Tummy Troubles

I've been doing some reading for the China trip, and I'm getting a little nervous. I'm not exactly a sickly person in general, but I've never been the picture of health. I've got a thyroid disorder, a cruddy immune system (that's a technical term), and a history of intestinal problems. Thus far, I've had the privilege of traveling to countries where drinking the water isn't an issue, so it's not come up for me in the past. So the other day as I was reading my Lonely Planet guide, I was struck by the italicized phrase that said something like, "above all, do not drink the water." Yipes! And both here and in the book, there is an alarmingly long list of immunizations to get before you go, and precautions to take. Double yipes!

I posted a question about whether I should really be concerned to my favorite new travel message board Boots N'All, and got some good responses. So, while it should obviously be a concern, I think I shouldn't freak myself out too much about it. I do need to go to the doctor and ask what she'd recommend, given my health history, and I'll take it from there. Since we'll be sticking to the cities, I'm sure I'll at least always have access to bottled water, so I should be fine.

Oh, and of course Lonely Planet also says that more travelers get stomach distress from the food, not the water. (According to my National Geographic guidebook, the reason the fruits & veggies have to be very thoroughly washed before consumption is that human manure is used in agriculture. I'm not sure why that should be so much more disgusting to me than cow manure, but somehow it is.) One report says that spicy food doesn't mean safer food, another says just the opposite. One response on Boots N'All says to eat at street food vendors with long lines because that'll mean high turnover (so that food doesn't sit for ages at the wrong temperature), another says the street vendors are more likely to be where people get sick. Egads, who knew this could be so complicated?

Bottom line - for an 8-10 day trip, while it's unlikely I'll get raging sick, it's also really important to me that I be careful about my health. On such a short trip, it'd really suck to have 1/3 of it ruined by being hunched over a toilet. And on second thought, they might not even be toilets like I think of toilets... Hmmm... Brings on a whole new reason for me to stay healthy.