[Vigilanteman]

Locals often have immunity which tourists don't. In a previous life, I had a business trip to Saudi Arabia where our party had a welcome dinner from our hosts which included a dish made with goat cheese which was very tasty and I probably overindulged to avoid eating food which (to put it mildly) looked far less tasty.

All went well until that night when I got out of bed, puked my guts out and spent over an hour on the john. Then I remembered the company had sent me with some recommended medication supplements. I pulled out the one labeled Seirogan, swallowed three capsules and almost immediately begin to stabilize. I went back to bed with no further ill effects or compromised health issues.

I'm not sure you would call it miracle drug. It is not costly and has a near infinite shelf life. But is sure worked wonders on that particular digestive issue and several since.

[Repeat Offender]

You could be "spot on" Vigilanteman. My wife and I LOVE going to the DR.

My wife had never been out of the country, other than our visits to the DR. She does everything "right." Washes her hands frequently, brushes her teeth with bottled water, etc. Last time we went, she got deathly ill; chills, shakes, fever, kidneys hurt. She thought she was going to die, and she was starting to make me worry. The local private hospital gave her some meds and probiotics.....didn't help. I fed her Tylenol and Pedialyte to manage her fever and keep her hydrated until we got home (couldn't get an earlier flight). U.S. hospital gave her some U.S. antibiotics. By day two or three in the U.S. she was at about 75% and the picture of health by day five.

Me - I've been to more s4!t40l3 countries than I have fingers to count on. I do everything "wrong." I eat all the local food and I drink the local water (even from the sink at the hotel by the "nonpotable" sticker on the mirror). I even eat street food in Africa. Foolish? Maybe. Maybe not.

I ate and drank all the same things she did (and more) on that trip to the DR and I didn't get so much as a sniffle. My bet, is my immune system can handle many of the bugs that area can throw at me, though I've lived through some bouts elsewhere in the 3rd world. However, I've noticed that over the last couple of years, I tend to get sick a lot less - at home, or abroad.

Locals, and people exposed to some nasty bugs from around the world may not be effected, or noticeably effected, whereas some folks without such exposures may get violently ill, and/or die.