Avoid getting sick while mongering!

[pacman]

I just remembered a good friend of mine who hasn't had a cold in 40 years. He is a devotee of that Yoga practice where they pour salt water down each nostril & wash out their sinus.

It doesn't sound too appealing but he is the living proof that it works. I guess there must be something to it. After my latest health scare I think I will look into it when I am home.

[Tomcat]

(manarak @ Oct. 02 2010,16:51) taken long enough until the box is empty,

The danger comes from the tossers who stop taking the pills after 3 days because they feel better?

eh, i thought the usual dose of Amox was around 10 or twenty capsules equating to three a day. The box has hundreds in it doesnt it

Like Rex said taking them every day for years is madness . I believe that pro longed use can lead to muscle problems and other issues . also Thrush is likely to develope as a side effect .

The Superbugs evolve as well.  just like Humans. If you think about it practically every European alive is a survivor of the great plague that killed off half of Europe , those that lived through it were our ancestors who had the right genes which were passed on to us. And so on

[guydesavoy]

To paraphrase Phil Collins : "No Misinterpretation Required"

While long term use (5 years ? ) of certain anti biotics probably won't, of itself, kill you, I'd be very interested to see the 'research' that shows that it would be recommended. Yes, finish the course, but don't play around with them.

But then again, what would I know ? I'm not professionally qualified to comment on medical matters....

I leave that to rxpharm...who IS

[Road Runner]

(manarak @ Oct. 02 2010,12:22) well, all flu strains are antibiotic resistant, because the flu is a virus, not bacteria.

OK that statement was wrong but it does not alter my argument that taking medication for the wrong reasons is not only pointless it can actually cause other problems.

RR.

[jimslim]

(Bobcat @ Oct. 02 2010,18:41) As an aside. The best killer of the common cold is Vicks First Defence. Forget all that vitamin C stuff.

Nonsense dear boy , the common cold is best cured with leeches .

When you feel a sniffle coming on simply attach a plump young leech to your nose and it will cure all that ails ye .

Tommorrow I will tell you how to mend a broken leg with a cabbage leaf , I'm just off to find the book

[Torurot]

Leaches are SO last year, and anyway they drop off too quickly after all that salty sinus fluid drops/sprays on them (yet another "in" treatment). Blood letting, the more the better is the new "prescription"! Something Vampires amongst us know all about. Hundreds of years of history can't all be wrong.....

[Ivor Biggun]

Don't drink, eat or have sex in thailand and you'll be fine.
At least once a day snort that water through your nose when you're in the shower. It takes some getting used to but will give you a good clean out.

I avoid anti-biotics as much as possible so that they'll work when I do need them. Asidefrom the Doctor's fee (At mission in Phuket its only B50 anyway ffs!!) a lot of drugs are cheaper at the hospital than pharmacies anyway and you know that (in theory) you're getting the right ones,

As for hangovers its God's way of making you suffer- work through the pain and stay off the paracetamol - it serves you right for self-induced injury!

[Steff]

Thank you Hawkeye Perce.

[Ivor Biggun]

I wish this physician would heal himself- ohhhh my aching head

[Rockheart]

I've never drank any tap water in Thailand ever.
Only drink bottled water, even to brush my teeth.
I got a water borne parasite in Brazil so I am very careful.

I've never been sick in Thailand other than the time i put way too much Chilis in my soup.
Many times i have had the flu but I tend to think I got that on the plane or travelling on the way.
It could be I am catching the strains of flu I am not used to.

Of course the Beer there has never seemed to do anytihng but help.

[rxpharm]

Actually tap water in Bangkok is generally safe to drink. However, with the price of bottled water being so inexpensive most people (including Thais) don't drink it. However, it is safe for brushing teeth, showering (with your mouth open), washing dishes, cooking, etc.

Here's a recent article from Bangkok Post:

Bangkok's salty water: Safe to drink?
Published: 13 Mar 2014 at 20.08
Writer: Jon Fernquest


Bangkok tap water has tasted salty recently. The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) explains when you need to worry.



HEALTH

Worth its salt?

For those who don't mind its brackish taste, filtered tap water in Bangkok is safe to drink €” at least to some extent

12/03/2014

Arusa Pisuthipan

Tap water in many parts of Bangkok, even after being filtered, has never before tasted so salty and unpalatable €” so much so that many households have opted to purchase bottled drinking water. And the cause is clear. A few weeks ago, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) announced an unusually early intrusion of seawater into its pumping station, which threatened the production of tap water in urban neighbourhoods. According to the MWA, salt water usually reaches the MWA€™s Sam Lae pumping station in the Muang district of Pathum Thani province €” the station that feeds fresh water to the MWA€™s tap water production facility in the eastern part of Bangkok €” from April to May. The problem often resolves by itself in the rainy season, which usually begins in May or June.

But this year the dry season started early and is expected to last longer. Salt water has been evident in the pumping station since early February. Believed to be the worst in the last 100 years, this early and lengthy intrusion of salt water has affected all of Bangkok, except the Thon Buri area. People in the aforementioned zones have probably noticed a more brackish taste to the water that comes from their household filters. MWA governor Thanasak Watanathana, however, said tap water is safe to drink....

..Seawater contains around 3.5% salt, which is water-soluble. Most household water purifiers sift only non-water soluble particles. Therefore, tap water from many standard filters will still have a salty taste. Boiling water will not help, either. The only type of water filter that can purge sodium and its brackish taste is one with reverse osmosis technology. Reverse osmosis is a water purification technology that uses a semi-permeable membrane which filters water-soluble particles. Distilling water can also rid it of its brackish taste, yet this method is quite costly.

Thanasak said the intrusion of seawater should be resolved once the rainy season arrives, because there will be more fresh water to flush salty water from the production system. In the meantime, Somsri recommended consumers opt for FDA-approved bottled drinking water, especially if they find the brackish taste unbearable.

There is no need for people to be over-anxious. If you do not mind the taste, just do what you normally do, because in terms of the tap water€™s hygienic standard, it is pretty much the same. It is just the taste that matters. But if you suffer from certain chronic diseases such as kidney- or thyroid-related illnesses, that€™s another story, and it is advisable that you be more careful. Drinking bottled water might be a good way to go for now.

There would be warnings from the MWA when it isn't safe to drink - for example when the floods were bad in 2012, there was some contamination of the treatment plant.

I used to use bottled water to brush my teeth when I was first visiting Bangkok in 1994, but as the treatment plant was upgraded, I started using tap water for brushing the last 8 years without issues.

However, outside of Bangkok, I will use bottled water to brush my teeth, as I'm not so sure about the treatment plants in the other areas.