Eating salads and raw fruit, drinking tap water in Eastern Europe, mosquito

Please specify: What do you mean by Eastern Europe? Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Belarus? In the Czech Republic and Poland, which both are more central than eastern European I didn't have any problem with either water or fruit - other then that their tap water occassionally tasted like it came directly out of a swimming pool. It was fine for brushing your teeth but since bottled water is very cheap over there I prefered that for drinking. There are mosquitos but not so much in the spring, rather during mid-summer.

The only area of Eastern Europe where an American is likely to travel that still has a CDC health warning is St. Petersburg and the surrounding oblast in Russia. This arose from an outbreak of Giardia in the 1990s. The fact that St. Petersburg is still listed probably has more to do with opacity of the local government than with any remaining problems with the drinking water. Although I ate uncooked fruit and vegetables while I was there, I couldn't muster the courage to try the tap-water.

I'm not sure what part of Eastern Europe you mean.

I lived in part of the former Yugoslavia and traveled all those countries(Slovenia, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro) and Bulgaria in addition, and never had to worry about the tap water nor the fresh fruits and veggies. The water is safe to drink and wash with. You may have an issue with taste in the Adriatic regions where tap water is scarce in the summer and may not taste all that great, but it's perfectly safe.

As for mosquitos, the nights in a lot of these countries are cool, so I've encountered more issues with Ohio mosquitos, than over there.

So Joan, you believe that fruit and veggies here in the US are safer than in Eastern Europe?
Tap water actually is safer in Europe since it doesn't contain the crappy Fluoride that causes cancer.
I personally never had any problems.
Mosquitos? Less than in FL were I had many problems.

Mosquitoes like warm and wet. I travel shoulder season and have only been really annoyed by mosquitoes in Italy and then only on a couple of occasions.

I was in Mexico with some friends. I kept asking them if this or that was okay to eat (raw vegetable salads) and they kept saying, "It's okay." After a little while I realized they were born and raised in Mexico and wouldn't be bothered by anything there.

I didn't get sick but the best rule is cooked food that is still warm. Peelable fruit is generally fine too.

If your hotel has containers of potable water in the hallway (as many of mine did traveling in Asia), or you see signs indicating non-potable water, it's a safe bet you shouldn't drink the water. If the water is not safe to drink, I would avoid raw vegetables and stick with cooked foods.

As far as tap water goes, I usually do bottled water (for taste) except in a few places, like Rome, where water from the fountains is better than bottled water.

Brad, you do realise that lots of veggies and fruits come in from Mexico, right? And that we have had our own homegrown salmonella problems as well?

I lived in Mexico for a year and never got sick from eating salads or fruits.

We also drank tap water all over Europe and ate fruits and salads in Italy with no ill effects. Same goes for what was Yugoslavia back in the day.

"Tap water actually is safer in Europe since it doesn't contain the crappy Fluoride that causes cancer."

??????

Thanks Tom for seeing that point about flouride causing cancer. Never heard that one before. Is that why the teeth in America look so much better than the teeth in Europe? I am wondering now about my pediatrician giving me flouride tablets for my kids when they were babies. ?????

The problem with eating veg and fruits comes in countries that use raw sewage for fertilizer and I am not talking about cow dung, or chicken poop. Eastern Europe is not known for doing this, so I do wonder why you ask. They are not 3rd world countries, they were just communist.

"Never heard that one before". That claim by anti-fluoride activists is based on a study to determine the upper limit of toxicity for fluoride in mice... every chemical added to the human food chain in the US has to undergo similar tests. The equilavent dose in humans to that which caused an increased rate of leukemia in mice would involve eating several tubes of toothpaste each day for 5 years. But back to travel...

Actually some European water is fluoridated, although it's not nearly as common as in the US. Health scare aside I'm not sure I agree with mass, forced medication by the government but hey, America feels differently.

P.S. I had a quick check on wiki and apparently France fluoridates their table salt!

You can buy fluoridated salt in Germany too. Have done so for years.

You live and learn.

Salt just seems such a left-field choice to deliver fluoride, although I suppose it's as good as any. Is all your salt fluoridated or do you have to buy special?

Jo,

Don't you think that teeth in the US look better because many of them are "fake" like crowns and veneers?
Plus Americans spend a lot of money on beautyfication vs. Europeans.

There is much more to talk about, but this is a travel forum.