver. Liver function blood tests were abnormal. Ultrasound of liver and gall bladder to rule out obstruction such as cancer. Treatment consisted of IV fluids until able to eat and drink.
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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I eat everything from decent restaurants to street vendors. I am still alive and without major problems. I only got sick twice in 8 yrs from food. One time it was from eating in an italian restaurant in puerto plata and other time, it was ....ummmm, I don't remember. I have gotten sick more times living in USA than in DR. eat whatever but drink bottled water.
AZB
 

Larry

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Mar 22, 2002
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HOWMAR said:
Fever, jaundice, fatigue, nausea, vommiting and swollen liver. Liver function blood tests were abnormal. Ultrasound of liver and gall bladder to rule out obstruction such as cancer. Treatment consisted of IV fluids until able to eat and drink.

OK, thanks. The reason I asked was I was curious as to whether your symptoms led you to be tested for Hep A, or if you had no symtoms and discovered through a ramdon test that you had it. Obviously it was the former.

I would not want to think that I could have eaten something here, contracted Hep A, and be unaware I have it.

Larry
 

Tamborista

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Apr 4, 2005
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I will eat at any street vendor as long as there is a line!
Man do l love those late night sandwiches.

Very good idea to get your Hep A & B shots, unrelated to my post.
 

hollywood north

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JoeJoe - all that's been written is true - bring some immodium....!!
Anyone can get sick at home too - I did - way worse than something I could have contracted in the DR.

Sometimes just the change in diet affects people - a lot of food is cooked in oil that is different from what your body is used to - palm oil I believe - and as well simply the change in climate can affect youl, but all these things should subside.
 

macocael

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Imodium is not alwayss such a great idea: your body is trying to flush out a parasite, so there is no point in trying to work against your body's natural and correct reaction. Drink Gatorade to replenish fluids and do what you can to kill theparasite. Dont keep it inside.

Hep A: yes Howmar, that was a stupid oversight. Hepatitis is serious stuff and you need to read up on it and take precautions. Btw, in addition to Hep A and B, there is also C to think about, though it comes to via the blood. Believe me, you dont want to contract this debilitating disease. Use a condom.
 

hollywood north

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perhaps but Immodium IS a great idea when....you are going diving and cannot sit near a toilet all day...or have an expensive tour or long driving trip somewhere.......or have a job where you cannot leave your desk for many times during the day...etc etc.

All I know is Immodium has saved me on more than one occasion - from food poisoning - not a parasite - a different thing altogether than what you are referring to.

Guirdia is one (parasite) that Immodium is not for - agreed - having had it - but for food poisoning or something that your insides are not liking - you need help fast.
 

bill p

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Aug 18, 2003
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drinking a bad presidente will also give you the runs. make sure it does not smell skunky. had that problem more than once in the last 15 years.got sick on the food twice in 15 yrs , once because it was late at nite and the food was out all day, the other i think was chicken skin . other than that most every thing is fine. i agree with all the other posts. stay on bottled water and be carefull of washed veggies