To Move or Not to Move

4gotoIndia

Does anyone know - is Sterilo the same as Milton in the UK. Milton is used for sterilising babies bottles, and I've used it for soaking salads in. I asked for it in a chemist here recently, and got a blank look... maybe I should have asked for Sterilo?
thanks

Nick-H

I'm sure there are many millions of Indian mothers that have never heard the word sterilising .

SAHM

Dear Teacher G,

Glad you decided to come.

When we moved here, we were advised by our US doctor (an NRI), to boil the milk (pasteurize it if you want to use a thermometer), drink only bottled water from a reputable source, and peel all of our vegetables and fruits. He also informed us that if we ate the local curd (yoghurt), our digestive tracts would slowly (over a period of months) acquire the good local flora and fauna and we would be able to handle more of the local foods without getting diarrhea. (This does not mean you can drink the tap water, it just means that you can be a bit braver than before.) We were advised by our local pediatrician to worm everyone every six months.

For the first 6 months I used a product called "Galactica", which I bought locally, to soak our vegetables and fruits in, and then still required them to be peeled or thoroughly cooked. Now I simply wash our fruits and veggies in soapy water, and let them dry before we eat them. We still use bottled water to brush our teeth with and also to drink, but I did discover (through having it tested) that the Kinley bottled water is basically distilled water, so we are mixing a lot more Gatorade powder into it to avoid getting dehydrated.

I am proud to say that after our 5-week trip back to the US this summer, no one got Delhi belly upon our return to India.

Get all the shots you can, use common sense, and you will be fine.

SAHM

Haylo

Yes, Milton is also a chlorine based solution.

__________________
The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful - E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

Teacher G

Sahm, great information, thank you!

What shots did you get if you don't mind me asking. I have had several of them already but I'm wondering about Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies. Are those really necessary?

Haylo

If you're not working with animals, rabies vaccinations are not considered "necessary", which makes it one of those things you have to weigh up for yourself. Getting a rabies vaccination isn't any big deal these days, no more injections into the stomach! This "All you need to know" thread will give you the information you need to help you decide on what's best for you.

carlaeb

I just did all the shots too. My doctor told me that rabies isn't necessary if you are going to be staying in a city with decent medical facilities (like Chennai). She told me just to get the rabies shot if I might be out in a village somewhere. The logic being that if I get bitten by a rabid animal, I can easily get the rabies shot afterwards in a city, but in a village it is possible I couldn't get the shot in time. I decided not to get the shot based on that advice, but if you are going to be really adventurous when you are on vacation from your teaching job, then maybe consider it.

Haylo

Please note that there are some doubts about this. If a vaccinated person is bitten they only need a further course of rabies vaccines, which is widely available.

If an unvaccinated person is bitten, as well as the post-bite vaccinations they may also need a shot of HRIG (rabies human immunoglobulin) at the site of the wound. This should be widely available in cities, but reports of whether or not it is available do vary.

carlaeb

Yikes! Maybe I need to stop reading this thread. Now I'm worried about brushing my teeth, eating raw veggies and stray dogs! But good information anyway. My doc didn't tell me as much.

NowInBangalore

This is what we do:

1. For drinking water, we installed a water filtration system, like Kent or Zero-B, cost about Rs 14000. Besides germs and bacteria, it also takes out the extra Calcium, Magnesium salts (We use borewell water, which could have higher mineral content). For the last 1.5 years, this has worked. My husband, who had gotten terrible sick on his first visit to India many years ago, has been fine this time. I am Indian, and so may have some of the resistance, but my husband's tummy was very touchy, and he has been fine so far. We eat mostly Indian cuisine, which means all vegetables are cooked.

2. We brush our teeth with tap water, in our case that is borewell water.

3. Buy all organic vegetables. I do not think there is any regulation on pesticides used in India. For leafy vegetable, I first soak them in tap water for 30 mins to get all mud out, then soak it in filter water for another hour with salt to kill any insects. (personally, worms in vegetables do not scare me, that is part of being organic, and much better than spraying the hell out of vegetables). In Bangalore, we have Namdhari grocery store, that have their own organic farm.

4. Grapes have high pesticide use. I know of children who start wheezing soon after eating grapes. I always buy organically grown ones. I have heard if you soak non-organic grapes in salted water(filtered) for 15 mins, most of the pesticides get washed out. Then wash them in regular (non-salted) filter water to wash off the salt.

5. Vegetables with no peels - when I soak them, I add one spoon of salt. That makes most worms creep out (Even in the US, the organic vegetable I used to buy at Farmer's markets had worms creeping out of broccolli or cauliflower).

6. Just keep in mind, things like iodine, soap are chemicals themselves. To get rid of one harmful substance, you maybe probably be inducing another one.

7. Milk - Let the milk come to a boil, it will come up in the pan, then bring down the heat and let it simmer for another 5 mins.

7. Home made yogurt - a wonderful way to build resistance. Freshly made yogurt has the highest number of live cultures. It takes about 4-6 hours to make yogurt - I set it at around 2 p.m., and eat it after dinner.

8. We have 2 young children who have lived in the US all their little lives, and they too have been fine here. My son has had some upset stomach few times when we have eaten in restaurants, I usually first try the yogurt route - give him rice and yogurt only for his meals. Usually, that has taken care of the problem. And drink plenty of water.

9. Avoid yogurt in restaurants though. You never know if the milk was boiled enough, or if dirty water got added to the yogurt.

Teacher G

Thanks for all the GREAT info. I printed it out for future use.