Food poisoning in Mexico

mom4fun

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
1,747
We went to Xcaret recently for our Cozumel port stop. They give you a voucher to get food at a restaurant. We all got fajitas but only my son got steak and the rest of us got chicken. My son had intermittent attacks of vomiting and diarrhea the rest of the trip. There was no other food that he had, that the rest of us didn't share. This did not act like any stomach virus we have ever seen. He had to go on an antibiotic to kill the bacteria in his intestines before he got better. I'm very nervous about eating in another country now. Is this rare or should you just avoid all food in the Caribbean ports?
 
We went to Xcaret recently for our Cozumel port stop. They give you a voucher to get food at a restaurant. We all got fajitas but only my son got steak and the rest of us got chicken. My son had intermittent attacks of vomiting and diarrhea the rest of the trip. There was no other food that he had, that the rest of us didn't share. This did not act like any stomach virus we have ever seen. He had to go on an antibiotic to kill the bacteria in his intestines before he got better. I'm very nervous about eating in another country now. Is this rare or should you just avoid all food in the Caribbean ports?
I'd say it's fairly rare. Yes, it does happen. But you really can't be sure it was the food, without testing. He could have picked a nasty bug really anywhere. From handrails onboard the ship, or in the clubs.

We've eaten in lots of "other" countries, and had no issues.
 
I've had a fairly severe case of food poisoning from a restaurant in my home town...twice. Don't let one bad incident stop you from trying new foods at different ports. :goodvibes
 

Rough. :/ Poor kid.

Mexico water has a reputation of making people sick. If you eat food that has been washed or if it has been in contact with other food that has been in contact with it, or ice in your drink... We always take probiotic but we'll also get the Dukoral vaccine (just in case) when we'll go. When you eat at a restaurant, you never know what they have done with the food... And you have no control over what other passengers ate...
 
Sorry to hear that. Like someone else said... it really could have been anything...but either way it's awful
 
Poor guy. Sounds horrible.

Unfortunately, you can't be sure it's food poisoning without proper testing. That even goes to say for eating at a restaurant at home, too. It could just be a coincidence and he picked up something off the ship or airport. You just never know. We go to Mexico (Cozumel) and I know the restaurants use bottled water for drinking and for the ice. I am not in the kitchens so I don't know how they wash the fruits and vegetables so I do try to avoid anything I can't peel like the Govt website states to do.

I wouldn't let this stop you. There are thousands visiting Mexico yearly and I bet very few get sick.
 
Rough. :/ Poor kid.

Mexico water has a reputation of making people sick. If you eat food that has been washed or if it has been in contact with other food that has been in contact with it, or ice in your drink... We always take probiotic but we'll also get the Dukoral vaccine (just in case) when we'll go. When you eat at a restaurant, you never know what they have done with the food... And you have no control over what other passengers ate...
What is the dukoral vaccine?
 
What is the dukoral vaccine?
This medication belongs to the class of medications called vaccines. It is used to help prevent travellers' diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and cholera in adults and children 2 years of age and older. It is recommended for people travelling to areas with a high risk of cholera or travellers' diarrhea.
http://chealth.canoe.com/drug/getdrug/dukoral
 
We asked our local boat guide where he eats lunch during our 2015 WBPC Cruise port in Cabo and he directed us to a dirt parking lot behind The Marina Mercado Building...there were a few food trucks that were permanently there as their tires had rotted and the rims were in the dirt. There was no running water...just coolers of water out... we ordered and prayed for the best. It turned out to be one of the best meals of my life! So good and no one got sick. On the other hand, I was working in Costa Rica and we were staying at the Westin...I got so severely ill from food poisoning that I could not make a fist, had a crazy high fever, was shaking, and vomiting like crazy for 4 days...so our $10 lunch from a busted food truck in Mexico was fine, but our $800 a night all inclusive in Costa Rica almost killed me. The moral of the story is you just never know...
 
What is the dukoral vaccine?

See PrincessShmoo's answer.

This medication belongs to the class of medications called vaccines. It is used to help prevent travellers' diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and cholera in adults and children 2 years of age and older. It is recommended for people travelling to areas with a high risk of cholera or travellers' diarrhea.
http://chealth.canoe.com/drug/getdrug/dukoral

That is correct. It's not a shot but something you drink (2 times before your trip) that will protect you against cholera and E.coli. The taste would be baking soda mixed with raspberry.

Combined with probiotics, it is apparentky very efficient to prevent or reduce significantly symptoms of intestinal bugs you could catch during vacations.

I haven't visited Mexico yet but based on what I read, I will definitely take it before the vacation.
 
I once ate something that made it clear for a couple of days it didn't like me, that was in Ketchikan.
I never had a problem in the Caribbean or Mexico (Cabo, PV, Ensenada) though.
As a CM, if I didn't eat in port, I didn't really eat lol. It definitely didn't stop me haha!
 
How do you know it was the food in Mexico and not something he ate on the ship? You can get food poisoning anywhere. It doesn't necessarily have to be the last thing you've eaten either.
 
So, this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart as my undergraduate research was funded, in part, by the CDC. Anyway, whenever the topic comes up and people are trying to figure out what happened I direct them here to learn more:

https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborneillnesscontaminants/foodborneillnessesneedtoknow/default.htm

Now, one thing to know is that everyone in your party could have been exposed to a food-borne pathogen but only those that have a particular susceptibility at that time would have a physical manifestation of symptoms. Generally, our most vulnerable age groups for falling ill to these pathogens are the very young, the very old and those with a compromised immune system - and that group can be anyone whose immune system is already working overtime fighting off something else, like a wicked cold, or working hard to build another human, ie. pregnant women (This is an opportunistic infection as your immune system might have fought it off handily had it been working up to par).

I'm sorry your son got sick. I wouldn't wish a food-borne illness on my worst enemy, especially an E. coli 0157:H7 infection, and while beef is a common vehicle for that particular pathogen, without some lab work to determine the exact pathogen involved it is purely speculation what exactly happened.

So the bottom line: Yes, it can happen but don't let it keep you from living your life and enjoying your vacation. And if you do come down with a food-borne illness, palliative care is usually sufficient but sometimes medical attention is warranted so just keep that in the back of your mind.
 
Last edited:
I've had a fairly severe case of food poisoning from a restaurant in my home town...twice. Don't let one bad incident stop you from trying new foods at different ports. :goodvibes

You're braver than I am!!!

I am willing to risk it when at home but while on vacation; unless I am in a country that doesn't usually warn visitors about the water I will try/experience new foods while on board the ship. We were on a cruise with Mexico ports included in the stops and one of our table mates ate lunch at one of the local restaurants while in one of those ports. We did not see him at the dinner table that evening because he was feeling ill.

The only place my wife and I did eat at while in Mexico was at one of the large resorts that was one of the DCL excursions you could sign up for. Full use of the resort with food and drinks included.
 
We've been to Mexico and the Caribbean many times - it's our favourite destination. We've never experienced upset tummies there.
I suffer from Colitis so that's unusual for me as I'm susceptible - I have had real (confirmed) food poisoning at a 4 star UK hotel, and suspected food poisoning in France and Australia- so as others have said - be careful where ever you are but certainly not a bigger problem in Mexico than anywhere else!
 
Personally speaking, we just do not care to eat foods from a another country when we cruise. We always return to the ship for lunch or take something packaged
from the ship until we return. Sure paid enough for it so we enjoy it!
 
Personally speaking, we just do not care to eat foods from a another country when we cruise. We always return to the ship for lunch or take something packaged
from the ship until we return. Sure paid enough for it so we enjoy it!
We try to eat on the ship as much as possible as well, because it's already paid for! There are some ports where we spend the whole day that we have to eat something though. My kids would not be too thrilled with me if I just gave them snacks that we smuggled off the ship! lol That said, I look up reviews on trip advisor for anywhere we eat while in port. If they have bad reviews, we do not eat there!
 
Having lived in Mexico and seen how meat is handled at the markets, I would advise that those eating any meat there only do so if it is very well done. If he was the only one eating steak and it had even a touch of pink...

And I can second what others have said about the water. I mean, I drank it because I was there for a year in the time before bottled water was everywhere. But even 11 months into my stay I got amoebic dysentery from who knows where.

My best advice if you really want to minimize the risk of getting sick is to follow the advice of the famous food personality who eats anything - only eat it if it is fried/cooked a long time/you can peel it. Everything else has a risk! ;)
 

GET UP TO A $1000 SHIPBOARD CREDIT AND AN EXCLUSIVE GIFT!

If you make your Disney Cruise Line reservation with Dreams Unlimited Travel you’ll receive these incredible shipboard credits to spend on your cruise!





New Posts




















DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Back
Top