# How likely am I to get sick travelling in India? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396 "2009-09-17T02:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/21 "2009-09-17T16:30:40Z")
In the more remote parts of Kashmir, ironically, since it comes directly from the source and is unlikely to have anything more toxic than goat turds in it. Bacteria don’t do well at altitude and in cold temperatures. But no, in cities, water is almost always undrinkable. Some of the extremely affluent areas (in Bombay) have private water treatment plants, but I don’t think there are any hotels linked to these. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/22 "2009-09-17T16:43:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > They didn’t give you mosquito nets? We had mosquito nets in Rajkot, but not in Madras or Bombay. It was funny, though - once we started using Odomos, the mosquitos weren’t a problem. It was the bed bugs that bit us the most. We stayed with family the whole time except for the club in Agra and the family homes were much cleaner than the club was. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/23 "2009-09-17T17:42:55Z")
The [India Travel Forum](http://www.indiamike.com/) is a great website for anyone visiting India with a very helpful message board. Here is the health [section](http://www.indiamike.com/india/health-and-well-being-in-india-f2/)of the forum which should have a lot of information of interest. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/24 "2009-09-17T17:51:37Z")
I wonder how much energy is used boiling water for 1.1 billion people a day. Might be cheaper to just build water treatment plants. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/25 "2009-09-17T18:08:29Z")
There are water treatment plants. They just aren’t very effective. It’s not like the water that comes out of a household tap is brown, or anything- it looks perfectly clear. It just has a lot more bacteria in it than (most) western water. ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/26 "2009-09-17T19:31:38Z")
Not to present my anecdote as anything but a single data point, but I never got sick while living in India for four months. Not even a single out-of-the-ordinary upset stomach. I was diligent about taking my anti-malarials, and very careful at first about never ingesting any tap water or things that had touched tap water (ice, salad, etc). As time went on, I got much laxer, eating street food and occasionally sipping from tap water at restaurants-- I can’t recommend this in good faith, though, as I don’t know how I stayed so healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/27 "2009-09-17T19:44:24Z")
I just spent two and a half months in India. I didn’t get sick a single time, not even stomach queasiness. I ate street food, I drank the water at restaurants, I was totally undiligent about taking my anti-malarials, even (I am an idiot, basically) and ta da! I’m fine. So, I would say don’t stress _too_ much. I’d be more worried about getting run down by a psychotic autorickshaw driver than getting sick, frankly. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/28 "2009-09-17T20:19:37Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > So, I would say don’t stress _too_ much. I’d be more worried about getting run down by a psychotic autorickshaw driver than getting sick, frankly. I got sick from raw vegetables in China. I’ve gotten much sicker than I did from that from restaurant food in the US. It wasn’t the end of the world, or even close. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/29 "2009-09-18T10:49:45Z")
I just wanted to thank everybody, again, for all of the great advice- I feel a lot better now that I’m not walking into an instant, agonizing disease-ridden end born from my own paranoia and poor sanitation. ^^ I’m a little worried about TB, simply because I’m going to be spending most of my time in Tibetan monasteries around himachal pradesh, but I’m pretty sure nothing bad’ll happen beyond everyone’s favorite bowel and stomach problems. ^^ ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/30 "2009-09-18T10:57:47Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > When they say “don’t drink the water” it doesn’t just mean taking a drink from the tap. A cold drink with ice cubes is just a bad. Same goes for brushing your teeth. That one got me in the Philippines. I echo this. St. Petersburg in Russia is a civilised city. However the tap water comes from the tidal river Neva, so is not pure. I drank Coca-Cola (they process the water safely) religiously, but once made the mistake of putting an ice cube in it. :smack: I spent the next 5 hours sitting on the toilet, unable to move away without … consequences. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/31 "2009-09-18T13:08:48Z")
Himachal Pradesh means your risk of malaria goes from ~.5% to ~.001%. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/32 "2009-09-18T14:07:50Z")
“Tibetan monasteries around himachal pradesh” Colour me green with envy! I’ve spent time in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Nepal, Kashmir and Ladahk and while they weren’t the cleanest places to be, with the exception of a few tummy upsets, I managed to stay healthy. I think you’ll be okay, just stay cautious. Please come back and show us photos and tell us stories! ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/33 "2009-09-18T16:33:19Z")
Put me in **Kyla’s** camp. I spent a year and a half in SE Asia and a few weeks in India. It never even occurred to me to take something for malaria. I did stick with bottled water, but was otherwise not especially careful. I never had any health problems. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/34 "2009-09-19T11:06:07Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Please come back and show us photos and tell us stories! Oh, I definitely will! I love taking photos, and nobody needs to be asked twice before showing off travel pictures. 🙂 I’m especially looking forward to spending most of my day with native Tibetan speakers. I had three main Tibetan language teachers at university, and they each spoke with a dramatically different accent, so I’m interested in seeing how interacting with a population of (largely) native speakers will be. Actually, funny story: after finishing my second semester of Tibetan classes I got the chance to visit a local monastery, and while I knew that I didn’t speak the language fluently I figured that I would know enough to pick out a few words and suss out the general grammar of the chanting they did at the beginning and end of a public class. Of course I didn’t understand a single word, and left horrified at my lack of progress… until about six months later, when I found out that the chanting I’d been hearing was actually Sanskrit that had been transcribed with the Tibetan orthography. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Raintitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e99b99/32.png) [@Raintitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raintitan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/35 "2009-09-20T23:56:04Z")
If you are spending 6 months there, you will most certainly get sick. More than once. Accept it, and enjoy yourself 😃 People that live there have a different culture of bacteria and other organisms in their digestive tracts for dealing with the water, food, ect found there. As Americans, we haven’t been exposed to the same things. Simple as that. Carry Immodium, and I also suggest a Z-Pack or something similar in case you get something nasty started. Avoid the water (including brushing your teeth and slurping it in the shower). Vegetables and fruits are also more likely to make you ill. Finally, note that many dairy products are not pasteurized so some might be a little rough on your stomach. I watched a friend eat a warm yogurt off a non-refrigerated food cart and he paid for it for almost a week. Your experience will be amazing, and it will change your life in unexpected ways. R ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/36 "2009-09-21T01:51:32Z")
I’m headed for Himachal Pradesh myself in 5 days, with a side trip into Leh and Ladakh. With a little luck, over the Manali-Leh road if we can find a driver nutty enough to try it in October. They’ve a bunch of early rain and snow so the passes have already been closed a few times this year and stranded some folks. Anyway, back to your issue: Don’t worry about malaria much in Himachal Pradesh–at least not til it gets warmer again. The guidebooks are mostly useful about prevention. When I lived in the are we’d always have alot of new tourists get sick, but your system gets used to it fairly quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/37 "2009-09-21T08:31:49Z")
Please buy bottled water of good brands like aquafina( from pepsi) ,himalaya (Tata)… There are many local brands which may not be the real stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/38 "2009-09-21T09:19:00Z")
> [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > I’m a little worried about TB, simply because I’m going to be spending most of my time in Tibetan monasteries around himachal pradesh, but I’m pretty sure nothing bad’ll happen beyond everyone’s favorite bowel and stomach problems. ^^ If TB scares you so much, don’t travel to southern Europe. So many Spaniards are tuberculine-positive that some of the current protocols skip that test completely, considering it as useful as asking “does the patient have a nose?” Being in contact with the TB bug does not automatically give you TB; most people’s immune systems are perfectly able to contain it. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/39 "2009-09-22T00:01:49Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I’m headed for Himachal Pradesh myself in 5 days, with a side trip into Leh and Ladakh. With a little luck, over the Manali-Leh road if we can find a driver nutty enough to try it in October. They’ve a bunch of early rain and snow so the passes have already been closed a few times this year and stranded some folks. > > Anyway, back to your issue: Don’t worry about malaria much in Himachal Pradesh–at least not til it gets warmer again. > > The guidebooks are mostly useful about prevention. When I lived in the are we’d always have alot of new tourists get sick, but your system gets used to it fairly quickly. I had been planning on flying to Himachal Pradesh from Delhi via Kingfisher Airlines, and so I’m kind of surprised to hear that you’re going to be braving the roads… is it for the fun of it, or do you think the bad weather’ll be likely to ground the flights? ---
**Author:** ![Biers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Biers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biers)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396/40 "2009-09-22T01:27:17Z")
This sounds nuts, but… also watch out for the holy water. That’s what finally got me in Bhutan. I didn’t want to offend anyone, so drank it when the monks offered. But I think you can also dribble it over your head instead, which I will definitely be doing next time. Before that, I’d spent 6 months in Nepal without any problems. Even after Bhutan, a single dose of Simplotan (tinidazole) cleared me up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-am-i-to-get-sick-travelling-in-india/510396.md?page=3)