I’m very susceptible to food poisoning. Even back home in the United States. It was a challenge for me last time – living in a rural province – as I had major bouts of food poisoning every two to three weeks for my first two years. I lost a significant amount of weight because of this during my first year but found a rhythm during my second year that maintained my weight. In my third year one of my Khmer co-workers gave me a duck head during a meal and told me it was an honor…after I ate it I had the worst case of food poisoning that I’ve ever had. But then no more food poisoning for the rest of my third year. Not that I’m advising eating duck heads to cure food poisoning.

Context aside. I had my first bout of food poisoning this week and it was a pretty extreme case even compared to what I’ve gone through before. I vomited 14 times in 24 hours (and one more time the next day) and have had diarrhea for four days. I also had a light fever for a bit.

My own theory is that my body massively overreacts to substances it decides are bad and tries to purge them in every way it knows. Last time, I got into a rhythm and was able to work despite being sick. But now I’m remembering that it took time for me to adapt to that. I was ready to go into work after vomiting twice…because that’s what I did last term. Good thing Crystal told me to stay home because it was not over.

What exactly did I eat that made me sick? I don’t know. Nothing I haven’t been eating since we arrived here. Many a spoon wasn’t washed, some chemical fertilizer didn’t get cleaned off a vegetable, or a piece of meat was contaminated at the market. I rarely knew last time either. I got sick from food from the western style grocery stores, food from the market, food I prepared myself at home, food that everyone else ate without a problem… It was something I was never able to figure out.

The most important thing is to keep hydrated. This can be nearly impossible when you’re still nauseous. Coconut water is a natural go-to for dehydration due to their high electrolyte contain and, even better, they come in a naturally sealed container. Black and green tea have an astringent component in them that helps control diarrhea (just don’t drink too much as that can make it worse – sip a cup or two). Rice porridge is the popular food to give sick people here and it’s a good simple-to-digest staple. Crackers, if you can find them, are also good.

I’m hopeful that I won’t get as sick this time as I did last time. I did live here for three years before and got heavily exposed to the local microbes. We also are living in the city rather than the province. It’s also been ten years of significant development and things are much cleaner than they were. But only time will tell… Right now I’m just glad that I can keep down food again!