Drinking the tap water in a Mexican hotel?

Question

My boyfriend and his family are currently in Mexico, well, Cabo San Lucas Mexico.......anyhow.....they talked to the hotel staff and they said that their tap water was purified....they now have diarrhea...if it was from the water then how long can they expect the illness from that to last? They have 5 days left in their vacation and want to know bc if they are going to be sick for most of those 5 days then they are just going to leave early...

Answer 1

I am an American living in Mexico...ALWAYS drink bottled wter!  Now...they need to go to a "farmacia' and ask for OXAL>  It is a medicine with 2 tablets in the box.  Take one tablet right away and one 24 hrs later.  This is to get rid of the parasite that is prob. the cause of the diarrhea.  They also need to buy "lomotil".  These are very cheap.  Take a lomotil right away and one each time they have diarrhea,.  This should help a lot.  They may get dry mouth and need to drink more.

I am an R.N. (American), and this is the advice i give to my friends.  Of course , the source of their problem could be something other than the water, but whatever the source, these meds should help.  Every pharmacy should have these.  They are very safe to take.

Answer 2

wow i was there just a few months ago.. and to tell you the truth i would just get some peptobismal and some diarrhea medicine and DONT DRINK THE TAP WATER ONLY BOTTLED WATER! they should be ok soon....  i hope that they feel better:)

Answer 3

yeah they'll probably be sick for 2 months.  It is known as "Montezuma's Revenge".  You dont have to drink the water, you can get it from when the staff washes the food, washing the dishes, ice cubes, etc.  Most of the very large hotels are safe, but the smaller ones are not.  Also if they eat anywhere outside the large hotel, most likely they will face Montezuma personally.  Been there, done that

Answer 4

Maybe is something psychosomatic, it's so big the fear to get sick with the watter in Mexico, that many tourstis are predisposed to have stomach problems.

Answer 5

I got Montezuma's Revenge when I went to Cancun and it took about 3 days to get back to normal.

Answer 6

I go to Cancun every year and I DO NOT drink the tap water!!  I only drink bottled water!!  Never drink the tap water even if they tell you it's okay.  They will probably be okay before the 5 days are up, but tell them not to drink it any more!!

Answer 7

biggest rule of going to the foreign country

never drink the water

just have them go see a doc there or something

Answer 8

I currently live in Merida Mexico which is is the State of Yucatan. All the water here is underground there are no rivers or lakes above ground so the water is considered some of the best because it never sees sunlight. That said it is still not potable. I even brush my teeth with bottled water. Therefore, my advice, use bottled water irregardless of the duration of your stay.

Answer 9

They may as well buy some Depends and get on a plane.

Answer 10

I once went to Mexico and i got sick for different things like the food and also the water but its really not that bad because it happens because you never tasted that kind of water or food before they should be okay.

Answer 11

Takes three days but if you take Imodium clears up almost immediately...

Answer 12

Always drink bottled water, however, after many years of traveling and living in Mexico, I am of the mind that the change in environment, eating new and exotic foods, increased exercise and drinking more alcohol than one is used too, can give one travelers diarrhea. No one can tell if your friends will have the complaint for 5 more days. A local farmacia can help.

Answer 13

tell them to come home early and call them stupid for drinking the water.the water from a "PILA" (tank of water ) usually has bleach added to kill bacteria (so the water doesn't turn green) if there is well water the only way to make it drinkable is to boil it!!but you may still get the "runs"if your stomach isn't used to it.this sickness should last 2-4 days ,but the worst of it is on the first 2 days!!! tell them to drink lots of fluids (clean bottled water) to keep from dehydrating.if they are all sick then thier  vacation seems to have ended !!! give them a hug when they get back but dont squeeze to hard!!!!!

Answer 14

Oh no...

my husband and I drank diet coke in the bahamas and we had severe diarrhea and vomiting.  I had diarrhea about 7 times and threw up about 10 times within a 2 hour time period and my husband did too.

Thankfully we were on a cruise and I went to the nurse and she gave us a shot and some medicine.  After she gave the shot & meds we didn't throw up or have diarrhea.

Answer 15

purified water down there is the equivalent of american water found in potholes in the road

Answer 16

It could last weeks. They could become dehydrated and need hospitalization. Are they whacked out or something, drinking tap water in (of ALL places) MEXICO!!  Tell them to get to a doctor for something like our Immodium or SOMEthing, my god. Seriously.

Answer 17

I'm mexican and not even *I* would drink tap water ANYWHERE in my country, not even at a "big reputable hotel" and no matter how much they reassure that it's "purified"..... definitely NO NO. Now it's too late to feel sorry about it so just tell them to buy a LOMOTIL (very good to stop diarrhea and very widespread in Mexico, Imodium is fine too but I always take Lomotil) and to keep re-hydrating themselves as they already adviced you..... and of course be very careful with what they eat and drink these days cuz it could only get worse. That's about all they can do and it should be better after a couple of days........

Answer 18

They never heard " and do not drink the water".. our bodies are not accustomed to the bacteria level that they are exposed to.... For the (runs) diarrhea -try Imodium, they sell that there at any pharmacy and they can also ask a pharmacist there for some antibiotic - or whatever is best for that - they do not need a prescription for the medicines there.And they will be fine, also tell them to buy some vaseline to ease the pain back there......Hope they get to enjoy the rest of their vacation. Buy sodas, coconut water, or bottled water...and food from  a  reputable restaurant (recommended by the hotel)!!