Water in Brazil???

Bluebells

Just wondered if anyone who has been to brazil had to avoid eating salad etc.

I was told by the doctor not to drink the tap water in brazil (which I wont do). He also told me to use bottled water to brush teeth and avoid salad as it may be improperly washed and washed with tap water cause I might get bugs that the ppl here are immune too. He was already wrong about needing a mosquito net.

Im staying with a well off friend, home is like a hotel.

Places I will be staying: Rio, salavdor, belo horizonte and ouro perto,

Any info apprechiated.

Thomond Pk

Hi Blueballs,

That is good advice re the water as it would take your immune system a few weeks or a even a month to come to terms with the bacteria which is a lot different than here. Re: The Mosquito net he mightn't have been all that wrong as Doctors generally tend to err on the side of caution, although I got ripped off before my first Latin American trip with a travel centre that convinced me I needed a rabies shot, 50 pounds too. There is one defence against rabies 'don't get bitten' use the first rock on the street. Just be careful with the malaria tablets, I have heard some very funny larium stories over the years, the best defence is like rabies don't get bitten. Eating raw garlic works for some strange reason.

If you are down that far I would try and check out Manaus it is the hub of the Amazon and quite unlike any other place I have ever been.

DoraDelite

When I was in Brazil I drank the tap water, brushed my teeth using tap water, ate salad etc, everything I would have done at home and I'm not dead yet! then again I was mainly in staying in cities and towns.

NikNik

Don't consume the tap water and be wary of putting ice in your drink unless its bought from a shop or made from bottled water. Brazilians are very picky about this as the tap waters not the safest and they usually use a straw to avoid drinking directly from the bottle because theyre stored in ice made from tap water. They wouldn't eat salad from a restaurant either in case it's not washed properly - they even wash it in vinegar at home to get rid of all the germs.

In saying that I always use tap water to brush my teeth when I'm over there. So long as you spit and don't swallow you'll be fine

Better to be safe than sorry no matter if youre in a shanty town or a 5 star hotel. It probably wont kill you but you might not be used the water.

monkeyfudge

Bluebells wrote:

Places I will be staying: Rio, salavdor, belo horizonte and ouro perto,

I stayed in Belo Horizonte at the begining of the year.

Tap water seemed fine. But I did stick to bottled water and filtered water for drinking.

Bluebells

Im In belo horizonte at the mo. and will be here most of the time. Its really just the avoiding salad thats annoying me. My friend told me that the government has put chemicals in the water to make it better to drink and she puts something on the salad to kill germs. I would only be eating at restrants and her home but maybe Im better being safe than sorry.