Brit tourist crippled by stomach bug claims 3 'racist' hospitals turned her away

A British holidaymaker claimed she was turned away from three hospitals in Tenerife while suffering from a severe stomach bug because of where she was from.

Kay, a "militarywife" who shares posts about her travels on social media, described her "holiday from hell" in Spain. The traveller said she was mostly stuck in her room at a hotel in Tenerife when she started to feel her stomach hurting. Kay claimed her upset belly came after she ate a salad that had been "washed with tap water". The tourist opened up and shared details about her grim illness.

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Traveller's diarrhoea, also known as "holiday tummy", is fairly common when travelling abroad and going to areas with lower hygiene and cleanliness standards. It can be caused by bacteria and parasites that might be consumed while eating foods in these places.

In a TikTok video, on her account @kayholsav, she said: "I arrived on the Friday, had dinner at the hotel, and from then on I cannot physically keep anything in my system. We are now on Sunday, and I still physically cannot keep anything in my system."

Kay added that she had only been eating veggie options, as she was a Vegetarian, and avoided drinking tap water while on her holiday. The Brit said her illness had become so extreme at one point that she called a doctor to her hotel room, which set her back €100.

Kay claimed the doctor told her she could be admitted to hospital in two days if her condition stayed the same. In another video, Kay later claimed she was turned away from three hospitals in Tenerife.

She alleged she was denied service because she was English, in a comment saying: "The issue wasn't just the language barrier they were incredibly dismissive and honestly came across as quite racist. It felt like they just didn't want to help.

"That's exactly why we always get private travel insurance now private clinics actually treat you with respect and cater to all nationalities, not just locals. Luckily I ended up at the right hospital." Kay later showed herself inside the private hospital and she was hooked up to an IV drip and fluids.

When describing her ordeal, Kay said she would "rather be dragged through a bush backwards" than go through her illness again and said it was the "scariest experience of her life".

The traveller made a full recovery and thanked the "amazing" staff at the hospital for looking after her. Kay said: "Bless them - they didn't understand me, nor did I them, but they did their best.

"I had severe dehydration and I had a bad stomach infection. They sent me home with antibiotics, probiotics and other stuff for my stomach."