The dreaded Pattaya cough

[teelack 9,635]

I am aware that I am not the only one that gets a Pattaya cough when I go to LOS. I am sure it would happen anywhere as I believe that it is the result of air-conditioning. I tend to believe that this is a combination of the rooms, gogo's etc rather than aeroplanes but who knows.

 

My reason for writing this is that rather than getting this at home I started getting the cough during my last week in Pattaya so off to the pharmacist at Watsons. They came up with something called MUCLEAR. This has turned out to be better and cheaper than any other fix that I have had. More often than not I end up going to the GP after about three weeks but I feel sure that this has fixed me.

 

For 180 baht this is substatially cheaper than local pills and potions that I have tried. If you get the dreaded Pattaya cough then give this s try.

[bigmick 840]

I think just about everyone gets this, i blame it on the AC and airplanes being too cramped. Each time i have returned home, i end up with this cough for about 1 month, until this time back in December i drank a cup of hot water with a spoon of honey and a whole squeezed lemon, it worked for me.

[nkped 1,208]

The last week or so, I have developed a very mild case of the sniffles and sneeze occasionally. I tend to think it is allergies, although nothing like what I would get in Washington state in the spring. I suppose there could be something here that blooms in March and not before.

[N3RGT 118]

I think just about everyone gets this, i blame it on the AC and airplanes being too cramped. Each time i have returned home, i end up with this cough for about 1 month, until this time back in December i drank a cup of hot water with a spoon of honey and a whole squeezed lemon, it worked for me.

I don't think that the carbon monoxide from the traffic fumes ingested whilst sitting in the back

of a baht bus helps much either.

Edited March 24, 2013 by N3RGT

[bigmick 840]

I don't think that the carbon monoxide from the traffic fumes ingested whilst sitting in the back

of a baht bus helps much either.

 

Thats just the small price to pay for living in fun town lol

[js007 795]

I never have figured out why I get this only in Pattaya. Every time I visit Pattaya, I get sick. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, but it always happens. I get a terrible cough. And yet if I change locations, it usually resolves. I never have the problem in Phuket. I never have the problem in Bangkok. I never have the problem anywhere in the USA. Just Pattaya.

[tomcat76 327]

I know adjusting the aircon to the 24-25deg range, rather than cooler settings, has made a difference for me. I'm a little less passive about sitting around smokers as well, and more often than I used to just up & leave if I can't avoid the stuff. Lastly, I'm more meticulous about washing hands & face & using hand sanitizer. 'Just finished a long trip over there, and only had one case of scratchy throat at the end and even that was more mild and less persistent than used to be the case.

[jacko 8,813]

I don't think that the carbon monoxide from the traffic fumes ingested whilst sitting in the back

of a baht bus helps much either.

It is the hot and dry season so there is a lot of dust in the air, to go with the diesel exhaust.

 

Dried sewage becomes airborne too. Not sure of the impact of AC, I use that all the time, but live out of town and haven't had problems yet.

I certainly do start to feel rough in the throat if I am in town for a night out, but all the risk factors are being thrown at me, on the back of M/C taxis breathing the aromas, smoky GGBs, popping from 100% humidity, 30 degC into AC places, swilling ice-cold SML over my throat, and snoring my drunk head off all night after.

Edited March 26, 2013 by jacko

[short 215]

Zimmerman in Thailand

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJTG0dli_zI

[sabaidii2 171]

Short,

 

The "Zimmern in Thailand" video was outstanding.

 

A quote from the video

======================

 

At the Udon Thani Country Fair Annual Event (35:50 into the video):

"Smells like the bottom of the fish bucket after a long day on the lake.

It's sour. It's putrid. It's got that cadavar flavor."

 

(Comment: And just how does he know what cadavars taste like?)

[DP Gumbypgh 97]

Great video, have tried about half of the foods that he showed, the Putrid fish and the raw cow wouldn't even try for health reasons.

[Bullfrog 2,224]

I get a cough every morning...I am a non smoker.... but chewing a couple of pieces of "Botan" stops the urge almost immediately.

 

Buy the original in a white box with a green label...The newer yellow label carton and tictac type ones are shit.. You can also buy it in wafer form and break a chunk off....The wafer form and original are the ones in the pic..I recommend the white carton ..

 

You can buy it in 7/11, Family or pharmacy for around 15 baht a carton that lasts a month...

 

http://www.21food.com/products/botan-original-mouth-refreshener-565746.html

[Bullfrog 2,224]

Great video, have tried about half of the foods that he showed, the Putrid fish and the raw cow wouldn't even try for health reasons.

 

...and it was bullshit....dung beetles are caught after a few days in the ... bullshit.... The best ones are when there is a crust on top of the bullshit with just a bit of soggyness underneath..you should be able to flip the thing over....this was done for the cameras..

[losgrad 264]

I am aware that I am not the only one that gets a Pattaya cough when I go to LOS. I am sure it would happen anywhere as I believe that it is the result of air-conditioning. I tend to believe that this is a combination of the rooms, gogo's etc rather than aeroplanes but who knows.

 

My reason for writing this is that rather than getting this at home I started getting the cough during my last week in Pattaya so off to the pharmacist at Watsons. They came up with something called MUCLEAR. This has turned out to be better and cheaper than any other fix that I have had. More often than not I end up going to the GP after about three weeks but I feel sure that this has fixed me.

 

For 180 baht this is substatially cheaper than local pills and potions that I have tried. If you get the dreaded Pattaya cough then give this s try.

 

 

Wow! Thank you for reminding me of the "Pattaya Cough." Currently, I am on 'holiday' in the Hawaiian islands where the air is very clean. I had forgotten about the cough until your OP and realized I have NOT coughed since leaving Pattaya.

 

During my last 3-4 years living in Pattaya, I've been catching 2-3 'colds' a year which I often blamed on visiting friends. This past year, I've been coughing periodically even without a cold. I've tried various remedies, but the latest, "Throatsil" losenges seems to work quickly and cheaply. The wrapping indicates 100 mg of Vitamin C, 1.2 mg dichlorobenzyl alcohol and 0.6 mg amylmetacreso.

 

I also regularly gargle with mouthwash, take various vitamins and try different cough suppressants from the pharmacy or hospital doctors. The ones from the hospital seem to work the best, especially when I get a real cold with a persistent cough.

 

 

I think just about everyone gets this, i blame it on the AC and airplanes being too cramped. Each time i have returned home, i end up with this cough for about 1 month, until this time back in December i drank a cup of hot water with a spoon of honey and a whole squeezed lemon, it worked for me.

 

 

Yes, the planes are very cool so I often dress warmly along with at least two airline blankets. In an airplane, if someone has a flu or cold, those viruses and germs will be circulating everywhere during the very long flight - air ducts, bathroom door handles, etc.. A recent news report (forgot if it was done by an independent agency or an airline) indicates the AC filters reduce the ciruculation of most of those bad bugs, but indicated the other transfer options from door handles, hand-to-hand contacts, hand-to-object, etc... as those rhino viruses can survive for many minutes without a host.

 

 

I never have figured out why I get this only in Pattaya. Every time I visit Pattaya, I get sick. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, but it always happens. I get a terrible cough. And yet if I change locations, it usually resolves. I never have the problem in Phuket. I never have the problem in Bangkok. I never have the problem anywhere in the USA. Just Pattaya.

 

Yes, lately this has gotten me thinking too. Why?

 

 

I know adjusting the aircon to the 24-25deg range, rather than cooler settings, has made a difference for me. I'm a little less passive about sitting around smokers as well, and more often than I used to just up & leave if I can't avoid the stuff. Lastly, I'm more meticulous about washing hands & face & using hand sanitizer. 'Just finished a long trip over there, and only had one case of scratchy throat at the end and even that was more mild and less persistent than used to be the case.

 

 

For me, when using the AC units in hotels, ST rooms, guesthouses, etc... where they have NOT cleaned and maintained the filters will immediately result in a scratchy throat or worse. If it's not hot, I do not use the AC units which most of the Thai girls that accompany me are in agreement as they too have experienced coughs from either the cool or dirty air from AC units (Gogo girls seem to be the exception :).

 

In my condo, where I do maintain the AC filters, I recently noticed I cough less when using AC rather than just using the multiple room fans with the balcony doors open (to keep my electric bill low). The AC probably filters the 'dirty' Pattaya air so I bought a standalone air filter for my condo when not using AC. In the storage portion of my condo (condo is 80 m2), an unused set of golf clubs have a film of dust mixed with oil (possibly diesel exhaust?).

 

I've always been a little OCD about the hand sanitizers, washing my hands and face at every opportunity, avoiding bathroom door handles, etc... but unfortunately I kiss too many bargirls which may cancel all of the above :)

 

 

It is the hot and dry season so there is a lot of dust in the air, to go with the diesel exhaust.

 

Dried sewage becomes airborne too. Not sure of the impact of AC, I use that all the time, but live out of town and haven't had problems yet.

I certainly do start to feel rough in the throat if I am in town for a night out, but all the risk factors are being thrown at me, on the back of M/C taxis breathing the aromas, smoky GGBs, popping from 100% humidity, 30 degC into AC places, swilling ice-cold SML over my throat, and snoring my drunk head off all night after.

 

Yes, all of the above.

 

In conclusion, where before I thought my coughs were caused by colds brought over from 'foreign' visitor friends, now I realize there are multiple causes:

 

1. Dirty AC units blowing dirty air

2. Pattaya smog - dust and diesel exhaust

3. Colds and germs from tourists and bargirls

4. Other

 

 

I shall try the following and see what happens:

 

Daily gargling.

Hand sanitizers and frequent hand washing

Always using Air filter or AC in my condo

Turn off dirty AC in rental units and/or keep temp higher

Taking regular trips away from Pattaya

 

Thanks "Teelack" for the OP and thanks to others for sharing their experiences as I think the "Pattaya cough" needs to be more fully explored.

Edited March 27, 2013 by losgrad

[teelack 9,635]

Hi there Losgrad. Good to bump into you a few times earlier this month. Perhaps its only us people that go to Ban Chang!

 

Dont forget to try MUCLEAR-its worth a go and I have got over the worst of it better than most times. It is only effective for bronchitis by the way.

[Siam Sam 964]

I used to get it most trips but I haven't had it the last couple of times I have been to Thailand. I think sleeping with the air-con on is probably the main reason why people experience this. Smoking crack and ice can also contribute so mind how you go.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Siam Sam

[js007 795]

I used to get it most trips but I haven't had it the last couple of times I have been to Thailand. I think sleeping with the air-con on is probably the main reason why people experience this. Smoking crack and ice can also contribute so mind how you go.

 

Yes, but Pattaya isn't the only place that has AC. And yet I've never had the problem in Bangkok or Phuket. Dirty AC filters are an easy answer, but I think there's something more to it.

[losgrad 264]

Hi there Losgrad. Good to bump into you a few times earlier this month. Perhaps its only us people that go to Ban Chang!

 

Dont forget to try MUCLEAR-its worth a go and I have got over the worst of it better than most times. It is only effective for bronchitis by the way.

 

Hello there! It was great to meet you too. You're much taller than I expected :) I sure hope the 'Pattaya Cough' is not related to our Ban Chang visits, but during my day trips to the Ban Chang beaches, I don't like the looks of those smoke stacks in the distance near Rayong I've read somewhere that the cancer rate in Rayong is one of the highest in Thailand, but you know how statistics can be manipulated.

 

I'll definitely try the "MUCLEAR" for my symptoms. It'd still be great to identify the other causes of the cough.

 

 

I used to get it most trips but I haven't had it the last couple of times I have been to Thailand. I think sleeping with the air-con on is probably the main reason why people experience this. Smoking crack and ice can also contribute so mind how you go.

 

Yes, as many bargirls will agree (about the AC; not the crack and ice :). Most times, turning off the AC does the trick, but sometimes it doesn't so there may also be some other causes specific to Pattaya.

 

 

Yes, but Pattaya isn't the only place that has AC. And yet I've never had the problem in Bangkok or Phuket. Dirty AC filters are an easy answer, but I think there's something more to it.

 

Yes. Anyone know about air sampling or other tests that can be done. Surely, those 1.3 million new cars on the road aren't helping either, but it would seem we'd get the cough in Bangkok too. I've been making monthly trips to Bkk and there's definitely an indirect correlation as I lose the cough, yet use AC in my cheap, but clean room on Sukhumvit.

 

Hmmm, maybe those Russian planes landing at U-Tapao airport are spreading something across Pattaya. We blame the Russians for everything else :) or the Japanese who make it 'rain' baht notes, maybe the dust from those bills :) or the Indians who bring their curry body odors/bacteria :) or the dustballs from our Western expats pockets with the less favorable currency exchange rates :) or maybe the Thai bargirls are doing something to us :). On that last one, do any of you NOT kiss the girls, but still get a cough? Just curious.

 

Ok, Teelack, back to you and others.

Edited March 28, 2013 by losgrad

[jaxxon55 252]

Hello there! It was great to meet you too. You're much taller than I expected :) I sure hope the 'Pattaya Cough' is not related to our Ban Chang visits, but during my day trips to the Ban Chang beaches, I don't like the looks of those smoke stacks in the distance near Rayong I've read somewhere that the cancer rate in Rayong is one of the highest in Thailand, but you know how statistics can be manipulated.

 

I'll definitely try the "MUCLEAR" for my symptoms. It'd still be great to identify the other causes of the cough.

 

 

 

Yes, as many bargirls will agree (about the AC; not the crack and ice :). Most times, turning off the AC does the trick, but sometimes it doesn't so there may also be some other causes specific to Pattaya.

 

 

 

Yes. Anyone know about air sampling or other tests that can be done. Surely, those 1.3 million new cars on the road aren't helping either, but it would seem we'd get the cough in Bangkok too. I've been making monthly trips to Bkk and there's definitely an indirect correlation as I lose the cough, yet use AC in my cheap, but clean room on Sukhumvit.

 

Hmmm, maybe those Russian planes landing at U-Tapao airport are spreading something across Pattaya. We blame the Russians for everything else :) or the Japanese who make it 'rain' baht notes, maybe the dust from those bills :) or the Indians who bring their curry body odors/bacteria :) or the dustballs from our Western expats pockets with the less favorable currency exchange rates :) or maybe the Thai bargirls are doing something to us :). On that last one, do any of you NOT kiss the girls, but still get a cough? Just curious.

 

Ok, Teelack, back to you and others.

I heard cuddling causes it.

Jack

[papillon 695]

Just so you are aware, the exact same problem is widely reported in Angeles City too so I don't think it's Pattaya specific. What are the common denominators? I also get it in both cities. Aircon and vehicle exhaust emissions are imho the biggest culprits.

[js007 795]

Someone on one of the forums once speculated that a factory near Pattaya might be emitting an industrial pollutant that was causing all the coughing. Makes some sense, but I never looked into it.

[losgrad 264]

I heard cuddling causes it.

Jack

 

Lol :) After living here a few years, I am getting more like you experienced expats and more interested in PSE and less GFE, so I don't have as much patience for cuddling :) I've heard GFE was only a figment of my imagination anyway...and correlated with how 'handsome' (reads baht) I am.

 

 

Just so you are aware, the exact same problem is widely reported in Angeles City too so I don't think it's Pattaya specific. What are the common denominators? I also get it in both cities. Aircon and vehicle exhaust emissions are imho the biggest culprits.

 

Ok, good to know. Thanks.

 

 

Someone on one of the forums once speculated that a factory near Pattaya might be emitting an industrial pollutant that was causing all the coughing. Makes some sense, but I never looked into it.

 

Ok, that gives me even more incentive to use that air filter or AC with clean filters in my condo. Hmmm, what do I do about the ST rooms? Do they have portable air filters? Just joking. I'll wear a mask :).

Edited March 28, 2013 by losgrad

[jacko 8,813]

Someone on one of the forums once speculated that a factory near Pattaya might be emitting an industrial pollutant that was causing all the coughing. Makes some sense, but I never looked into it.

Which factory is that? There are plenty of Wats with smoking chimneys but maybe you don't want to be thinking of that!

[CheshireTom 1,377]

It's definitely an aircon thing ... folk "economising" by not getting them cleaned. The best over the counter remedy I've found readily available locally is Boots own-brand Cetirizine Hydrochloride. Probably cheaper buying them at Tesco's or a decent pharmacy though.

[eycplUK 7]

When us smokers read threads like this we always get that "Smug" feeling !!

At least we can say it`s the fags that give us a cough ! :)