avoiding the Siam sore throat

[Gawd Elpus 798]

I have been back just over a week from my most recent trip.

 

After the first week or so I started to get a very sore throat but it also included a fever. I was burning up.

 

I went to the Pattaya Bangkok Hospital which was an absolute model of efficiency and the nurses are something else. Very smart in their uniforms and most were at least 8 on the mongering scale.

 

The doctor looked down my throat and said acute tonsilitis. He also said I was rundown, looked tired and had been working too hard! more like shagging and drinking too hard!

 

Antibiotic injection in my bum made me feel so much better by the first evening, and the remainder of the antibiotic tablets plus some others to get rid of the inflamation did the trick. Total bill was over 7000bt.

 

Needless to say, my complimentary travel insurance has a £50 excess on medical expenses!

I take it you gave up sucking cock for the rest of the week ?

Edited May 28, 2016 by Gawd Elpus

[Billions 687]

I always return to the UK with a hacking cough after holidays in Pattaya (but not from Bangkok strangely).I assume it is because Pattaya air quality is dire and hotel and restaurant AC systems are filthy. From my last trip I needed three months to conquer the latest respiratory problem and am now fortunately healthy again but the long recovery and reports of scorching temperature in Thailand led me to cancel my next trip which was planned for next week.I don't want another infection so soon after shaking off the last one.

 

Regarding hotel AC units,how easy is it to remove the filthy parts and clean them in the shower? I would do it frequently if I knew the process.My hotel usually tells me the unit was recently cleaned but that might just be bollocks as I still got a terrible cough last time.

 

Can someone explain how to clean the innards of these units or point to a YouTube tutorial....or even make one?!

 

Thanks!

[nkped 1,208]

I take it you gave up sucking cock for the rest of the week ?

Trolling a post from 10 years ago?

[Gawd Elpus 798]

Trolling a post from 10 years ago?

Is that a problem ? There was nothing sinister about it from my point of view or with the intent of trolling. As you say, its a very old post

 

I had never seen the thread before, and came across it when searching for another topic. My comment was meant to be light hearted. If it is against the rules I am happy to edit it.

Edited May 28, 2016 by Gawd Elpus

[Butch 3,456]

I always return to the UK with a hacking cough after holidays in Pattaya (but not from Bangkok strangely).I assume it is because Pattaya air quality is dire and hotel and restaurant AC systems are filthy. From my last trip I needed three months to conquer the latest respiratory problem and am now fortunately healthy again but the long recovery and reports of scorching temperature in Thailand led me to cancel my next trip which was planned for next week.I don't want another infection so soon after shaking off the last one.

 

Regarding hotel AC units,how easy is it to remove the filthy parts and clean them in the shower? I would do it frequently if I knew the process.My hotel usually tells me the unit was recently cleaned but that might just be bollocks as I still got a terrible cough last time.

 

Can someone explain how to clean the innards of these units or point to a YouTube tutorial....or even make one?!

 

Thanks!

 

Billions, the only serviceable part you can clean without getting a screwdriver out and disconnecting the power are the filters at the front located behind the plastic shroud.

 

Basically if the unit is a wall mounted type (there's 3 types essentially), wall mounted which is a long unit and has a compressor unit outside, Cassete which is usually mounted in the middle of the ceiling and most often seen in an office and "window" mounted which re smaller, domestic units housing all the compressor / condensers etc and which go into a big hole in the wall, these were the most popular types back in the 80's and 90's in hotels and guest houses and have now given way to the wall mounted type.

 

What you need to do is face the unit, look at the front of it and then check at each side for a plastic lug, pull these firmly towards yourself and the plastic cover should unclip and lift up on two hinges, lift it all the way up and it should click into the open position.

 

Next you will see usually 2 shaped pieces of black or grey plastic mesh which are held in by clips, they simply unclip and pull out. Take them into the shower and clean them using some shower gel, you will see them become fully see through, the stuff coming off them is dead skin, air pollutants and dust. Replacement is just a matter of putting them back in, and they only go in one way so it's no more difficult than replacing a hoover bag or bin liner!. Before you replace them, allow them to fully dry, you could give them a spray with some after shave to negate any smells or odours like cigarettes. Ideally they'd be wiped down with anti bacterial or alcohol wipes, the other option is to leave them out in the hot sun for a while to dry out.

 

Hotels don't, as a rule , service their units very often if ever, simply because it's an unneccessary expense and there's no legal obligation to do so. If a Hotel has 200 rooms, that's 200+ units to service once a year. One other danger is if there is stagnant water within the unit from either a leak or poor drainage of the condensation that forms on the evaporator, then that can harbour diseases such as legionnaires. Very unlikely but possible all the same.

 

I often get a cold from Hotel Air con units, during our last trip we stayed at a friends house and we did run the A/C , none of us had any ill effects because he has them serviced once a year regardless.

 

It might no be any help, but I take a large dose of Vit C before and during my trips, which might be a placebo but seems to help.

[jacko 8,822]

Of course Butch a full service of an AC unit will also include cleaning indoor unit drum fan blades as they become clogged and coated.

Not many of those are removable, and if they are I would not recommend trying to as they can be difficult.

They get cleaned by putting a drain bag over them and spraying.

 

I always felt the Siam sore throat came from the polluted air outside, or possibly sleeping with the AC too low and the air being dry.

Any sewage on the roads (not unusual) can dry and become an airborne dust when a vehicle runs over it, surely not healthy mixed with the exhaust fumes.

Edited May 28, 2016 by jacko

[js007 795]

I know, it's an old thread, but I'm sure the problem still exists.

 

I'm one of those people who seem to get sick every single time I visit Pattaya. Every time. Usually, I'm OK for the first few days and then it hits. Some sort of a terrible cough/cold/flu. It doesn't happen to me in Bangkok or Phuket, just Pattaya. Anyway, it can last a month or so. One time, the only way I got better was to get on a plane and head to Phuket. Once I got there, it cleared up.

 

The innocent explanation is simply that Pattaya has vacationers from all over and I'm simply being exposed to viruses that are new to my system. Otherwise, there's something wicked in the air in Pattaya.

Edited May 28, 2016 by js007

[JONPAT 222]

Years ago I read in Readers Digest (USA magazine) that there are about 500 colds in the world. You catch a cold and develop an antibody to that cold, so you never get the same cold again. Back a few generations ago and you'd only get exposed to the colds that were in your area of the world, maybe 30 or so, and eventually catch/cure them all.

Now days you may travel outside your 100 square miles of the world and you will be exposed to more of those 500. Every time you come to Thailand some china or india or arab has brought their version of cold for you to catch.

I find that as I age I take longer to develop antibodies to these farang colds. Or those farang colds are just more badder.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

Could some of this be related to airplane air? It takes a bit of time for a virus to make us sick.

[yselmike 397]

it could be the massive attack from.

The flight.

The airco.

The pollution always bad but the mass of Chinese bus`s have taken it to a new level.

The massage parlors are probably a major source of infections, how often are the sheets and pillow cases changed? short time rooms the same, some of the towels I have been handed after an oil massage are a serious health hazard.

The drinking will take its toll and the diet.

The things we do when drunk and who we do it with.

The whole mongering thing in Pattaya is a health hazard.

The drugs we take.

[InternationalTraveler 282]

With me I guess 3-things come into play.

1, Sitting in beer bars all night with the passing traffic.

2, A lot of construction all over Pattaya and airbourne fine dust everywhere.

3, Also frequently jet in-out of Thailand and breathe the recirculated air.

 

I swear by these ANTIBACTERIAL LOZENGES and buy around 4- packs every time I get to the airport.

Costs around 55 baht for a pack of 24

[InternationalTraveler 282]

Cepacol, Available from Boots chemist

[Butch 3,456]

Also our immune systems might have something to do with it, for example I no longer get a dose of the shits when visiting LOS or the RP, maybe after a while we build up antibodies in our gut and elsewhere in our bodies.

As Jacko said there are defintiely more variables in how or what we catch and indeed when we get it. Often after 21+ hours of travel our immune systems are temporarily at a low point, especially after probably not sleeping and being exposed to 300 other people's farts and diseases while couped up on the plane. Factor in a few drunken nights, sleep debt and in some cases intimate relations with the locals, and the chances of infection increase exponentially I guess.

 

Speaking of which, over the years there's a list of ailments which I've had while in LOS / RP as follows along with some total specualtion and guesswork as to how I got them:

 

Red eye - from dirty blankets on the Aeroplane

 

Strep Throat - from sticking my tongue in places it shouldn't have been

 

Shits - From bad water / ice

 

Shits / Vomiting - From eating chicken from a street vendor

 

Shits / Vomiting worms (RP) - From eating 3 day old contaminated and unrefigerated "Pancit" (noodles) which contained liver and chicken after being told it is fine to do so by our maid.

 

Cold - From A/C , Plane or a number of possibilities.

 

Flu, cold and bad cough - See Above.

 

Flu, cold, cough and sweats - See Above.

 

Malaria Ovale - (Oman) Probably from a mosquito of some description.

 

Chlamydia - From a generous Thai Bargirl who felt it would be nice to share.

 

And so it continues...

[Fatboyfat 361]

I definitely seem to pick it up from airline flights rather than elsewhere. (Even travelling in the premium classes won't get you away from it !!!) The flights are worse than ever for this, and many other airborne diseases, somewhat ironically, due to the ban on smoking in aircraft.

[js007 795]

With me I guess 3-things come into play.

1, Sitting in beer bars all night with the passing traffic.

2, A lot of construction all over Pattaya and airbourne fine dust everywhere.

3, Also frequently jet in-out of Thailand and breathe the recirculated air.

 

I swear by these ANTIBACTERIAL LOZENGES and buy around 4- packs every time I get to the airport.

Costs around 55 baht for a pack of 24

DSC02265 (Small).JPG

 

For what it's worth, a Cepacol mouthwash is also available, at least here in the states. Can't hurt, I guess. When I was in the Army, that's one of the things they gave guys who went on sick call.

[ting_tong 63]

amazing to see my old posts resurface?

I now do a different routine:

at the first sign of a sore throat in the morning, I eat a cookie (something in the stomach), then take a 1/2 ciprofloxin (250mg) that usually stops it.

when I fly on the plane, I wear the particle mask

 

If I get the shits when travelling, I always carry a medicine kit with 2 imodiums and 1 500mg ciprofloxin (which I break in 2 and take 1 imodium)

[yselmike 397]

With me I guess 3-things come into play.1, Sitting in beer bars all night with the passing traffic.2, A lot of construction all over Pattaya and airbourne fine dust everywhere.3, Also frequently jet in-out of Thailand and breathe the recirculated air.I swear by these ANTIBACTERIAL LOZENGES and buy around 4- packs every time I get to the airport.Costs around 55 baht for a pack of 24DSC02265 (Small).JPG

I was sitting on a roadside seat of Lisa bar up near soi1 or 2 and was horrified by the brown fumes from the exhausts of the Chinese tour buses,as it was dark you only really notice when it's in your face literally.The pollution in pattaya means I will never stay there again it's Jontiem for me now.

[Gawd Elpus 798]

I usually suck a Fisherman's Friend

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

I usually suck a Fisherman's Friend

 

While it's still in the fisherman's pocket?

 

[Gawd Elpus 798]

 

While it's still in the fisherman's pocket?