Santa Marta

[BKKguru]

Anyway. Point being, don't assume one treatment fits all. Treatments for parasites are very different than for bacterial infections, and within those categories the drugs for each type are very different. And viruses another thing altogether. Basically no antibiotic works for them. So get a proper diagnoses.

Well said. In Medicine, one size does not fit all. Many times, Doctors find the medicine which will work for YOU, by trial and error.
Probiotics do help a lot of people. But this discussion was about Parasites, not bacterial infections.

I learnt a few things in this thread. Good info which the consummate traveler can use.

BKKguru

[BKKguru]

Zeos1,

Well said. In Medicine, one size does not fit all. Many times, Doctors find the medicine which will work for YOU, by trial and error.
Probiotics do help a lot of people. But this discussion was about Parasites not bacterial infections.

I learnt a few things. Good info which the consummate traveler can use.

BKKguru

[Mr Enternational]

Not going to help you. And I am a doctor.

Funny since it has helped me many times before. The first time I had no idea what it was and I had the runs about 18 times a day for like 6 weeks. I had lost plenty of weight before I finally went to the doctor. She told me about the probiotic that I could buy over the counter at the pharmacy. It cleared up in 2 days. That was 14 years ago. Ever since, I have kept some in my toiletry bag and whenever it happens I take them and it fixes it right away. Maybe you are a doctor of philosophy.

[John Clayton]

...I am not doctor, but even I know to carry probiotic with me in case I run into some bad bacteria...

Not going to help you. And I am a doctor.

[Questner]

CNN travel with a med team, don't compare them to yourselves, they know what they are doing, and moreover they don't eat ass, LOL, on those episodes.

[Zeos1]

Why not? I am not doctor, but even I know to carry probiotic with me in case I run into some bad bacteria. But you described the food being cooked over a wood fire. So once that is heated past a certain temp, the bacteria are killed anyway. It is the uncooked stuff like salad and water that one must be careful of.

A lot of the time the problem is not the food itself. It is contamination by human hands that touch it. So in places where certain parasites are common that may be the vector. And all the probiotics or vitamins in the world won't necessarily help prevent a parasite infection. Some people carry them and so in a sense would be immune. But not sure of the long term health consequences. Probably depends on the parasite. Common parasitic ones are ameobic dysentery and giardia. With ameobic dysentery being the worst.

Bacterial infections can probably be lessened by good health and diet, although if you get a bad type of e-coli for example it is more about your resistance and who knows what else. That is a common cause of "food poisoning", and again is caused by contamination from food handlers. Or comes in on produce, etc. Bad e-coli reactions can be very serious, but with the same contamination only a certain (small) number of people get ill, and lots don't even notice it. And others die from it or complications.

Anyway. Point being, don't assume one treatment fits all. Treatments for parasites are very different than for bacterial infections, and within those categories the drugs for each type are very different. And viruses another thing altogether. Basically no antibiotic works for them. So get a proper diagnoses.

[Surfer500]

WOW so THIS is what I had. I stayed in Santa Marta for about 2 or 3 weeks asnd right about the last couple days there I got SUPER ill. I thought it was the chicken I got from this place. I had eaten there before so I figured there was no problems but, I nust say that is the worst ill I ever dealt with. I had diareha non stop, like really non stop. I was lucky I was able to get to the store and stock up on gatorade and meds. I remember I was vomiting soo much that like it was painful in my mouth and uncontroable. I never wish this on anybody. I think I ate 2 crackers the entire 3 days I was sick. After I was totally fine though and I was in the clear one day before I had to leave. Holy fuck wow that was an unreal experience.

Thanks for the heads up.

How exactly do you prevent this from happening? I never have these problems in Bogota or medellin or baraquilla but WOW holy fuck this was bad.

My episode of vomiting and diarrhea only lasted three hours and I was able to eat the next morning. I have a pretty resilient stomach as only got sick once in India when I ate some imported Swiss cheese of all things. What was conveyed to me by the Doctor was that it was very common to get parasite infections in Santa Marta. I haven't had any problems in Medellin the last two years. So your question is, how do you prevent this from happening. Either don't go to Santa Marta, or perhaps make like your in India and only eat things you peel and cooked food. But that won't even guarantee that you will not get sick.

[Mr Enternational]

Does Dr. Gupta eat this meal? Watch the re-run of this show to find out! :))

Why not? I am not doctor, but even I know to carry probiotic with me in case I run into some bad bacteria. But you described the food being cooked over a wood fire. So once that is heated past a certain temp, the bacteria are killed anyway. It is the uncooked stuff like salad and water that one must be careful of.

[BKKguru]

The essential problem is that people in the US take too many antibiotics and we focus so much on absolute sanitation, which means if they get a little contamination on an apple it wrecks your system. You can prepare a bit on the front end to lessen the possibility that you'll get foodborne illness by building up the "good bacteria" in your gut. Several weeks before traveling, up your intake of things like yogurt (homemade is best) and acidophilus milk. Many people would also suggest daily doses of 1000 MG of Vitamin see- Dr. Linus Pauling was a big champion of building your immune system with Vitamin see. Don't be concerned about the dosage <snip>

Just some thoughts.

Thanks for the information. I agree that folks living in the US live in a "sanitized" environment. A little dirt is good for your body.

Another good source of Vitamin C is Lemon. Squeeze half a lemon (or lime) in your water. Do not add salt or sugar. Two direct benefits:
a) You will get HALF the dose of your daily Vitamin C.
b) If you suffer from Hypertension (or high blood pressure), your blood pressure will begin to drop.

Few months back, CNN started running a new series called "Chasing Life". The host of this show Dr. Sanjay Gupta visits different countries.
The goal is to find out the secret of their good health. One show was about Bolivia. Dr. Gupta visits a small village in the Amazon jungle.
According to the show, these Bolivian natives have the BEST Cardiovascular health in the world.

I bring this up because Dr. Gupta mentions these folks already have the bacteria / parasites in their body. They will not fall sick.
On the other hand, he had just arrived days earlier from the US. He had to watch everything he was eating and drinking.

Dr. Gupta is invited to join a meal. He is shown sitting on the floor (in a hut) while the meal is being cooked on a wood fire.
The meal is ready and served in a banana leaf (most likely fish, but do not remember exactly).
Dr. Gupta knows he will fall sick if he eats this. He is seriously embarrassed because this meal means a lot to the Bolivian jungle natives.

Does Dr. Gupta eat this meal? Watch the re-run of this show to find out!

BKKguru

[BlueChange]

Just some information for others to consider while visiting Santa Marta and other coastal areas of Colombia. Last week I arrived on Monday and on Thursday night I came down with what I thought was food poisoning and had chills / fever and vomited and had the runs during the night. Since last Friday I have had bouts of the runs. Yesterday I went to a Doctor in Medellin where I live and was informed that I had a parasite infection. The Doc told me that parasite infections were quite common for people who travel to that area. Precautions I took, well staying in a five star Hotel, eating in upper scale eating establishments, drinking only bottled water didn't make any difference. I am not trying to scare anyone off form going there, just letting you know if you get sick while being there are shortly thereafter, don't be surprised.

WOW so THIS is what I had. I stayed in Santa Marta for about 2 or 3 weeks asnd right about the last couple days there I got SUPER ill. I thought it was the chicken I got from this place. I had eaten there before so I figured there was no problems but, I nust say that is the worst ill I ever dealt with. I had diareha non stop, like really non stop. I was lucky I was able to get to the store and stock up on gatorade and meds. I remember I was vomiting soo much that like it was painful in my mouth and uncontroable. I never wish this on anybody. I think I ate 2 crackers the entire 3 days I was sick. After I was totally fine though and I was in the clear one day before I had to leave. Holy fuck wow that was an unreal experience.

Thanks for the heads up.

How exactly do you prevent this from happening? I never have these problems in Bogota or medellin or baraquilla but WOW holy fuck this was bad.

[Surfer500]

How are the beaches? Plenty of places to chill, grab a beer, and maybe a bite to eat?

If your looking for nice sand beaches, etc. In Santa Marta they aren't so great, better to go to Rodaleo and take the ferry to a nearby by beach I forgot the name of it. Plenty of places to chill and have a beer along the Malecon in Santa Marta and along the beach in Rodaleo. However, it is hot there and the water is not clear and inviting like in the Dominican Republic. So if your looking for spectacular beaches you should go there. Even at Parque Tyrona there are some nice beaches but it's a pain to get there and expensive to enter as a foreigner. However, if you like seafood, and hopefully don't get sick, Santa Marta has the DR beat hands down in this regards.

[MiamiSammy]

Giardia is primarily a waterborne parasite you get from drinking contaminated water, and you should not only not drink the water, but use bottled water for your toothbrush, etc. Food becomes contaminated both through the water used to rinse it off and being handled by 300 hands in the market. Best advice / practice is never to eat any raw vegetables or fruit, but rather buy it, take it back to your hotel room and dip it in some disinfectant (1 tablespoon of bleach for one gallon of water).

The essential problem is that people in the US take too many antibiotics and we focus so much on absolute sanitation, which means if they get a little contamination on an apple it wrecks your system. You can prepare a bit on the front end to lessen the possibility that you'll get foodborne illness by building up the "good bacteria" in your gut. Several weeks before traveling, up your intake of things like yogurt (homemade is best) and acidophilus milk. Many people would also suggest daily doses of 1000 MG of Vitamin see- Dr. Linus Pauling was a big champion of building your immune system with Vitamin see. Don't be concerned about the dosage- Vitamin see is water soluble and washes out of your system daily. You can also get a lot of see in your diet through fresh citrus and garlic, as well as certain other fruits and vegetables- Google it.

Just some thoughts.

[MiamiSammy]

Just got back from Santa Marta and want to thank JustTK for hanging out with me for a few days and showing me around. I felt very safe in town walking around including at night, more so than in Medellin. I was impressed with the variety and quality of restaurants all centrally located in and around Parque de Novios. If you like seafood, this is the Colombian town to go to besides Cartagena. I went into two bars with JustTK, one was a daytime bar next door to Bananas which didn't have much in it and one evening we went into Bananas which reminded me very much of Adelitas Bar in Tijuana, Mexico. Lots of chunky size girls, a few slim cute ones, and a DJ playing music with a bunch of locals drinking beers while gawking at the Chicas who walked around strutting their asses in your face.

As far as where to stay I had two rooms. One at the AC Marriot, a brand new Hotel located behind the Police Station at the beginning of the Malecon. Great rooms, ocean views, and an Olympic size pool and rooftop deck. About $ 80 US a night and an excellent location. Was it girl friendly, I don't know as I never took anyone there, but I suppose it is if you book a double room and the Chica isn't too skanky looking with a Cedula. Lots of business people and people on Hoilday there.

As far as my other room, I found a Hotel one block from Parque de Novios almost directly across the street from the two bars I mentioned at 55,000 Pesos a night with AC which was girl friendly. I basically checked out three Hotels in this area and befriended the manager of the one I stayed in and basically told him I would be bringing some girlfriends in which they had no problem with.

As far as finding girls. Well this is a great town to monger in if you like the street scene. The three locations I liked and I know JustTK knows of more, was Parque Bolivar, the Malecon, and Parque de Novios. Around sunset everyday lots of Chicas will show up along the beach road / Malecon and in the evening will be concentrated across from the Malecon in front of a few side walk cafes just a block from Parque Bolivar and will be sitting / standing along the Malecon on the other side of the Boulevard. During the daytime you will find Chicas in Parque Bolivar but of poor quality. Lots of Venies in and around Parque Bolivar and the first asking price for the ones I talked to with was 50,000 K. Lots of the Chicas in town were very aggressive, especially in and around Parque de Novios. This area of town is very different than the Parque Bolivar area being the main tourist area with performers etc. And the prices of the Chicas are higher as this is where most of the tourists hung out. Much different than Parque Bolivar with the Chicas a better dressed and looking for clients along with higher end pricing. In this area if your a single male you will get a lot of eye contact and girls coming up to you offering massages, smiling, etc.

I liked my stay in Santa Marta, however it is hot during the day with most activity taking place at night.

How are the beaches? Plenty of places to chill, grab a beer, and maybe a bite to eat?

[Surfer500]

Thanks for the warning. Its great to know the medicine worked and you are back in action.

It appears the cause of this parasitic infection was food. What type of food were you eating? Was it Seafood every day? Pork etc?
Just trying to determine, what type of food should be AVOIDED while in the coastal areas? This would be very useful to know.

There's no way of knowing exactly what I ate that gave me the parasites, its more a matter of sanitation, the water is not potable in Santa Marta, so the food I ate could of been infected by being washed with water that had parasites in it.

I stayed in a five star hotel, only ate at the finest eating establishments, only drank bottled water. But I did have a Mojito every night. I am assuming the ice was purified, but perhaps the mint leaves had parasites. So it's impossible to narrow it down to a specific food. However I did eat some tasty pussy, perhaps that was it.

In regards to running the stool sample, the Doctor told me based on my explanation of my conditions that she knew exactly what it was and that we could run the sample, but regardless of the results she already knew what the cure would be, so I decided not to bother. If I had been in the USA the Doctors would have no clue and I would of probably had to wait a while for the lab tests for them to figure it out.

I think the only thing you can do to prevent this is make like your travelling in India, and don't touch anything that has not been cooked or you can peel. That means nothing fresh, etc. Which would be pretty boring for me.

[Surfer500]

Curios. To the both of you what is the name of the prescription drug?

The Tall Man.

Secnidazol 500 MG 2 tablets the first day.

Albendazol 200 MG 2 tablets the second day.

Cost 7,000 Pesos.