What is it that gives American tourists the shits when they drink the water in Mexico and why don’t the Mexicans get the shits too?
I heard a story about a guy that had flown his own airplane down to (SP)Puerto Vuarta and got so sick from the ameba or whatever it is… that on the way back home he threw up on the windshield of his plane then shit all in side of the cockpit and had to make an emergency landing. Can Mexican diarrhea be that bad or is that story an urban legend?
“I’m the best there is Fats. Even if you beat me, I’m still the best.”
(Paul Newman in The Hustler)
Travellers’ diarrhea (AKA TD, Tijuana Trots, Montezuma’s Revenge, etc. ad nauseum), is usually caused by a combination of factors, including change in diet, unfamiliar bacteria in food and water, a lack of sleep or change in schedule, and stress.
The unfamiliar bacteria bit is probably the bigger culprit, and certainly one that freaks people out the most. There are loads of bugs in water, especially in 3rd world (oops, excuse me, developing) countries that are less inclined to chlorinate public water. Most of them are harmless, but your body is just not used to them and reacts strongly. Why don’t the Mexicans, et al. get the runs too? Their bodies are used to the bugs, just as your body is used to the critters in your water and food.
And it’s not uncommon to get the squirts just travelling to another region in the US (especially on a beach or camping trip without chemically treated water).
As a border town resident (San Diego, CA) I can tell you that I’ve always heard it was a bacteria in their water supply that’s different than our own. This is not to say their water is contaminated, but rather it is just different. Supposedly Mexicans who come here have the same problem as us when drinking our unfiltered water. If you grow up here, and you drink both, then both bacterium will be ‘normal’ to your system and you won’t have a problem. My wife and I have carnitas all the time in Tijuana and to date, with freshly prepared salsa and guacamole (using their water) yet the only food poisoning I’ve ever had has been on US side of the border.
As far as how bad it can be…I’ve heard some pretty good stories myself. It usually manifests itself as just diarrhea with no vomitting, but I couldn’t tell you how ‘bad’ it is having not had it. If you have intense vomitting and explosive diarrhea, I’d have to say that either:
You were drinking heavily in addition to drinking the water/ eating the food, and the alcohol was the real cause
The food/ water really was contaminated with something (e.coli/ salmonella) independent of the natural bacterium in the water.
I can attest to the fact that the opposite also happens. On many a band tour, I (and others) could get very stopped up. I imagined that this was just from riding in a car for so long, the vibrations, etc. but the “out-of-town” bacteria/germ theory holds true as well.
I once had a case of M’s Revenge that, had I been flying a plane (or even driving a car) I would have been forced to abort my journey. Add the possibility of air sickness and your story is totally within the realm of probability.