Sometimes you know...

[cdn_in_bj]

...it's because you've done something you shouldn't have, such as drinking too much 2Y beer the night before or eating 羊肉串 from a street vendor. But other times it just hits you without warning, and you ask yourself "what did I do to deserve this"?

When it first hits, you think "great, not again" and find the nearest facilities for relief. But shortly afterwards the second wave hits, and that's when you know you're in for a long battle. It's no longer just a case of an upset stomach, this time you've gotten food poisening. Melee after melee, your body becomes weak and dehydrated. You lie there in bed, too exhausted to do anything else, waiting for it to pass, yet also in too much discomfort to sleep. You start to have doubts about your great adventure. You ask yourself if the pollution is taking a toll on your body and that maybe it's time for you to go home...

If you're lucky, it will pass within a day. Sometimes it lasts the entire week. But it will pass, and you return back to your daily routine without giving it another thought. Afterall, this is just part of the China experience.

[md1101]

sounds like you're in a bit of pain right now.

i hope this one is one that passes in just a day or two!

[muyongshi]

What's wrong with the 羊肉串 from the street vendor??????

You know I do feel for you but I have to say for all the crap I eat and how "uncareful" I am the only thing that ever got me was the eggs I myself bought from the store. Yoke was runny and so was I for 2 days!

[heifeng]

if it helps at all i'm convinced i got ameobic dysentary in the US once from a coffee place...but then i discovered that pepto bismo actually works i dunno why i let myself stay in pain for how many days until i caved into just taking medecine hehe...(ok maybe it wasn't ameobic dysentary....but must've been close:mrgreen:)

[cdn_in_bj]

Thanks guys, I think the worst is over (it started last night). I'm now working on getting myself rehydrated.

The last time I had stomach problems I chose to blame it on the 羊肉串, though it wasn't nearly as bad as this time.

I have a huge craving for pizza right now but I think I'll have to settle for rice porridge tonight.

[NickyR]

In the list of "worst food poisoning" events, first place goes to ...... High Street Kensington, London!

But 2nd and 3rd are both China!

Get better soon

[imron]

Just think of it as building resistance What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger right...

[Senzhi]

I was less than a month in Shantou when I spent a week at the local hospital of such 'annyoances' .... school food seemed to have been the cause!

But anything else I have eaten during my stay everywhere in China didn't cause me any problems at all ... not even my first hotpot attempt in Mianyang (although it made me very thirsty ... the kind of dehydration your not complaining of with the Snow liquid refill available! )

[billiardsmike]

Although you can take precautions, you just never know when it's going to be your turn. 5am on a train back from Datong is a bit more inconvenient than normal though. I never knew what it was that got me. We ate in decent restaurants and, as far as I know, only two of us were chosen from a group of 150. One whole week of thinking I was going to die. At least I never got to the "wishing I would die" phase.

[Xiao Kui]

I have a huge craving for pizza right now but I think I'll have to settle for rice porridge tonight.

Either pizza settles my stomach or I have tricked my body into believing it does - it's my goto food for this kind of illness.

Does anyone else have the same problems upon entering their home countries after a long stint in China? It doesn't happen to me as frequently now, but my first trip back after my first year here I got it bad. I don't know if it was because I wasn't used to the germs in California where I landed or wasn't used to things cooked in butter anymore. Anyway, I'm going back Thurs and counting on it NOT happening again.

[Quest]

Xiao Kui, check this out: http://www.39.net/Treatment/xbzl/xhxt/30346.html

[jeffofarabia]

Sometimes when I had to just dash off to the toilet the one thing that would always clog me up was the sight of some horrible squatter stall full of it foulness.

[cdn_in_bj]

What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger right...

Yup!

But anything else I have eaten during my stay everywhere in China didn't cause me any problems at all ...

I've only had true food poisening twice, this time and once back home which was much worse (I was out for 5 days then), so I don't mean to say that it's a major health risk to be eating out here. However, diarrhea is definitely a much more err... regular event here for me. I remember one stretch where it was a daily occurrence for over 2 weeks straight. I'm not sure what triggered that. But one good way of looking at it is that it helps to keep off the pounds and according to TCM it cleanses the body.

One whole week of thinking I was going to die.

Yes, that's the exact feeling!

Does anyone else have the same problems upon entering their home countries after a long stint in China? It doesn't happen to me as frequently now, but my first trip back after my first year here I got it bad.

This happens to me too, but I don't get food poisening, just diarrhea. Usually it's after eating a half-cooked steak, but it's well worth it I tell you! In any case, it doesn't last more than a couple of days.

I think it's because there are localized strains of food or intestinal bacteria. So when you go back home after being here a while, your body needs to adjust to the "new" strains.

[heifeng]

But one good way of looking at it is that it helps to keep off the pounds and according to TCM it cleanses the body.

yes, just consider it a free enema and just one stomach flu/food poisening away from the perfect weight:mrgreen: People actually pay for all this !!

fyi...I think i'm getting a bit wary of frozen dumplings and even other refrigerated stuff~ some stores seem to not always keep their freezers running. So when in doubt go to larger supermarkets, but also double check what you buy since I'm sure we have all seen the 'refrigerated food' that was just dropped somewhere else by someone who decided not to buy it...

[bottledpoetry]

Forget the yang rou chuanr, xiao long bao, huo guo.

I was immobilized by mango pudding that passed like slippery shards of NOT CLEAN in my system. Danger is everywhere, but it is oh.so.good...

[heifeng]

Rereading this thread, I have a comment: sometimes you just know you're sick as a dog, but really don't know what food did it....wuwuw

Reviewing quests post:

1.多喝水

2.补充电解质

3.检查尿液颜色，若过深则表示水分不足

4.避免乳制品及固体食物

5.使用止泻剂

6.使用以天然纤维为主成分的通便剂，可有效减少如厕次数

7.请教医生服用抗生素

8.旅行时避免未煮熟的蔬菜、肉类、海鲜及不洁的饮料

9.确保餐具清洁

10.将水煮沸三至五分钟后再饮用

11.多喝可乐、柳橙汁等酸性饮料，有助于抵制大肠杆菌的数量

these sound reasonable enough until even the water, coke, and orange juice starts coming back. I'm giving up eating out officially starting.....well i guess since all those meals didn't stay down....starting this past Tuesday.

On the positive side at least now at least I really can eat all I want when I go home to visit and regain those calories:mrgreen:!