Food Poisoning in Thailand – What to Do

There are certain guarantees in life. Death, taxes, and food poisoning in Thailand. Albeit, this dose of food poisoning may have been self-induced. Regardless of the cause, food poisoning is no joke and if ill-prepared then you’re in for a long day. I definitely fell into this category. I contracted food poisoning after partaking in a cooking class in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I should disclose that this could have been my fault. I may not have cooked my chicken all the way through while making my red curry. This is my best guesstimate as no one else reported feeling ill, including Meg. It’s the only thing that makes sense in my mind even though I’ve cooked chicken several hundred times. While I did get sick, the cooking class was outstanding. Our guide was helpful, the food tasted great, and we got a cookbook at the end to make the recipes at home (although it’ll be a while before I’m feeling up to making curry again!).

I started feeling ill around 11pm, which is when most of Chiang Mai was closed down with the exception of pubs and massage parlors. Unfortunately, the one roll of toilet paper I had fell victim quite early in the night. Thank God for the spare tissue box in the room. I didn’t sleep at all and spent most of my time in the bathroom. It was truly one of the worst nights of my life. That statement sounds quite dramatic but it was that bad and I’m willing to bet that anyone who has suffered from food poisoning would agree. Making it worse, I was unable to rest up since we had to catch a flight the next morning to Myanmar. It was an excruciating 24-hours.

How to be Best Prepared Should Food Poisoning Hit

In many developing countries, hygiene standards are not what you find in most developed countries. But, not everyone gets food poisoning and this should not scare you away from traveling to developing nations. Don’t just hang out at McDonalds. Immerse yourself in the culture and try local dishes! Plus, people can get food poisoning anywhere. The locals love seeing new faces come in their shops and are both grateful and helpful.

First, be sure to pack hydration packets. You could also buy these in Thailand. Meg picked up a pack of orange flavored hydration packets I spent my day drinking. It’s essential to stay hydrated while you’re dealing with food poisoning as your body is flushing everything out of your system (likely out of both ends). You can buy an 8-pack of DripDrop Hydration packs on Amazon for only $10 and it’s Prime eligible. I can’t stress how important these were in helping me feel better.

Secondly, make sure your room is stocked with bottled water. Many hotels give out complimentary water but there are many that don’t. A couple of small water bottles may not be enough. Keep tabs of where the nearest market or 7/11 is located. It may pay dividends to keep a big bottle of water in your room for backup. Don’t drink a lot of water all at once. Take a few swigs here or there.

Keep at least two rolls of toilet paper handy. If you’re hit with food poisoning, you’re likely to be spending quite a bit of time on the john. Don’t get hit with that sinking feeling in your stomach when you go through the last roll. Pack an extra roll and/or grab a roll from a hotel room if you’re traveling to different countries. When you can stomach it, try to eat some bland foods such as toast. I definitely did not have an appetite after vomiting all night however your body needs some energy. 

Last but not least, try to get some rest. I had the misfortune of having to travel the day after getting food poisoning which makes my particular case horrific. Luckily, I had Meg there to help out in picking up hydration packets, water, and more toilet paper. I owe many thanks to her in helping me get back to full health! Rather than going to the front desk, she just asked our neighbors for more toilet paper who were out having a smoke.

In summary, food poisoning is awful and in some cases it puts people in the hospital. Each case is different and some are more or less severe than others. Even though you’ll want to be run over by a van, there are a few things that can significantly help. Within 24-hours I was back to full health although it took about three to four days for my digestive system to get back on track. But hey, I needed to shed a few pounds anyway!