Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [211]
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HEALTH
While urban horror stories can make a trip to Bangkok seem frighteningly dangerous, few travellers experience anything more than an upset stomach and the resulting clenched-cheek waddles to the bathroom. If you do have a problem, Bangkok has some very good hospitals in which you can recover; see Click here.
Many medications can be bought over the counter without a doctor’s prescription, but it can be difficult to find some newer drugs, particularly antidepressants, blood-pressure medications and contraceptive pills. Bangkok and the surrounding regions of central Thailand are entirely malaria free, so you won’t need to worry about taking any antimalarial medication if you don’t plan to venture beyond that area. Cases of dengue fever are few but they do occur, so if you come down with flu symptoms do see a doctor.
Food & Water
If a place looks clean and well run and the vendor also looks clean and healthy, then the food is probably safe. In general, the food in busy restaurants is cooked and eaten quite quickly with little standing around, and is probably not reheated. The same applies to street stalls. It’s worth remembering that when you first arrive the change in diet might result in a loose stool or two, but that doesn’t automatically mean you’ve got amoebic dysentery, so hold off a bit before rushing to the doc.
Water and ice are the cause of much anxiety among travellers, but follow a couple of simple rules and you should be okay. Don’t drink tap water, but do remember that all water served in restaurants or to guests in offices or homes in Bangkok comes from purified sources. It’s not necessary to ask for bottled water in these places unless you prefer it. Reputable brands of Thai bottled water or soft drinks are fine. Fruit juices are made with purified water and are safe to drink. Milk in Thailand is always pasteurised.
Ice is generally produced from purified water under hygienic conditions and is therefore theoretically safe. The rule of thumb is that if it’s chipped ice, it probably came from an ice block (which may not have been handled well), but if it’s ice cubes or tubes, it was delivered from the ice factory in sealed plastic. Almost all ice in Bangkok is the latter.
Medical Problems & Treatment
In Bangkok medicine is generally available over the counter for much less than it costs in the West. However, fake drugs are common so try to use reputable-looking pharmacies, and check storage conditions and expiry dates before buying anything.
AIR POLLUTION
Bangkok has a bad reputation for air pollution, and on bad days the combination of heat, dust and motor fumes can be a powerful brew of potentially toxic air. The good news is that more efficient vehicles, fewer of them thanks to the Skytrain and Metro, and less industrial pollution mean Bangkok’s skies are much cleaner than they used to be. To put it into perspective, the air is usually nearer to Singapore standards than diabolical Hong Kong or Shanghai.
FLU
Thailand has seen a number of nasty influenza strains in recent years, most notably the bird (H5N1) and swine (H1N1) varieties. That said, it’s no worse than any other country in the region and is probably better prepared than most of the world for any major outbreak because the government has stockpiled tens of millions of Tamiflu doses.
HEAT
By the standards of most visitors Bangkok is somewhere between hot and seriously (expletive) hot all year round. Usually that will mean nothing more than sweat-soaked clothing, discomfort and excessive tiredness. However, heat exhaustion is not uncommon, and dehydration is the main contributor. Symptoms include feeling weak, headache, irritability, nausea or vomiting, sweaty skin, a fast, weak pulse and a normal or slightly elevated body temperature. Treatment involves getting out of the heat and/or sun and cooling the victim down by fanning and applying cool, wet cloths to the skin, laying the victim flat with their legs raised and rehydrating with electrolyte drinks or water