Stomach problems in India?

Question

Have you had stomach problems during your stay in India?
I had some, not sure why. I stayed away from spicy and non-veg food.
But other than that, I had an amazing time in India. I can't wait to go back again!

Answer 1

Next time you come to India, take care of a few things categorically:

1. Drinking water: drink water from sealed "ISI" or "FPO" marked bottles only. Avoid sharing your water and keep one for yourself only.

2. Stay at hygienic places, no matter if the places cost you a little more. Foreign tourists are found staying in congested and over populated areas just in the name of budgeted accommodation but some times pay heavily for their misadventure. Before hiring accommodation, take a good look of your room, with attached clean bathroom. Insist for daily change of towels, cleaning of bathroom with phenol and fresheners.

3. Wherever you eat, indicate your level of cooking oil and spices and if not upto the mark, return them for afresh without any extra price. Be very clear in your communication on this aspect and insist for serving accordingly.

4. Again eat at a reasonable good outlet, clean and hygienic. Don't mind paying a little extra in price for a good eating place. If you feel like eating a little spice - sometime very tasty - offset its effects on your foreign physical body with cold juices, coke, shakes, coconut water etc regularly. This will maintain balance in your body and you can relish the local food more and more.

5. To begin with when you land, eat a little less than your appetite and gradually increase the in-takes. You can offset this short in-takes with more liquid diet meantime.

A few tips like this would substantially enhance your pleasure and stay in India.

Hope you have no stomach problems next time you visit India.

Take care.

Answer 2

That is normal as in India you have bacteria which is present everywhere and does not get wiped out due to cold winter like NYC. Once the body adjusts to the bacteria you should be fine. There is no way around it as it will enter your body no matter what you do. It is actually harmless. What I do is after 2 -3 days sip about 1/4 cup of water which is not bottled every day and in 2-3 days I am set.

Answer 3

Bottled water is okay. But what about food? Whether it is a cheap restaurant or posh restaurnat the food is invariably contaminated. Only it differs in the quantity of contamination. You have to avoid all outside hotel food. You must prepare your own food. That is the only solution to your problem. If you cannot prepare or there is no such facility to prepare you have to depend on Fresh bread and some packed ready to eat food (branded). If Branded packed food is not availabe you can take roti or chapati from a good hotel but without curry or any such thing. Only chapati and bread lacks vitamins and proteins. So take milk if you are not allergic and small quantity of fruits. Take one multiviamin tablet like 'Becadexamin' daily as long as you are in india with this type of unbalanced but necessary diet. This is not only your problem but of all who take outside food when away from home.

Answer 4

Hi,

It's pleasurable to know ur anxiety to visit India again and hope u will find more groomed India on ur next visit.
Well, related to ur stomach problem, water is the most common factor, it is always advisable to use bottled packed water to drink. As you have different kinda bacteria in ur stomach but when u drink local water available here, the bacteria type is different. So, it is nothing to worry, jus to take few precautions, avoid open water anywhere, avaoid open cut fruits, avoid milk related sweet dishes which are very popular in India and always try to eat at hygienic places and restaurants.

Answer 5

problem with water!
allow your body to develop resistance to bacteria. So keep visiting India! I hope at some point of time, there would be no stomach problems.

Answer 6

u do get stumach probs in india. if u eat something from the stalls out on the streets. u never know how the food is made so stay away from them. people eat it and nothing happens to them because they r used to it. but i have to say thet food is really delicious and spicy.

Answer 7

Take only ISI/FPO labelled sealed bottled water from standard shops.Take only hot food from good restaurants.Be careful about wayside restaurants which are not clean.If you are not allergic to lemon juice, you may take the same daily which will kill harmful bacteria in your system, but be careful that lemon juice is made with bottled water and not with tap water

Answer 8

It probably wasn't the food, it was the water. Your system in not used to the levels of various bacteria. Next visit you should probably eat spicier food, it offers some protection against what might be in the water!

Answer 9

Not me but some other colleagues who went on business trips.

They say to bring buy mineral water (trusted ones; not those produced locally). According to them, even water in the international hotels are not safe.

Hope that helps.

Answer 10

So many people living in India, they faces the problems of verious types- there are also good doctors, so all Indians where living you would be one of them, come on- no problem.