Health Tip for Travelers in Thailand

Yongyoot Cheangwirichaikur, MD
Nephrologist , Bangkok Hospital Samui

Koh Samui is a well-known tourist town. Throughout the year tourists from all over the world visit this island in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand. Unfortunately many have to make a detour to the hospital before checking in to their hotel due to acute lower abdominal pain, especially pain on urination. Some patients have said they felt like they were being stung by hundreds of needles in their abdomen. This is a sign that you might be suffering from a bladder infection, otherwise called Acute Urinary Cystitis. If you leave it untreated for too long it can move to your kidneys, causing lower back pain, fever with chills and can be lethal from septicemia.

Most of the time the culprit is a bacteria called E.coli, a common bacteria found in human feces. So urine cultures are hardly ever done these days. Unfortunately this bacterium tends to infect the female urinary system more than the males, due to the relative shortness of the tract, which makes it easier to crawl in and start incubating. If you urinate before the incubation is complete your ok. But sometimes when you travel, public bathrooms can be a turn off and make you have to hold it for longer and drink less water, which increases the chance for bacterial incubation at your urinary bladder wall.

In short, to steer clear of bladder infections try the following tips:

Go to the bathroom as often as possible
Drink lots of water, at least 2 liters per day and
If you start to have symptoms get to the doctor before it moves up to your kidneys for quick, uncomplicated treatment.