If you travel to India or Pakistan, are you guaranteed to have gastric problems?

Answer 1

Where did you get that stupid notion from ? Somebody has been putting you on. Just don't take anything which is unhygenic and unhealthy and you will do perfectly okay. and drink bottled water only.

Take care and God Bless you !

Answer 2

Owen presents a good package of information. About half the Westerners I know who have visited India return with some sort of tummy bug experience. Something that Owen did not mention, and is worth knowing, is that alcohol taken with meals can kill even salmonella. Beer is too weak, but it works for wine and spirits. I have personal experience of this phenomenon and I always take wine with my meals if eating in places where I have doubts about what I am eating.

Answer 3

no! Check bottled water to make sure it hasn't been re-filled with tap. wash all fruits & veggies before you chow down &do not o.d. on imodium if it does happen. remember- this too shall pass. Sh**t happens, but can be controlled

Answer 4

I can't really speak for Pakistan, since I've never been there, but as for India: no, you're not *guaranteed* to get gastric problems, though the risk exists. You have to be careful about what you eat and drink over there, since things containing uncooked products and water may contain harmful bacteria.

This to watch out for in particular: 1) don't drink the water (tap) unless it's been boiled or treated with chemical antibiotics. Purchase bottled water with unbroken seals to drink, and make sure you purchase said water from a reliable vendor. Recomended brands are Bisleri, Bailey and Kinley (owned by an indian company, pepsi co, and coca cola co. respectively).

2) Never eat fresh vegetables of any kind, nor any food they may have touched. This includes fresh veggies used as garnishes (a popular Indian garnish is brilliantly sliced cucumber used to adorn sandwiches and the like, always raw, which means you can't eat the sandwich :-(
This includes raw veggies, particularly salads and garnishes on airline food in India (domestically) and on international airline food (flights originating from India).

3) Never drink a beverage containing ice, even at a high-end restaurant. Oftentimes the beverage will be bottled, even water they serve will be bottled. However, the ice will often have been made from local tap water. The freezing process of making the ice does not kill the bacteria, merely preserving some of them to wreck extra havoc in your intestines.

4) Avoid eating meat anywhere unless you know who prepared it (and know they would only use fresh, high quality meat) or are eating at a western branded 5 star hotel restaurant (the restaurants attached to Sheratons in india are particularly famous for amazing cuisine as well as being safe to eat at for westerners). Other good hotel-restaurants are at the indian hotel chain Oberoi, which is also a 5 star international chain (just because it's indian, doesn't mean it can't be good).

5) Be weary of sauces and chutneys: a popular Indian accompaniment, particularly in south india, are sweet chutneys and fresh spicy coconut chutney sauces used to accompany food pan-fried paper-thin rice pancakes and rice/lentil cakes. Be weary of these sauces, as they can often be made with tap water. Always inquire as to whether they were made with bottled water or sanitized water, and never indulge in them at any less then spectacular restaurant. The rice-pancakes and cakes however, should be perfectly okay to eat since they are either pan-fried or steamed at high temperature.

6) Never drink the milk in India unless it is boiled, or purchased as pasteurized: India prides itself on its cows. As such, most milk is produced fresh, and unpasteurized. I highly recommend staying away from the boiled, unpasteurized variety since for westerners it has a rather awful taste. The pasteurized milk made by the indian dairy brand Amul is, however, quite delicious.

7) Salad is a no-no: remember the warning about raw veggies? well yeah, that's pretty much what a salad is.

8) Be weary of juices: Sugarcane juice is a popular thing to drink while in any tropical climate .Sugarcane is abundant in many regions of india, and this cool, naturally sweet drink is highly popular with tourists. However, the sugarcane juice itself is often not enough to fill a glass, and is very sweet, so it is often diluted with, you guessed it, tap water. If you can avoid it, please do. If not, however, don't be afraid to ask vendors if they will accommodate your request to make it with bottled water. Many will oblige, provided you provide them with the bottled water you want used, and are willing to pay a relatively extra fee (in India it might be 150% of the original beverage's cost, but when the original drink only costs the equivalent of about US$0.10, it's a very very small price to pay to ensure your health).

Moral of the story: use your head, and common sense, and be aware of what you're eating. It's often easy to notice and avoid the big things (water, veggies) but more difficult to keep track of the small things (ice, garnishes). I've gotten it twice, when I was younger and visiting relatives (my relatives were diplomats, so they were reasonably well versed in how to avoid getting sick in local environments), since as a young kid I often wasn't aware of what I was eating. But when I went back recently, I escaped perfectly fine. India's a beautiful country with an amazing culture, and I'm sure Pakistan is too. They are definitely worth seeing; just be careful about what you eat or drink!

Answer 5

i wouldnt go there for pay so im not going to get their bugs.