And you thought YOU had a bad flight experience...

[Gumby]

I did not know about C-diff. Thanks for bringing that up.

 

[Major Tom]

I made the mistake of reading this thread while having my morning coffee, and now I'm having trouble finishing it. It put me right off it!

 

[oiseux]

Just a public service warning, don't look at X or various news reports that contain the alleged video footage from the plane, unless you want to skip your next meal ��

 

[kgtest]

What goes up, must come down. I always THOUGHT Taco Bell might be a bad idea before a flight, but never had the courage to test the theory like this poor sap.

 

[stephenson]

Was traveling with four couples. One couple was doctor and nurse. In Bordeaux I became very ill one afternoon after eating a couple of raw oysters - all the men the group had oysters.

Horrible first night - food poisoning, right? I tell them this 24 hours later - I am still nearly incapacitated. They both look at me and say, at the same time "norovirus." Three full days - terrible way to diet.

 

[Sunset]

In all seriousness, there are some serious conditions that could cause this. The one that comes to mind is C-diff.

.....

Now I know, C-diff is also known as: Crap-diff

 

[pacergal]

I really feel for the person who had the incident. Thankfully, his/her identity is still secret. Hopefully, it was not an incident of any infectious cause that would put others on board at risk.
Man, I would be puking myself if I had been on that plane living through that nightmare.
Old trick in nursing was to always have a bit of Vicks vapor rub to place at your nostrils when doing stinky jobs.

 

[MissMolly]

I've had c-diff. Believe me when I say it's horrible and you have almost no control. It's hard to cure and contagious.

 

[Gumby]

I really feel for the person who had the incident. Thankfully, his/her identity is still secret. Hopefully, it was not an incident of any infectious cause that would put others on board at risk.
Man, I would be puking myself if I had been on that plane living through that nightmare.
Old trick in nursing was to always have a bit of Vicks vapor rub to place at your nostrils when doing stinky jobs.

When the young wife was an EMT, she did the same. She said you wouldn't believe the awful smell of some of the places she went to on calls.

 

[braumeister]

Perhaps TSA could start offering you a complimentary Immodium tablet when you pass through the checkpoint.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

This thread has reached a new bottom.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I've posted elsewhere previously that when traveling on business to the developing world 25+ years ago my company sent us to a travel medicine doctor (we needed some wild vaccinations). She largely dismissed most worries and advised: don't have sex with locals (HIV), don't eat unpeeled fruit, drink only bottled water, and carry ciprofloxacin and imodium. The imodium is to stop diarrhea until you can get yourself to a developed world hospital. Her advice was to take it until you are constipated which is easier to treat than death. I've heard second hand from a WHO nurse that covering your mouth with duct tape in the shower is also a good idea.

I get the jokes here and am amused like most. But if you travel to the developing world and indeed to many "first world areas" diarrhea from new gut bacteria can be a very real threat even if you are otherwise healthy. Dehydration can happen pretty fast if you have diarrhea and can be fatal.

 

[Gumby]

I've posted elsewhere previously that when traveling on business to the developing world 25+ years ago my company sent us to a travel medicine doctor (we needed some wild vaccinations). She largely dismissed most worries and advised: don't have sex with locals (HIV), don't eat unpeeled fruit, drink only bottled water, and carry ciprofloxacin and imodium. ...

From my days going to odd places with the the Navy, I would add - don't eat food from street vendors at all, don't eat anything anywhere that's not cooked, and wash your hands every chance you get.

 

[JoeWras]

From my days going to odd places with the the Navy, I would add - don't eat food from street vendors at all, don't eat anything anywhere that's not cooked, and wash your hands every chance you get.

While in the mid east, I waited until the last day to have some pomegranate juice from one of those vendors. Freshly made, from fruits that may have been sitting in something bad for awhile. DW refused to try it. (It tasted really good, BTW.)

I had no effects, but after seeing what happened on this flight, I realized it could have been me!

 

[old medic]

In all seriousness, there are some serious conditions that could cause this. The one that comes to mind is C-diff

That was one of my biggest fears while in the hospital for 2 months on IV anti-biotics. I was tested every other week.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Perhaps TSA could start offering you a complimentary Immodium tablet when you pass through the checkpoint.

That would be very dangerous for someone with C. diff as well as with most bacterial causes of diarrhea.

 

[SecondAttempt]

From my days going to odd places with the the Navy, I would add - don't eat food from street vendors at all, don't eat anything anywhere that's not cooked, and wash your hands every chance you get.

A buddy of mine was in Japan with our team. Street food is generally safe in Japan. He bought a pair of some sort of squid handrolls. The first one was pretty awful and he figured he just didn't like it. The second one was very tasty. Hirohito's Revenge set in a few hours later!