How to Deal With Food Poisoning in Foreign Countries

When you travel to a foreign country, there is always the chance that you will get food poisoning. You won't always know in advance whether a certain restaurant is safe, or whether the food you are about to consume is good, so you have to be prepared for the worst. This article will show you how to best prepare yourself and to deal with food poisoning while traveling in a foreign country.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Health insurance information
• Letter from health insurance stating covered in foreign country
• Emergency contact information on your person
• Credit cards and/or cash to cover expenses of medical treatment

Plan Ahead Before Trip

1. Advance planning can make things much easier if you get food poisoning while traveling in a foreign country. The first step is to get your health insurance information together and to take carry your health insurance card with you, so that you have it available if you get food poisoning and need treatment.
2. Often, just having health insurance is not enough. In a foreign country, the medical provider may fear that your health insurance company won't reimburse for costs incurred in another country. Call your health insurance company and ask this specific question. If you are covered, have them write you a letter confirming this, that includes contact information for the foreign doctor or hospital to call if there are questions. Carry this letter with you while traveling.
3. Have cash and/or credit cards available to cover the expenses of getting treatment for food poisoning while on foreign travel. Even if you have health insurance and have the letter from your health insurance company, a doctor could refuse to accept it and only treat you if you have the funds available. You could try and get reimbursed by your health insurance later.
4. Research the country where you will be traveling. Find out in general any warnings you should heed about the quality of the food and water there. The best way to do this is to visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Website, listed in the resources. This will give updates on any types of food and water issues to know about in a particular country.
5. On the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Website, you can find look at certain sections like food poisoning by marine toxins and safe food and water. By reading these sections, you can find out what to avoid and what to do to be safer when eating and drinking in a foreign country. For instance, avoid raw foods like vegetables, eat cooked food while it is still hot and only eat fruit that you peel.
6. Learn what food poisoning is and its symptoms now, so that if you will know when traveling that you may have food poisoning. The CDC website talks about marine toxin food poisoning from fish and shellfish, for instance. Food poisoning symtoms in general include nausea, muscle aches, weakness, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea. Fever also may occur.

Deal with Food Poisoning While in the Foreign Country

7. When you arrive to your hotel in the foreign country, your first step is to give the hotel emergency contact information to contact your relatives in the United States in case you have a problem. Also, carry such information with you in your wallet so that a hospital knows who to contact if there is an emergency.
8. Ask the hotel about the restaurants they would recommend that are safe. Once you know where you might eat, if you have Internet availability, go online and see if there are any negative travel reviews on those restaurants.
9. When you arrive at a restaurant, look at the conditions before you eat. If the place looks dirty and not well kept, dine elsewhere.
10. If you are dining at a restaurant and your food is served and looks questionable, don't eat it. Tell them that you think something is wrong and send the food back. If the food tastes funny, tell your waiter and give it back.
11. If you think you have food poisoning, look at the severity of symptoms. If you just have mild diarrhea and cramps, you may not need medical attention. However, if you have bloody diarrhea, a fever over 101 degrees fahrenheit, your vomiting is severe, you have persistent abdominal pain, and you have difficulty swallowing or breathing, seek treatment immediately.
12. If you can't seek medical attention or the symptoms are mild, there are some things you can do for yourself. Drink lots of fluids to help get the toxins out of your body, don't try to make yourself vomit or take an anti-diarrheal product, and reintroduce bland foods once you start to feel better. Drinking Gatorade can help replenish lost electrolytes, sugar and sodium.
13. Let the restaurant know that you got food poisoning, so they can prevent others from being exposed to the same bad food. Also, you could consider putting the information on a travel tip website when you return from your travels, to let other travelers know places to look out for.

Tips & Warnings

• Find out the approximate costs of being treated for food poisoning in the foreign country. Then you will know how much money you would need available to obtain treatment.
• If the food tastes funny, don't eat it. This could be a clear signal that the food is spoiled.
• To be really safe, avoid raw foods and drink bottled water.
• The riskiest food to eat in a foreign country is seafood.
• If you think you have food poisoning, even if your symptoms are not severe, it's always a good idea to seek medical attention to make sure you're okay.