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Some things even travelers will warn you about, but are not true.
Like, don't drink the water. The fact is,there are very few cities or towns where the tapwater carries a risk of pathogens. But there are places where locals may not drink it because of chemicals or heavy metals that could cumulatively be harmful over a lifetime. If you get a travel bug, it is far more likely from a doorknob.
i am very sensitive to water . not from a perspective of getting sick but just because our own guts are sensitive to certain bacteria , harmful or not that we are not used to .
Some things even travelers will warn you about, but are not true.
Like, don't drink the water. The fact is,there are very few cities or towns where the tapwater carries a risk of pathogens. But there are places where locals may not drink it because of chemicals or heavy metals that could cumulatively be harmful over a lifetime. If you get a travel bug, it is far more likely from a doorknob.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda
You've titled this thread appropriately, because your comment is definitely fake (erroneous) travel advice.
The problem with tap water in many developing countries is as much the delivery infrastructure as the water at the source. The city might treat it's tap water but there are contaminants introduced in various other stages like cracks in the underground pipes delivering it or tanks containing it on the roof of your hotel that aren't maintained as well as they should be. When things like cracks in pipes are combined with local habits of dumping waste into the nearest canal or down the closest storm drain risk goes up even more.
Some poor travel advice I've seen:
1. Exchange money at the airport when you arrive. Airports have the worst exchange rates, it's better to have a debit card that is foreign travel friendly and use the ATM. If your card is so terrible the fees are worse than an airport exchange then either bring enough or exchange just enough to get you into town where your options are better.
2. Don't eat the local food outside of western chain hotels. There are reasonable and sensible precautions one can take to minimize risk of food-related illness, it's sad to see timid travelers who let their fear prevent them from experiencing such an important part of local culture.
3. You need to learn some of the local language. It's always better to be able to say hello, thank you, count, etc. but it's not necessary to enjoy your trip. Everyone understands a hello and a smile, and for emergencies just have a translator app downloaded to be able to use offline on your phone.
Here's another of mine: Avoid cities or countries with high homicide rates. The premeditated murder of a complete stranger is one of the rarest events in human society. If your acquaintances or personal associates are not murderers, you are not going to be murdered anywhere.
I used to work at a major museum on the east coast. We had a colleague from the Netherlands who visited every couple of years to use our collections, and he ALWAYS got sick with intestinal issues. Clearly our food and water were clean, but there was something about the change that he was very sensitive to.
Your husband might have gotten sick from something else, food poisoning can be 6 hours or 3 days from when something was ingested so hard to pin down. Very few hotels/restaurants in big cities or touristy areas of Mexico use tap water ice like in the 1980s, they buy bags of ice made from purified water and you'll see trucks that deliver it unloading all the time.
Mexico has come a long way with food safety, they get it. Salads, juices, etc. in restaurants is generally fine, there are even chain salad joints where you build your own salad for about 60 pesos. Not saying you can't get food illness in Mexico, just saying it's not a big risk there and far better than many other countries in Latin America.
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