Ever had Salmonella poisoning?

[Eric Karonen]

With all the recalls of food products of late, I wonder how many people have ever actually experienced salmonella poisoning? I, and some of my mates, did in the mid-80s. None of us knew the others were sick until a week later when we met up for a pint or two. And the episode killed a Friday evening tradition at a certain infamous Toronto bar. It was the only explanation for us all getting sick. It took almost two days to kick in, but man, I don't ever want to go through that again.

This is one deadly food poisoning. It's not just a case of a loose stomach.

One pal was refereeing a Karate match in Windsor, Ontario, and came down with the symptoms in the middle of the match! He had to stay in Windsor for several days.

Another pal and I could have really been screwed because we decided to play in a snooker tournament in Peterborough and then head to a friend's cabin in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, our truck got stuck in the deep snow and a passing couple on a snowmobile went and got their 4-wheel and pulled us out. This was at 10 pm. Because it was Valentine's Day we couldn't find a room anywhere and ended up driving back to Toronto. A good thing we did! The symptoms came on later that Sunday afternoon and continued for a couple of days.

Anyway, a news story this morning brought on this moment of recollection.

Show us your scars!

[LoveBandit]

I ate a frozen/heated Stromboli at my college's Student Union (I know, my first mistake) back in the 1980's.......within 3 hours I was VIOLENTLY ill in my dormroom bathroom and it lasted all night long. One of the worst nights of my life, I felt like I wanted to die at some of the darker moments. That might have been "e coli" though, I am not sure.

That was NOTHING compared to my kidney stone pain 20 years later, though

[EdMax]

I got it once about 10 years ago from a bad egg.

Traditionally on Saturday mornings we will cook up a couple poached eggs on english muffins, a couple side dishes and so on.

That was the last time I ate an egg with a runny yoke. It laid me up for over a week and included a 10 hour trip/stay in the ER, and 2 doctor follow up visits.

This was just before they started putting the warnings out on egg boxes.
It was by far the worst illiness I ever encounterd.

[jh45gun]

Not sure about Salmonella or just plain food poisoning but (or is it the same? ) but I think most folks expirience it from time to time and blame it on the flu. I think a lot of folks are careless with food prep. Wipeing off prep counters where you prepare food and cutting boards with a bleach/water solution is a good idea.

[TheDragonReborn]

I had it when I was about 12 years old. Must have been some ill pepared
chicken I ate at the restaurant. Anyway, my expierience was similar to
LoveBandit's Horrible.

The following morning my dad took me to the doctor. Doc had to inject
my abs with somekind of muscle relaxant, yup, they were that cramped!
Recovered soon, though.

And jh45gun is probably right. Can't be too careful!

TDR

[Westerly Sunn]

But I was raised up on runny yolks...

[Eric Karonen]

Originally Posted by Westerly Sunn

But I was raised up on runny yolks...

Long as they're heated enough, I think that kills the salmonella. It's things like homemade mayonnaise or caesar dressing that are the real problem.

[steve gibson]

Salmonella is one of those nasty bacteria that is present in the environment and multiples quickly if it gets in food products. Many other bacteria can cause gastroenteritis, such as e-coli. The only way to know for sure what caused the symptoms is through a culture. The other cause is virus and hence the name influenza. The two get confused. You can treat bacteria with antibiotics but the are ineffective in viruses. Regardless, it is the symptoms that kill people through dehydration and metabolic disturbances. Old,infirm and babies are most susceptable. Both viruses and bacterial infections can cause violent symptoms (pukin; and poopin') because the body recognizes the little bastards as allien and tries to get rid of them. Get to the hospital if you are experiance symptoms that are not relenting or causing severe dehydration. Bacteria is getting more and more resistent to antibiotics due to mutations. Bacteria have a strong will of survival and will be here long after we are gone. The scary part is most of us have no idea what happens in the processing and preparation of food. If you think about big old greasy Bubba (sorry Boris) not washing his hands after his daily duty and going back to the kitchen, you will probably take all your meals at home.

[refin]

Back in '75 I ate some mayonaisse that was opened and left out the fridge for a over 24 hours.Super sick all night,very bad.Couldn't get near that particular condiment for quite a while.

[robt57]

Yes unfortunately. Just remembering, whew!

[diffeecult]

Back in 79 or 80 before I married my first ex-wife I poisoned myself with some pork chops I left sitting out. Not sure what kind of poison that was but it was bad.

[jazztele]

i have had food poisoning a few times (i'm an adventurous eater, i guess), mostly of the 12-24 hour variety. i can think of few things that in the short term are more incapacitating...the idea of something like salmonella is pretty horrible, since i believe it lasts quite a bit longer, right? yikes!

[AmericanStd.]

Yeah, I did. I was on a trip with a bunch of customers and we all had the same chicken dish at the restaurant. Then I flew home, and got a call that the others had been to the hospital. It had already started to hit me but I didn't know what it was.

I was messed up for a week or so.

[otterhound]

I think that I did once from a McDonalds Quarter Pounder many years ago . Three days of pure hell .

[FenderBenderNY]

No, but I went to school with a kid named Sal Manella. No joke.

[Durtdog]

I got some form of food poisoning years ago from Buffalo wings. For 3 days I thought I was going to die. In fact, I wanted to die. I was so sick I was hallucinating. Made my wife promise that if I ever get it again to just go ahead and shoot me. It was THAT bad.

[Worn]

I've had food poisoning a number of times, whether it was salmonella or not, I don't know. Worst was in Orillia, spent the night on the bathroom floor in the hotel, thought I was/wished I would die. The 2nd worst was after a meal at a Chinese restaurant downtown Toronto day after the black out.
Other times were from a hamburger chain, a sub, clams at a mall food court, shrimp at a restaurant, and a bad western sandwich off a lunch truck.
My cousin was delivering a helicopter, stopped in a small town for burger, back in the air, got sick and had to keep making emergency "pit stops" in farmers fields, eventually calling for help when he got too sick to fly. Ended up hospitalized.

[6942]

Bad crab cakes......I bonded with my trash can all night!

Steve

[J-man]

I've had food poisoning plenty of times - but never any of the serious ones.

I very rarely throw up, but when I do, I REALLY go for it!

[e-merlin]

I don't know if it was Salmonella, but I lost about 10 pounds in diarreah last weekend. Fortunately no vomiting, though I fought it back a few times. 7-Up is a gift from God. I know for sure it was food poisoning, and I know exactly where I got it.

[Eric Karonen]

Originally Posted by e-merlin

I don't know if it was Salmonella, but I lost about 10 pounds in diarreah last weekend. Fortunately no vomiting, though I fought it back a few times. 7-Up is a gift from God. I know for sure it was food poisoning, and I know exactly where I got it.

All the orifices work overtime with salmonella, and at the same time! Damn ugly!

[Telewilly]

I'm glad I don't like salmon.

[rextasy]

Mildly, as Salmonella goes. I was at an annual Christmas dinner where my grandmother, who was getting on in years by now, fixed most of the food. I don't know what I ate, but "Stay away from that rainbow ham!" became a permanent holiday in-joke with my family.

[younkint]

On the grand opening of a certain national burger chain (which will remain nameless but starts with Mc) in our little Kansas town, I became so violently ill with this stuff that I actually got a hernia trying to retch it out. This was back in the early 70's; I lived alone and had no phone. I actually thought it was the end.

It wasn't, but I don't ever want that again.

[Westerly Sunn]

Q. How can consumers prevent salmonellosis?
A. Bacteria on raw foods of animal origin do not have to cause illness. The key to preventing illness at home, in a restaurant, at a church picnic, or anywhere else is to prevent the bacteria from growing to high levels and to destroy the bacteria through cooking to a safe minimum internal temperature. Follow these guidelines for safe food preparation:

CLEAN: Wash Hands and Surfaces Often

* Wash your hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and handling pets.
* Wash utensils, cutting boards, dishes, and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item.
* Consider using paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.


SEPARATE: Don't Cross-contaminate

* Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery shopping cart and in your refrigerator.
* If possible, use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
* Always wash cutting boards, dishes, countertops, and utensils with hot soapy water after they come in contact with raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
* Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood.


COOK: Cook to Safe Temperatures
Use a clean food thermometer when measuring the internal temperature of meat, poultry, casseroles, and other foods to make sure they have reached a safe minimum internal temperature:

* Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops to 145 °F.
* All cuts of pork to 160 °F.
* Ground beef, veal and lamb to 160 °F.
* Egg dishes, casseroles to 160 °F.
* All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.
* Stuffed poultry is not recommended. Cook stuffing separately to 165 °F.
* Leftovers to 165 °F.
* Fish should reach 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
* Bring sauces, soups, and gravy to a boil when reheating.
* Reheat other leftovers thoroughly to at least 165 °F.


CHILL: Refrigerate Promptly

* Keep food safe at home, refrigerate promptly and properly. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour if temperatures are above 90 °F).
* Freezers should register 0 °F or below and refrigerators 40 °F or below.
* Thaw food in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. Foods should not be thawed at room temperature. Foods thawed in the microwave or in cold water must be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature before refrigerating.
* Marinate foods in the refrigerator.
* Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator.
* Don't pack the refrigerator. Cool air must circulate to keep food safe.


Reference:
CDC's Web site : http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/disea...nellosis_g.htm

[StuH]

I've been food poisened twice. First time was from a bad grilled cheese and ham sandwich for supper. Went to work shortly after and broke out in the worst fevor I've had. They sent me home and I was okay about 6 hours later.

The second time was from bad sub meat past its due date. All I can say about that was it felt like death. My intenstines spasmed constantly for close to 12 hours. It didn't feel like sickness, it felt like excruciating torture, like my stomache was being pulled apart. Attack after attack. Never wan't to experience that again.

[HoodieMcFoodie]

My worst experience with food poisioning came after going to a Christmas party for my (then) sister-in-law's work back in the late 80's. A 3 course meal with some improperly prepared chicken vol-au-vents as entree. Everthing seemed to be ok at the time.

The next morning I went on a fund raising bicycle ride from Sydney to Wollongong, a distance of 92 kilometres (57 miles). Well at about a third of the way in I got these massive stomach cramps. By half way I was in dire trouble with explosive diahorrea. The half way point was in the middle of a National Park with a big climb out in either direction, so I was kinda stuck there. I had no option really but to "rest" for a while and push on to the finish. It took me eight hours to do the ride then I had to get home. By the time I finally got home I was totally spent...

It was confirmed the next week that it was definately the vol-au-vents as a few others from the party had suffered as well.

[tdu]

I have unfortunately had it a couple of times. The best way I can describe it is that your stomach decides it's wants everything out of it...quickly. And that process is horrible.

[tbradshaw]

tdu has it nailed. I had it (confirmed by the County Health Dept.) while in college. Five solid days of abdominal cramps and frequent evacuations. Then I felt better and went to work one night. It all came back for another five days after that. Not fun. We never did ID a source.

I've always understood that anything affecting you for less that 72 hours or so is probably not salmonella but some other food bug.

[rghill]

I STILL cannot eat shellfish of any kind, and even fish and shrimp can turn my stomach.

I had a dish of seafood pasta about 8 years ago and became violently ill afterwards.