Stay Hydrated in Thailand

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Dodger
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Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Dodger »

I was having dinner last night and overheard a conversation at the table next to me regarding drinking water in Thailand. The comments I heard coming from this table of farang were not unlike comments some of my expat friends have made over the years, which, honestly, is a bit baffling. One guy said he drinks a glass a water with his meals every day, but that’s about it. Another guy said he drinks coffee in the morning and beer at night, but rarely drinks water. A woman at the table said she drinks 3 or 4 glasses of water every day when in Thailand due to the climate.
According to health experts, all of these people are (or, should be) suffering from dehydration and don’t even know it.

In normal climates a person should be drinking 8 x 8 ounce glasses (2 liters) per day, and 12 X 8 ounce glasses (3 liters) per day in tropical climates. I consume this amount only because a good friend of mine is a doctor in the U.S. who convinced me. I installed a water purification in my condo and consume 3 liters/day which is a concerted effort. Meaning, I just can’t drink a glass of water when I’m thirsty and expect to be giving my body enough water. I have to drink water even when I’m not the least bit thirsty. I add an electrolyte packet to one of the glasses I drink every day during rainy season – and two packets/day during the HOT summer months.

Not consuming enough water is the leading cause of dehydration.

Common symptoms:
Muscle cramps
Headache
Lightheadedness,
Sleepiness
Lack of tear production (dry eyes, vision problems)
Dry mouth.
Tired or sleepy.
Decreased urine output.
Urine is low volume and more yellowish than normal.
Headache.
Dry skin.
Dizziness

LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Erectile Dysfunction (if fluid levels are low because of dehydration ED can occur)

Before I installed a water purifier I was consuming less than half the recommended amount of water and periodically experienced all of the symptoms listed above.
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Undaunted
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Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Undaunted »

Even if you use a water filter the water quality can be poor and the quality of bottled water varies greatly. I bought this highly rated water quality tester which was an eye opener, of all the bottled water I tested the cheapest brand labeled H2O sold at Tops and BigC had the best test result. I purchased it from Lazada.
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fountainhall

Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by fountainhall »

Two points re Dodger's very pertinent post.

I have suffered twice from the effects of bad dehydration and it is far from pleasant. The latest had nothing to do with Thailand but serves as a warning. I had been travelling for 10 days in China on business. I returned to Bangkok for 3 day before attending a 3 day Conference in Hong Kong. After 2 days back home, I left for a month-long holiday to South America. The day before I left I noticed my mouth was quite dry. On the two overnight flights to get me to Buenos Aires, this got worse and I started - too late - to drink more water in between an occasional glass of wine and other alcohol I consumed. After a day's sightseeing, I took a sleeping pill. I woke at 5:00 the morning and had to race for the loo. For every 20 minutes I repeated the action. I feel more than miserable. Severe and constant diarrhoea is another result of dehydration.

By 8:00 am I told the owner of the lovely guesthouse I'd have to see a doctor. Having told me not to trust Argentinian hospitals, he himself took me to the German Hospital. After a bit of prodding and poking, the doctor said she wanted to put me through various tests. End result: she told me all the tests were negative but it was clear I was suffering from severe dehydration. Armed with pills and potions, I spent the rest of the day just relaxing - and drinking water! That all cost me around US$800 - thankfully covered by insurance. But having spent almost a year planning a trip taking me all around three countries in that huge continent, to lose even one day was maddening, the more so when it was my fault.

Now I always start my day with a full glass of water. I'm not sure I now reach 3 litres every day but it comes close.

The second point relates to water filters. If you live in a condo, be very careful about how these are fitted and make 100% sure your contractor knows if there is likely to be regular variations in water pressure. Better still, only turn on the tap when actually using the filter. Some years ago I had some new neighbours next door. They fitted a filter in their kitchen but left the tap on. When they wanted water, they opened the filter. Sadly they were not aware that water pressure in this area can vary. End result of that mistake was the water filter blew off the tap in the early hours of the morning and the sink drain could not cope with the volume. By the time they woke up, their flat was flooded. Worse, it had exited under their entrance and made its way along the corridor. When I awake, half my flat was flooded!
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Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:45 am I bought this highly rated water quality tester which was an eye opener
See the following article: http://www.richardbarrow.com/2019/03/re ... ester-pen/
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Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Undaunted »

Gaybutton wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 12:26 pm
Undaunted wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:45 am I bought this highly rated water quality tester which was an eye opener
See the following article: http://www.richardbarrow.com/2019/03/re ... ester-pen/
I totally agree with the finding in the article, as for added minerals I prefer nothing to be added to the water I drink.
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Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 1:38 pm I totally agree with in finding in the article, as for added minerals I prefer nothing to be added to the water I drink.
Not even a drop of whiskey on occasion . . . ?
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Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Undaunted »

Gaybutton wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 1:41 pm
Undaunted wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 1:38 pm I prefer nothing to be added to the water I drink.
Not even a drop of whiskey on occasion . . . ?
Never, only tonic and gin!
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Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Dodger »

Undaunted wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:45 am Even if you use a water filter the water quality can be poor and the quality of bottled water varies greatly. I bought this highly rated water quality tester which was an eye opener, of all the bottled water I tested the cheapest brand labeled H2O sold at Tops and BigC had the best test result. I purchased it from Lazada.
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I contacted a find who works as a reliability engineer for GE Water several years ago and he said the same thing, that water quality varies a lot between different sellers, which may, or may not be harmful. He went on to say that the water quality in Thailand, as well as other SE Asia counties, is the worst.

He recommended that I purchase a 5 filter reverse osmosis system which includes UV purification. These cost a bit more than the standard 2 or 3 filter units, but, according to him, that was the only way to go. After a bit more research he contacted me again and recommended a Mazuma Water Purification System which are manufacturing in Thailand. I usually avoid buying anything made in Thailand due to poor quality, but, Mazuma is in a joint venture with an American company that produces the water purification components used by Mazuma and the quality is top notch. I've had this system for 2 years and very happy with it. Not exaggerating, the water tastes as good as that expensive Fuji water. Replacement filters cost about 2,000 THB/year.

They sell Mazuma at Home Pro. A 5 filter system will set you back about 10,000 THB, but worth every penny. It pays for itself in less than a year...eliminates hundreds of trips to 7/11...tastes better... and prevents 1,000 plastic bottles from being dumped back into the environment every year. This doesn't even include the health risks which are being prevented.
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Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by werner99 »

This is a very important discussion.

Yes, do stay hydrated in Thailand -- and everywhere else!

This is especially important for the "elderly".
Jun

Re: Stay Hydrated in Thailand

Post by Jun »

In Thailand, I do notice the difference from temperatures, since for a given level of consumption, much less is passed out, so evaporation must be a lot higher. So 3 litres seems like a reasonable target.

However, for people of a certain age, it requires some planning when out and about. The worst error was when I had about 1.5 litres of water in the morning in Burma, then caught a bus which didn't stop for 2.5 hours.
Dodger wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:20 pm Replacement filters cost about 2,000 THB/year.
They sell Mazuma at Home Pro. A 5 filter system will set you back about 10,000 THB, but worth every penny.
I presume this is a proper filtration system that takes out bacteria & so on, so that's a very reasonable replacement filter cost.
Brita filters cost almost the same and provide nowhere near the same level of filtration. Admittedly, Brita have become a rip-off.
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