Bad Ham...scared I'll get sick :(

[Kyra]

A few hours ago I made a little sandwich with a piece of deli ham and a roll. When I checked the expiration date on the ham it said January 25 and it's February 10th now! It was a sell-by date so it should have stayed good for like 7 days after but it's been 16 days since the expiration date!!!
I take apple cider vinegar fairly regularly and supposedly that prevents getting food poisoning but I'm still really nervous that I'll wake up tonight and have to v*. I took several spoonfulls of apple cider vinegar as soon as I saw that the expiration date was forever ago (for some reason I decided to just keep eating even though it tasted kind of funny) and I've taken several more since then plus some tea with lemon, honey and acv and 2 doses of activated charcoal which is supposed to absorb toxins.
I guess I'm just going to wait it out and see what happens for a while and any comforting words or success stories at avoiding food poisoning would be awesome. I've accepted the fact that the ham was definitely bad but I still have hope that the apple cider vinegar and activated charcoal will save me from having to experience my worst fear.

[icicledreamz]

Well, goos sign that your not feelin ill by now if it was a couple hours ago. I dont have any stories of my own, by my dad will eat anything past expiration dates, yogurt, bread, meats, pizza left out all night with meat on it..etc and hes never been ill from it.
The body can handle more than we think, I hope your gonna be okay.

[Kyra]

Yeah it's 1:30 now and I still feel fine, I'm just afraid to go to bed and wake up sick, although I'm sure sleep would be the best thing for me at this point. I've never had food poisoning before and I'm sure I've eaten expired things in the past it's just that I know that this meat was bad because it's 16 days after the date and it tasted sort of sour too. I'll just hope for the best I suppose, and keep sipping apple cider vinegar and taking charcoal every several hours until I can fall asleep.

[olschesky]

hope you are feeling better....i'm sure the meat was still fine i have never heard of the activated charcoal ...where do you get it? i thought that's what they used in hospitals to pump your tummy,,,ugh i'd be willing so keep some on hand though if it works for you....

[paulinek]

Why did you carry on eating it? you nutter! Well it's good that a few hours have passed with nothing untoward happening, so i hope that you have got through this unscathed. Most food poisonings don't cause v* anyway just d*, so at worst you may get the runs but that would hopefully be the end of it. And with the vinegar, like you say that could well have knocked any bacteria on the head anyway. let us know how you get on x

[Kyra]

This is actually the first time I've tried them. You can just get activated charcoal tablets at a health food store or healthy grocery store (I got mine at Market of Choice, which is sort of like Whole Foods). I don't know about tummy pumping but they're used for drug overdoses a lot because they soak up the toxins in your stomach and intestines and make them harmless so that your body can just rid them normally. I did a little research online that said that sometimes drinking it in powder form mixed with water can cause v* but only in a small percentage of people, and it didn't say anything about that being a side effect with the pills, and I took 2 of the recommended doses (2 pills) about an hour apart so if it was going to cause that it definitely would have already.
I always drink apple cider vinegar though, it's a really good anti-n* and a home remedy for practically everything. Also if you're around someone who has an sv and you take apple cider vinegar the acid in the vinegar will kill the virus and prevent you from catching it! Apple cider vinegar has given me more freedom and confidence as an emetophobic than anything else. It's my miracle cure!

[paulinek]

Wow, guess what's going in my trolley when we go shopping this weekend?! Do you just drink it neat or dilute it in something first? And how much do you take?

[Kyra]

Why did you carry on eating it? you nutter!

I wasn't really thinking about it at the time, I just threw one slice of ham on a little roll and ate it pretty quickly. I was hungry so I kind of disregarded the taste until after I had finished it when I realized what it could mean. Still feeling ok though! I think the acv and charcoal worked.

[Kyra]

I try to take a tablespoon or two every day, usually in the morning when I get up and after dinner before bed. I think it's pretty hard to take too much of it though, today alone I've had about 6 spoonfulls and half a mug of tea with at least 3 tablespoons in it and am suffering no problems because of it.
You can take it straight in a spoon, kind of like taking a shot, or you can mix it with water or juice or something. It's not good for your teeth so I usually just pour the spoonful right down my throat. It burns a little bit for a minute or two, but that feeling leaves quickly and always seems to bring relief of whatever stomach ache (or anxiousness) I may have. If you do want to mix it you can put it in apple juice or in a glass of water with honey. I like it in a mug of hot water with lemon and honey too.
Bragg's seems to be the best kind because it's organic and unpasteurized and has the mother of vinegar in it, which is the stuff you'll see floating around (also why you want to shake it before taking) that is made up of probiotics which are great for digestion.

[swhelan]

Also if you're around someone who has an sv and you take apple cider vinegar the acid in the vinegar will kill the virus and prevent you from catching it!


SERIOUSLY???? IS THIS TRUE???!!!!!

[chris_alice]

Organic unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is really good in preventing food poisoning. It's also helped me get rid of diarrhea. I just knock a tablespoon back like a shot and chase it with a glass of water so it doesn't burn going down. I'm leary of raw vegetables but love salads so I use it to make a vinegarette and now I can enjoy raw veggies again.

[Cynna]

If the ham was vacuum sealed, it should stay good past the expiration date.