Food Poisoning in Thailand
Food poisoning in Thailand can be hard to avoid. When I saw the doctor for travel vaccines, they shared that over 50% of travelers to Southeast Asia get sick. After a few weeks in the country, it happened to me while visiting Phuket. Here are some of my tips to try to avoid sickness and to prepare for it should it come.
1. Don’t eat food that’s been sitting out and isn’t freshly prepared.
Food that’s been sitting out is definitely best to avoid. I can’t know for sure where I got food poisoning, but my main suspect is the pizza I ate that had likely been sitting out too long, even though it was indoors and ran by an Italian woman who I had assumed had more Western food standards. You just can’t make those types of assumptions in Thailand when it comes to food.
2. Stick to popular food spots.
If you see others, especially locals, at a food joint, you can trust that the food is probably safe.
3. If food doesn’t seem right to you, don’t eat it.
This should seem obvious, but I know there were some times when I was so hungry and tired of looking for food that I ate some questionable things. Don’t be like me! There are usually other options (to my points below) that are safer and can keep you from getting food poisoning in Thailand.
4. Splurge a little more on food if you have to.
If you’re struggling to find a viable food option from a street vendor, then don’t be afraid to drop extra money on a seated meal at a restaurant. I found that many of the restaurants did seem to have better sanitation. However, you never quite know for sure, especially since the cooking happens behind closed doors rather than in front of you on the street.
5. For food that’s cheap and reliable, visit 7-Eleven.
7-Eleven is one of the few places in Thailand that you can always count on and trust. The prices are so cheap, the food is pretty good, and you can trust it to be safe to eat. We somewhat regularly got meals there. They have a variety of items that they’ll heat up for you. I remember really liking some sort of hot dog and cheese croissant. 7-Eleven was also a great place for snacks, water, and beer.
6. Be careful with water and anything that may have been washed with water.
You can’t drink the water in Thailand, so be careful to drink only bottled water and to use bottled water for brushing your teeth. It’s also important to be careful around raw fruits and vegetables that may have been washed with water. If you’re looking for good fruit, stick to fruits that have peels such as bananas. Thai bananas are super delicious anyways!
7. Before you go, see a doctor and get a prescription to use for traveler’s diarrhea.
It’s certainly good to take the precautions I’ve outlined above, but in a place with low food standards like Thailand, you could certainly get ill from unexpected places. A man on our boat trip in Phuket thought he had gotten ill from the breakfast they served us that morning. I got sick later that night too, so maybe it was from the very nice and seemingly normal breakfast.
While my tips above can help you hopefully avoid food poisoning in Thailand, they are by no means a guarantee, so you’ll want to be prepared should you get sick. The doctor I saw before my trip gave me Cipro just in case, and boy, when I got food poisoning for 48 hours, I sure was glad to have this medicine.
Have you ever gotten sick while traveling abroad? What tips do you have for avoiding food poisoning in Thailand or elsewhere? Please share in the comments below.
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