Story Time: Holiday Horror - Food Poisoning and Ear Infections in Thailand

This summer I went to Thailand which was probably the best holiday I've ever been on with my family. My favorite part of course was meeting, feeding and cleaning a group of Asian elephants with Elephant Hills. But of course lucky old me I couldn't just have a great time without stumbling into some (painful) mishaps. 

Numero UNO! 

The day before we went to Elephant Hills we were in Krabi which is a beautiful place filled with palm tree's, beaches and monkeys (but don't get me started on the monkeys). This would be the ideal place for a honeymoon or just somewhere to go if you like relaxing places with long white beaches. There was actually a couple getting married and the room opposite us were having their hen do their (not my personal preference for that but hey-ho!) Anyway on the last night we decided to go to the hotels Japanese Restaurant for dinner...big mistake. Not only did my Dad think he was genuinely going to die after a mouthful of Horseradish (or Wasabi, we're not sure) but the afternoon after I started to feel...strange. We had just got home from THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE (aka the elephant meeting) and I was feeling exhausted. We hadn't done a lot of exercise but I just thought it was something to do with the jet lag or something so I just chilled. We had already had dinner at this point and so as it slowly got worse, I went to bed for a little while. Every single one of my bones ached and even when I wasn't moving I was in a ridiculous amount of pain. I also got a temperature (which worried my mum ngl) so was freezing and shivering even though it was about 34*C even at night! So while everyone else was checking out the camps swimming pool and generally enjoying themselves, I was lying painfully in bed in the tent. Every evening they had evening "entertainment" and after a few hours my family came back to see if I wanted to join them. I decided to because that night a local school were gonna do a dance for us and I love being part of the community when I go to different places. BUT...Literally as I sat there I could feel the pain overwhelming me and a I simply burst out crying because I hated the fact that I couldn't enjoy this amazing experience. I went back to bed and in the morning "got rid of" the food that had made me ill (TMI I know).

The Second Wave...

Towards the end of our Trip we were in Koh Samui and I woke up with the feeling that my ear was scrunched up. I carried on with my day and didn't think anything of it but over the next few day a pain grew and it got to the stage where I couldn't move my jaw at all without a terrible pain going through me. When we were out for dinner I started to tear up (IKR it was an emotional holiday) so me and me mam went to a Thai pharmacy to see if they could do anything. They prescribed me strong AF antibiotics and ear drops (year apparently their medicine rules are a lot more leaneant than ours). I was in constant pain for about a week (great way to end the holiday) but it did very, very slowly get better and I can honestly say that is the most pain I have ever been in (and Im a girl who get severe period cramps). I forgot to mention that this also meant I was death in one ear for a few weeks during and after which my friends all laughed at when I came back and struggled to hear them. Speaking of which when I was home I could feel my ear pain come back and I thought hell no! This cannot be happening again, PLEASE GOD NO! So I went to the doctors at home and she looke din my ear (supprisingly the first person who had) and said "yeah you've still got an infection". Que more drugs and ear drops and deafness. I hated this whole experience and wouldnt wish it on anyone.

As im not entirely sure where I got it from (most likely the hotel swimming pool [eww]) the only advice I can give is to get it checked out straight away. No matter where you are in the world you should have some form of medical help, the pharmacy I went to in Koh Samui may not have cured me but it sure did help. Then as soon as you get home (no matter if you think you're fine aggain) book an appointment with you GP/doctor and get them to clear you because you dont want any horrible illness' coming back. Especially as most people will come home and go back to work/school.

There you go, there are my two medical problems I faced in Thailand. I have loooooooaaaaaaaddddssss more stories to tell so if you want more please do tell me or comment any of your holiday horrors!

See you soon

Xx