Holiday from hell: How eating Pad Thai from food court in Thailand left Aussie couple with debilitating illness

[ianezy0]

2 hours ago, BobbyL said:

It is great how two years later they can specifically say it was the Pad Thai. Did they keep their stools after that meal as evidence?

Actually they were sitting on chairs when eating the pad Thai ????

[Time Traveller]

2 hours ago, BobbyL said:

It is great how two years later they can specifically say it was the Pad Thai. Did they keep their stools after that meal as evidence?

This forum never ceases to surprise me at the number of self appointed experts who question medical professionals diagnosis. Thailand is so lucky to have these people.

 

Certain Parasites are often only found in certain types of foods E.g Freshwater fish, shellfish, pork. etc.....and in certain parts of the world. Eg. tropical regions. Asia/ Africa / South America.

 

So if they only ate that one food suceptable to infection of that particular type of parasite, then it's pretty easy to track the source of the infection.

 

And no, don't think for one minute that Thai food is cooked thoroughly either. Most food court "chefs" are in such a hurry, even thin slices of meat often may not be cooked enough. 

 

 

 

[Anythingleft?]

Please tell me how. I have read it can take up to two days for symptoms to develop.

Well, as there are over 250 types of food poisoning to go through they all obviously have different effects and severity. Including different times when you would feel the effects

However a batch of the most common forms of food poisoning start within 1-6 hours

As these guys had an outbreak so late the only accurate way to know is to define the bacteria then whittle it down to what they ate that would or could match

Still not rocket science.....


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[Time Traveller]

8 minutes ago, Chainsaw said:

I've lived in Thailand for 20 years eating street food on a regular basis all over Thailand. I've had food poisoning twice, once from KFC and once from McDonalds - go figure!

 

You want a medal?

[wombat]

more holes in that story than swiss cheese.

[jlwilliamsjr18]

3 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Maybe it was airline food that did them in....

NO Way... that would be like blaming being from Perth, being the cause.

[AlfonsV]

First I came and now I stay in Thailand thus I have food experience of 35 years. During this period I had food poisening 4 times, each time 1 day, i.e. about once in a decade. Once I got lamblya because a young dog succeeded to lick my lips, but this was an easy diagnosis and treatment. However I have to say that I always ate vegetarian and during the last about 6 years vegan. Meat and seafood in hot climate is more dangerous than at home anyway. 

[Chainsaw]

7 minutes ago, Time Traveller said:

You want a medal?

Yes please, what a nice gesture! Thanks. ????

[marquis22]

Now I know what caused the shits 9 years ago in that small soi sidewalk eatery.

Never can trust a pad thai .... ???? 

[The ball tamperer]

So if they get food poisoning in Australia they will migrate and not return?

[sqwakvfr]

I think it is a long stretch to state eating Pad Thai at a food court as the cause of this  illness.  I came down with a bad case of H. Pylori 10 years ago.  Before this illness I had worked in the Middle East and visited Thailand many times.  But I could never pinpoint where, when and how I got infected?    The Gastroenterologist said these questions could never be answered.  I could have been exposed to this bacteria years ago and the symptoms just manifested at that time?  

 

As in my case it took almost 6 months of doctor visits to get an accurate diagnosis.  One night the pain was so bad I thought I was having a heart attack.  After an expensive emergency room visit my primary doctor referred me to the GI specialist and a subsequent Endoscopy and tissue biopsy.

 

I still have chronic symptoms and it appears it will be something I have manage for life.  But I can’t blame anything or any country for this illness.  

 

This couple may have just defamed the national dish of LOS?  

 

 

[Chainsaw]

40 minutes ago, Time Traveller said:

This forum never ceases to surprise me at the number of self appointed experts who question medical professionals diagnosis. Thailand is so lucky to have these people.

 

Certain Parasites are often only found in certain types of foods E.g Freshwater fish, shellfish, pork. etc.....and in certain parts of the world. Eg. tropical regions. Asia/ Africa / South America.

 

So if they only ate that one food suceptable to infection of that particular type of parasite, then it's pretty easy to track the source of the infection.

 

And no, don't think for one minute that Thai food is cooked thoroughly either. Most food court "chefs" are in such a hurry, even thin slices of meat often may not be cooked enough. 

 

 

 

This forum never ceases to surprise me at the number of self appointed 'experts'. Oh the irony!????

 

[PETERTHEEATER]

........ I had no memory I couldn't recall anything.......

 

Amnesia for two years. Sheeeeeet......

[Kaopad999]

I've been eating street food here for 7 years, and never had any issues whatsoever.

[RBOP]

Look it up on Webmd amd NCBI. Could have been contracted from any number of things and not only in Thailand. It also exists in Australia.  Could they be looking for GoFundMe?

[Franko666]

3 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

Pretty easy to narrow down the meal that starts an episode of food poisoning.....

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No it’s not, it depends on the organism. Anyway this was a parasite and Pattaya has plenty of those......

[Miss Pickle]

I doubt that very much probably picked something up on the plane they are full of germs

[justin case]

people here with hand sanitizer habits, just use soap

 

those alcoholic gels kills bacteria, but also the GOOD one's, so the bad will start to multiply out of control... 

 

you have 100 trillion bacteria in your guts that work for you, keep you alive, transform your food into energy, and only 10 trillion human cells...

 

 

[atyclb]

57 minutes ago, madmen said:

1 hour ago, atyclb said:

 

that one is believed to spread most commonly by the feco-oral route therefore it would mean an employee with poor toilet sanitary habits simply handling the food and or plates.

 

"most infections are believed to be through direct fecal-oral spread "

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/997239-overview

Those that practise TIB with the local ladies would strongly disagree. A friend told me that 

 

i assume you make that statement "tongue in cheek"

[Chainsaw]

8 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

I've been eating street food here for 7 years, and never had any issues whatsoever.

You may qualify for a medal. Ask Time Traveller ????

[dave moir]

No proof it was the Pad Thai? Could have been anything!!! I've lived in Thailand 7 years and never had a problem with Thai food whether in a mall or off street food vendors.

[rtco]

This is a b/s story. I've got a dodgy stomach but I've lost count of the number of meals I've eaten from food courts and local markets and never ever have I had any kind of problem apart from the odd occasions of the S#%t$ but I used to get that back in the UK anyway. Even the cooking facilities when I visit up-country leave a lot to be desired in terms of health but nope, never had a problem. And yes why so long - 2 years and counting!!! 

[Estrada]

If they say they have been infected with Dientamoeba Fragilis for the last two years, then it is a fake story. Dientamoeba Fragilis Is common in the intestines of humans but does not survive well outside the body, hence it is called "Fragilis". Most people need no treatment, just good hygiene amongst those they are in contact with for a few days otherwise they will reinfect each other if they don't take care to wash their hands. Over the counter drugs are available that clears the infection within days. Two years and a TV appearance for an infection that normally lasts 48hours indicates a wrong diagnosis or some kind of scam. I believe they are more likely infected with Giardia from drinking contaminated water or food. Giardia can take 1 to 2 weeks to cause a problem and can take months to treat. 

[Moon6966]

Food poison in Thailand is not normal
I eat street food all the time or in food court
I can't remember getting sick
Thailand is very clean place


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[sahibji]

possibly the pad thai was not thoroughly fried.

[soistalker]

I was in Bangkok a few years ago, and stopped at a food cart on the street to get Pad Thai. He was making the order for the person in front of me, and I was watching. He had a pallet of 30 eggs that he was using. While looking at the eggs, I saw one in the middle was cracked. That's when I knew that was to be my egg. He started making my pad thai, and took the egg that was cracked from  the middle and used it in my pad thai. I literally ran away.

Rather than throwing the egg away, when not give it to the foreigner? He would never see me again. Why would he care if I got sick?

[chilli42]

Plenty of food in Thailand has parasites ... Som Tam with those bits of crab for instance.  Sometimes it’s not the food itself.  A cook who has parasites can pass to you if they don’t wash properly after a bowl movement etc. I have the whole family take a double course of anti parasitic meds every 6 months. 

[unamazedloso]

I have had food poisioning several times and even checked by eating the food again to make sure whats the cause. Most of the time its the ice in the drinks!

Thats my 2 cents anyway.

Our local chemist has great food poisioning medication so never fussed and eat whatever...

[Franko666]

2 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Load of sensationalizing ! 

There was no "food poisoning" it was a "parasite", that could have been picked up in many places, so to pin it to one specific meal on one specific day, two year earlier is nonsense.(IMHO).

Yes, I always suggest people stop picking their noses, there are all sorts of things growing up in the snoz hole.

[Jimbo2014]

How on earth would you trace this back to one specific Pat Thai meal in you had at lunch.  Could have brought it into Thailand from Australia.  The sickest I ever got was on roast duck in a Melbourne Pub