Prevention of gastrointestinal infections in India

Keshava · Oct 25th, 2009, 22:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Lots of people got malaria. You can find a few reports on this forum.

You can also find that the British Homeopathic Hospital warns against using homeopathic "antimalarials" --- as I didn't know when I took them!

You own health is your own affair, and, of course, you're free to live as you will, but when I hear stuff like "anti-malarial meds, which play hell on the liver" I stop listening. There is such a range of meds, and the possible side effects vary from light sensitivity through to mental sickness. I don't rate "anti-malarial meds, which play hell on the liver" as telling me that I'm listening to an informed person.

I've done the research and again, make no claims about being a medical expert, but the meds that most doctors prescribe for malaria are widely known to be toxic to the liver. I took them my first trip to India and they absolutely made me feel ill and didn't do too much for disposition either. You and I (or anyone else for that matter) can go round and round quoting opposing sources on this subject, but in the end whoever reads this will have to trust their own intuition and common sense.

And honestly I find the way you purport me to be ill-informed, to be more than a little arrogant and heavy-handed. If you don't have a license to practice medicine - you're no more of an authority than I am. I may not know all the facts on mosquitoes and malaria, but I've done the research on the meds. As far as British experts on Homeopathic medicine are concerned - there are plenty of radical disagreements on either side of the isle regarding many medical subjects. It's true in all forms of medicine.

Nick-H · Oct 25th, 2009, 22:59

Quote:

And honestly I find the way you purport me to be ill-informed, to be more than a little arrogant and heavy-handed.

You made several statements that ring alarm bells for me. Whether they do for others or not, I can't say.

As you say, I am not a doctor. We disagree. There we go.

Sandieann · Nov 15th, 2009, 17:50

Hi!

I just came to Goa 2 weeks ago with my boyfriend. We are gonna stay 6 months. We just rented a place with kitchen and everything so we can make food ourselves. And i want to know what is the best way to wash the vegetables before using them in salads? The cucumber i pealed (sorry if my english is a little bad), and the tomatoes i put in boiling water a few seconds and so on, but i want to know if it is enough just to wash them in bottlewater? Or what is the best?

And, when washing the dishes, i boil water and pour it over the dishes in the end, is that necessary??

Yesterday we ate grapes that we just washed in bottlewater, and today my stomage is complaining a bit, but i don't have diarrhoera or anything like that... And it probably could be many things...

Hope some of you guys know!

Thank you!

Sandie

Nick-H · Nov 15th, 2009, 19:02

It is worth asking your neighbours about the quality of the water in the area. If they say it is bad, then take note. If they say it is just fine, then knock 20% off that because they will have gained immunity to the minor bugs. If you can get (which is largely a case of what you can afford) a filtration/purification unit for your kitchen water, it would relieve you of many of your wories.

I don't think there is anything wrong with what you are doing. I don't do much of it --- and any stomach upset I have had has been attributable to outside food.

Rinsing fruit or salad in drinking water is a good idea.

Sandieann · Nov 15th, 2009, 19:07

Thank you very much for your reply

I will try to find some filtration unit

Aishah · Nov 16th, 2009, 15:12

An effective vegetable wash is soak them for a short time in a bowl of iodized water - you only need a drop or two of iodine.

As for dish washing, I never do anything. Just use the water from the tap plus detergent. When dishes are dry, they are not going to sustain any bad bacteria.

holikarang · Nov 16th, 2009, 15:32

I'm generally very careful in India because my stomach is weak everywhere I am and to my surprise I suffered much more when I recently went to Uk (probably becuse I tend to be less careful with the food I eat) rather than when I am in India.

I use iodine to wash vegetables and fruit I can't peel or boil, I take only bottled or properly filtered water, but I remember washing my dishes with normal tap water and detergent and nothing ever happened to me so far.

Aishah · Nov 16th, 2009, 15:38

Well I think my stomach is like caste iron, but like you Holikarang, I get more sick back in NZ and Oz, than I do here!

Bacteria need a moist environment to thrive, which is why I think dry dishes are quite harmless.

KateW · Nov 16th, 2009, 21:12

Quote:

And i want to know what is the best way to wash the vegetables before using them in salads? The cucumber i pealed (sorry if my english is a little bad), and the tomatoes i put in boiling water a few seconds and so on, but i want to know if it is enough just to wash them in bottlewater? Or what is the best?

And, when washing the dishes, i boil water and pour it over the dishes in the end, is that necessary??

Salads I sterilise [that was after hearing about brain worms] using Steriliq and then wash with drinking water. I'm especially careful with cabbage, onions and lettuce. Tomatoes I just rinse in drinking water. Cucumber I peel but before I peel I have been told to rub the chopped off end against the rest. A sort of foam comes out, you wash that off and this removes the bitterness

Dishes I wash in tap water and let them air dry.

KateW · Nov 16th, 2009, 21:32

Quote:

You made several statements that ring alarm bells for me. Whether they do for others or not, I can't say.

As you say, I am not a doctor. We disagree. There we go.

You can say for me.

Malaria is not good and can be fatal. Homeopathy great for some things, particularly psychological but Malaria???

Yes some of the medication has bad side effects for some people and a difficult choice as that can spoil your holiday. But malaria could spoil much more

holikarang · Nov 17th, 2009, 03:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by KateW

Homeopathy great for some things, particularly psychological but Malaria???

Yes some of the medication has bad side effects for some people and a difficult choice as that can spoil your holiday. But malaria could spoil much more

I don't want to get into the argument because my opinion, as that of many others on this forum, is: go to the doctor, talk to him and then decide for yourself. But I want to point out three things that must be cleared, according to me, after these statements:

1)homeopathy gives a kind of medical treatment, not water, you can't decide for yourself or believe it doesn't do any harm if prescribed the worng way. Even if someone wants to decide for homeopathy, the person has to consult a serious, experienced doctor.What made you think homeopathy is good for phsychological problems? In the case of malaria, homeopathy instead of profilaxis prescribes something that is supposed to keep mosquitos away from the person, so again it's not a cure or something that makes you 100% immune.

2)malaria profilaxis does not assure immunity to malaria as well, when you decide to go through the profilaxis, you still need to take care of preventions like using mosquito repellents/net etc., especially at evening and I'm afraid such statements can lead to think that once you do the profilaxis you're done.

3)malaria is not fatal nowadays if cured immediately but certainly very bad if you catch it, anyway there are many other diseases caused by mosquitos to which there is no profilaxis or cure, so again remember that preventing mosquito bites is important always.

Matthew Morris · Nov 17th, 2009, 03:49

I've had Malaria, got it in Malawi.

Didn't take any malaria prevention tablets before hand as I got terrible nightmares just the first night I took whatever it was they gave me...

Anyway, the local expat population there said they thought it was better not to take them, as many people around me who were taking it, were still getting malaria. Their reasoning was that if you take the malaria prevention medicine, it can actually hide the symptoms for a couple of days...when if you have malaria...you want to know about it straight away...and you sure as hell know about it when you get it.

Anyway, I'm sure India is a different kettle of fish than Africa in terms of malaria, but I have never taken malaria prevention medication in India, and won't be on my next trip coming up. The chances are so slim, I don't think it's worth it.

drzog · Nov 18th, 2009, 06:00

Seems to me this isn't a malaria topic

Back on track:

Summary of evidence to date on probiotics:

REVIEW
Nutrition Bulletin
Volume 34 Issue 4, Pages 383 - 387
Published Online: 17 Nov 2009

Probiotics and health: a review of the evidence
E. Weichselbaum

British Nutrition Foundation, London, UK

KEYWORDS
gut health • gut flora • live bacteria • probiotics

ABSTRACT
Probiotics are live microorganisms – mainly bacteria – which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host. There is rising interest in this area, but reports in the media are often conflicting. The aim of this review is to consider the current evidence on the effects of probiotics on health, focusing on gut-related health issues and the immune system, with the objective to provide a clearer picture of whether and how probiotics can be beneficial for health. The outcomes of this review are based on more than 100 original studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews. A variety of different strains have been used in studies on probiotics, and it is important to remember that the effectiveness of probiotics is strain-specific, which means that each single probiotic strain has to be tested to assess its potential health benefits.

Overall, despite the diversity of strains used in the studies included in this review, there is evidence that probiotics have the potential to be beneficial for our health. Studies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease show probiotic strains to be able to decrease the recurrence of ulcerative colitis and occurrence and recurrence of pouchitis, however, current evidence suggests that probiotics are ineffective in treating patients with Crohn's disease. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome show a reduction in symptoms when treated with selected probiotic strains, but high placebo effects have been reported as well. The evidence of the efficacy of probiotics in patients suffering from constipation is limited, but the evidence seems promising for some strains to bring relief to patients suffering from constipation.

There is good evidence that a number of probiotic strains are effective in preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. The most commonly studied strains are Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Saccharomyces boulardii, but other strains and mixtures of strains seem to be effective as well. There is also promising evidence of a preventive effect of probiotics in Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea, although some studies have been too small to obtain statistically significant findings. The effect of probiotics in acute diarrhoea, particularly in children, is well studied. Selected probiotic strains seem to be effective in reducing the duration of acute diarrhoea. LGG and S. boulardii are again the most commonly used strains and a number of studies have shown them to be effective, although one meta-analysis showed that the effect of LGG was only significant in children in Western countries, not in children in developing countries, which may be due to different causes of diarrhoea in these regions. Studies investigating the preventive effect of probiotics in the context of common cold and flu infections show that the studied strains failed to lower the incidence of episodes but that they have the potential to decrease the duration of episodes, which suggests that the immune system may be more efficient in fighting off common cold and flu infections after consuming these strains. The evidence so far does not suggest that probiotics are effective in preventing or treating allergies or in treating eczema. However, some probiotic strains seem to lower the risk of developing eczema if taken by pregnant women and their infants in early life

cheers

Dr Z

Sandieann · Yesterday, 14:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aishah

An effective vegetable wash is soak them for a short time in a bowl of iodized water - you only need a drop or two of iodine.

As for dish washing, I never do anything. Just use the water from the tap plus detergent. When dishes are dry, they are not going to sustain any bad bacteria.

Thanks a lot, that makes a bit easier

Sandieann · Yesterday, 14:46

Thanks to everybody for the responds

Nov 15th, 2009, 17:50	#468
Sandieann Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Goa, Anjuna Posts: 4	How do i wash the vegetables before using them in salads? Hi! I just came to Goa 2 weeks ago with my boyfriend. We are gonna stay 6 months. We just rented a place with kitchen and everything so we can make food ourselves. And i want to know what is the best way to wash the vegetables before using them in salads? The cucumber i pealed (sorry if my english is a little bad), and the tomatoes i put in boiling water a few seconds and so on, but i want to know if it is enough just to wash them in bottlewater? Or what is the best? And, when washing the dishes, i boil water and pour it over the dishes in the end, is that necessary?? Yesterday we ate grapes that we just washed in bottlewater, and today my stomage is complaining a bit, but i don't have diarrhoera or anything like that... And it probably could be many things... Hope some of you guys know! Thank you! Sandie

Nov 16th, 2009, 15:12	#471
Aishah She-who-must-be-obeyed! Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Jaisalmer Posts: 7,616	An effective vegetable wash is soak them for a short time in a bowl of iodized water - you only need a drop or two of iodine. As for dish washing, I never do anything. Just use the water from the tap plus detergent. When dishes are dry, they are not going to sustain any bad bacteria. __________________ "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Nov 16th, 2009, 15:32	#472
holikarang also known as Maya Sharma Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: where the heart is Posts: 694	I'm generally very careful in India because my stomach is weak everywhere I am and to my surprise I suffered much more when I recently went to Uk (probably becuse I tend to be less careful with the food I eat) rather than when I am in India. I use iodine to wash vegetables and fruit I can't peel or boil, I take only bottled or properly filtered water, but I remember washing my dishes with normal tap water and detergent and nothing ever happened to me so far. __________________ holikarang

Nov 17th, 2009, 03:49	#477
Matthew Morris Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Netherlands Posts: 140	I've had Malaria, got it in Malawi. Didn't take any malaria prevention tablets before hand as I got terrible nightmares just the first night I took whatever it was they gave me... Anyway, the local expat population there said they thought it was better not to take them, as many people around me who were taking it, were still getting malaria. Their reasoning was that if you take the malaria prevention medicine, it can actually hide the symptoms for a couple of days...when if you have malaria...you want to know about it straight away...and you sure as hell know about it when you get it. Anyway, I'm sure India is a different kettle of fish than Africa in terms of malaria, but I have never taken malaria prevention medication in India, and won't be on my next trip coming up. The chances are so slim, I don't think it's worth it. __________________ I have the wisdom of Buddha combined with the body of Peter Andre - oh...no..it's the other way round..

Nov 18th, 2009, 06:00	#478
drzog Based On A True Story Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 117	Seems to me this isn't a malaria topic Back on track: Summary of evidence to date on probiotics: REVIEW Nutrition Bulletin Volume 34 Issue 4, Pages 383 - 387 Published Online: 17 Nov 2009 Probiotics and health: a review of the evidence E. Weichselbaum British Nutrition Foundation, London, UK KEYWORDS gut health • gut flora • live bacteria • probiotics ABSTRACT Probiotics are live microorganisms – mainly bacteria – which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host. There is rising interest in this area, but reports in the media are often conflicting. The aim of this review is to consider the current evidence on the effects of probiotics on health, focusing on gut-related health issues and the immune system, with the objective to provide a clearer picture of whether and how probiotics can be beneficial for health. The outcomes of this review are based on more than 100 original studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews. A variety of different strains have been used in studies on probiotics, and it is important to remember that the effectiveness of probiotics is strain-specific, which means that each single probiotic strain has to be tested to assess its potential health benefits. Overall, despite the diversity of strains used in the studies included in this review, there is evidence that probiotics have the potential to be beneficial for our health. Studies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease show probiotic strains to be able to decrease the recurrence of ulcerative colitis and occurrence and recurrence of pouchitis, however, current evidence suggests that probiotics are ineffective in treating patients with Crohn's disease. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome show a reduction in symptoms when treated with selected probiotic strains, but high placebo effects have been reported as well. The evidence of the efficacy of probiotics in patients suffering from constipation is limited, but the evidence seems promising for some strains to bring relief to patients suffering from constipation. There is good evidence that a number of probiotic strains are effective in preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. The most commonly studied strains are Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Saccharomyces boulardii, but other strains and mixtures of strains seem to be effective as well. There is also promising evidence of a preventive effect of probiotics in Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea, although some studies have been too small to obtain statistically significant findings. The effect of probiotics in acute diarrhoea, particularly in children, is well studied. Selected probiotic strains seem to be effective in reducing the duration of acute diarrhoea. LGG and S. boulardii are again the most commonly used strains and a number of studies have shown them to be effective, although one meta-analysis showed that the effect of LGG was only significant in children in Western countries, not in children in developing countries, which may be due to different causes of diarrhoea in these regions. Studies investigating the preventive effect of probiotics in the context of common cold and flu infections show that the studied strains failed to lower the incidence of episodes but that they have the potential to decrease the duration of episodes, which suggests that the immune system may be more efficient in fighting off common cold and flu infections after consuming these strains. The evidence so far does not suggest that probiotics are effective in preventing or treating allergies or in treating eczema. However, some probiotic strains seem to lower the risk of developing eczema if taken by pregnant women and their infants in early life cheers Dr Z __________________ yours in health http://drzog.blogspot.com

Nov 15th, 2009, 19:02	#469
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,189	It is worth asking your neighbours about the quality of the water in the area. If they say it is bad, then take note. If they say it is just fine, then knock 20% off that because they will have gained immunity to the minor bugs. If you can get (which is largely a case of what you can afford) a filtration/purification unit for your kitchen water, it would relieve you of many of your wories. I don't think there is anything wrong with what you are doing. I don't do much of it --- and any stomach upset I have had has been attributable to outside food. Rinsing fruit or salad in drinking water is a good idea.

Nov 15th, 2009, 19:07	#470
Sandieann Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Goa, Anjuna Posts: 4	Thank you very much for your reply I will try to find some filtration unit

Nov 16th, 2009, 15:38	#473
Aishah She-who-must-be-obeyed! Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Jaisalmer Posts: 7,616	Well I think my stomach is like caste iron, but like you Holikarang, I get more sick back in NZ and Oz, than I do here! Bacteria need a moist environment to thrive, which is why I think dry dishes are quite harmless.

Yesterday, 14:46	#480
Sandieann Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Goa, Anjuna Posts: 4	Thanks to everybody for the responds

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