Lonely Planet may want to include in its Thailand Handbook a section on why it is a good idea when traveling to the Land of Smiles to carry activated charcoal and Poppers.

‘A small can of cynanide is just over 100baht, probably about 5 heaped tablespoons in a can, 90 plus % cynanide, freely available at your local hardware store’ DirtyDog at original teakdoor thread: https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...h-phi-phi.html (Deaths on Koh Phi Phi)

Interesting that there were claims all victims ate at the same restaurant but the name of that restaurant was never mentioned (I think).

I was told by a nurse that Pulmonary Edema is usually present in all autopsies, so the fact that victims had pulmonary edema doesn’t prove it was not bacterial food poisoning. I sent an email to her asking how the absence of diarrhea in victims figures into all this--bacterial food poisoning probably usually presents with diarrhea—and victims don’t seem to have had any diarrhea. (but her email is full so my message was returned).

As DirtyDog pointed out in original thread (see above url, but different post), one of the three antidotes you need for cyanide poisoning is Amyl Nitrite, which, interestingly, is the very same amyl nitrite in so-called “Poppers”, the little cans or crushable ‘pearls’ of inhalants used by, especially, homosexual men on dance floors, bedrooms etc to get “high”. (Unfortunately for them, however, the unbelievable number of times Poppers are inhaled just in one night—not to mention chronically, day after day, for months or years—is incredibly toxic and suppresses the immune system, destroys the lungs, etc).

In the original “Deaths on Koh Phi Phi” url above there are numerous stories posted by multiple folks, of episodes of poisoning on Koh Phi Phi, some of which could very well have been cyanide. So it might be a good idea to carry not only activated charcoal in your travel kit, but a handful of “Poppers”, too, to ‘buy you some time’ as you make your way to the emergency room to get the other two antidotes: IV sodium nitrite and IV sodium thiosulfate. Dosage of ‘Poppers’ (amyl nitrite): One ampule crushed and inhaled q30s (every 30 seconds) until IV access is available for administration of sodium nitrite. In Europe and recently in the U.S., hydroxocobalamin—a form of Vitamin B12—is being used to treat cyanide poisoning especially from fires (burning plastics, upholstery, etc produces cyanide).

“Charcoal should not be used to treat poisoning caused by such corrosive products as lye or other strong acids or petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene, or cleaning fluids. Charcoal may make the condition worse and delay diagnosis and treatment. In addition, charcoal is also not effective if the poison is lithium, cyanide, iron, ethanol, or methanol.” activated charcoal - definition of activated charcoal in the Medical dictionary - by the Free Online Medical Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

But note that charcoal IS recommended for cyanide poisoning if you can eat the charcoal soon after ingesting cyanide (because cyanide is rapidly absorbed). Cyanide may still be in the stomach if cyanide was given with food, so eating activated charcoal would be a good idea anyway—preferably eating charcoal after throwing up. To induce vomiting you can drink some water mixed with a couple of capfuls of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide to throw up (if the poison is a caustic chemical then don’t throw up) but don’t take more than 45ml. Dosage for charcoal for acute poisoning: adults, 30 grams up to 100 grams. If capsules are 250mg, then that is 4 capsules per gram. So, for acute, serious poisoning 120 capsules up to 400 capsules. (but for minor food poisoning, you often only need 5, 10 or 20 capsules).

Vomit into a plastic bag and bring it with you to emergency room and, if in Thailand, keep a second bag for use by Western docs so that you (or your relatives, if you die) can find out if the Thais lied.