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Thread: salmonella..

  1. #1
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    Default salmonella..

    I'm relatively new to this site and haven't yet seen a post relating to salmonella/food poisonimg specifically. For me, this is one of my biggest fears - to the point where I will refuse to eat chicken prepared by someone I know (unless I have been watching them cook from start to finish). If and when I ever cook with the stuff, I have to wash my hands every minute (even if I only touch the sealed packaging) scrub the counters/taps/sink with bleach and dissinfectant as I go and scream at anyone who dares invade my space in the kitchen during such times! I'll then spend the rest of the evening in fear, clock-watching and waiting for that icky feeling in my tummy (which inevitably starts regardless of how well cooked the chicken was).
    Bit of a long one, I know - sorry - but does anyone share any of the above?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    i don't suffer from that fear.......so not an avid hand washer.....i prepare chicken alot for my husband....im a vegetatarian......i wash my hands after i've put it in the pan......and that's it......really no need for all the other washings, etc. ive never gotten salmonella or fp.......try and realize that millions of people do this everyday...some without washing their hands and don't get sick..........if it was that easy to get salmonella no one would eat chicken........try and relax about it
    how i feel about emet
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  3. #3
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Thank you for your advice It's just as irrational as all my other v* fears - I'm starting to try chicken when I eat out though; it'll put me in panic-mode all evening but at least it's progress! I'm an avid hand-washer at all times - antibac hand gel is a godsend! Although I hear it's not effective when it comes to killing viruses - does anyone know if this is the case?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Chicken is the only meat I eat! Haha but I am careful with it and don't trust myself to cook it.
    And your regular hand santatizer sadly won't kill something like noro. There is a brand that does though! I'm sure someone on here has the name of it. I can't renember it :/
    “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

    “We are the girls with anxiety disorders, filled appointment books, five-year plans. We take ourselves very, very seriously. We are the peacemakers, the do-gooders, the givers, the savers. We are on time, overly prepared, well read, and witty, intellectually curious, always moving. We pride ourselves on getting as little sleep as possible and thrive on self-deprivation. We drink coffee, a lot of it. We are on birth control, Prozac, and multivitamins. We are relentless, judgmental with ourselves, and forgiving to others. We never want to be as passive-aggressive as our mothers, never want to marry men as uninspired as our fathers. We are the daughters of the feminists who said, “You can be anything,” and we heard, “You have to be everything.”

  5. #5
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Yes. I fear salmonella almost as much as the stomach virus.. salmonella lasts longer. But I've had it once from a turtle, and I had really bad diarrhea and that's it. Sorry tmi. But um. Yeah I worrabout chicken and hate eating chicken from out but I do it because I won't let emet win. But like you I get nervous afterwords. Its normal. Oh and about the sanitizer, if it contains benzalkonium or "benz" anything it will kill stomach virus! try goldbond sanitizer or germ ex pro foam you can get either at walmart.
    This too, shall pass

  6. #6

    Default Re: salmonella..

    I am even worse than you. I don't eat chicken at all for this exact reason! I feel bad about it because it's letting the emet win, as Stephanie puts it, and I HATE doing that! But I just find it so stressful to eat, because I'm constantly checking with every bite that it's cooked properly and like you, panicking afterwards about whether it was. Sigh. I've told everyone that I don't like chicken (or seafood), so it's easy to avoid. Only my husband and family know why! I am much happier with food that isn't poisonous at any stage in it's cooking process!

    But that said, I used to love chicken and eat it all the time, and I never got sick from it. And I once had satay chicken from a restaurant that was completely raw on the inside (as in pink and chewy) - gross. I didn't know about salmonella then and I just ate it because someone else had bought it for me and I was trying to be polite, so I just made myself swallow it. It didn't make me sick, but still freaked me out so much when I googled it at home that I've been paranoid about chicken ever since.

    I'm the opposite of some of you though - I will only eat it if I've cooked it myself or it's been cooked by someone equally paranoid!

  7. #7
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    Apr 2011
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Completey understand. I have such a fear of food poisoning I just decided to become vegetarian. Much easier for me personally, but I think you're so brave by continuing to eat meat. Even if you have to wash your hands loads it's still so good! When I did used to eat meat i would only eat it if my mum had made it, and then i would stand there making sure she washed her hands properly after and yeah, then I just realised the panic attacks after eating meat weren't worth it. For me food poisoning is just as big an issue as bugs and viruses so basically what I'm trying to say is yes, I get you!

  8. #8
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Olivetree, becoming a veggie does seem pretty tempting but I think I would channel my fear of salmonella poisoning into something else if I became a vegetarian - for example, fear of infected or unwashed vegetables. Do you find this is the case for you? I guess anything beyond my control frightens me - if only I could live in my own bubble and eat toast all day not socially acceptable though, I fear!

  9. #9
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    Apr 2011
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Yeah I do sometimes get a bit like that, but there's a much lower risk with vegetables. Unwashed vegetables wouldn't be healthy, but the chance of fp is much lower. I would say if you can keep eating meat then do it, show yourself how strong you can be. Don't let emet win!

  10. #10
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    I'm also very wary of chicken. I think it's more likely to contain campylobacter than salmonella these days but either is bad! I hate having to deal with the packaging etc and I never cook it myself. I always worry about it contaminating the kitchen when my mum is cooking it. Ugh. But it is not as dangerous as we think, I suppose. I wish it was produced in such a way that it wasn't contaminated with these bacteria; I read something once where someone was saying it's ludicrous that anything is sold and accepted in this state where it requires careful cooking to render it safe. But yes, don't give it up. You know you cook it thoroughly and safely, so don't let the doubts cloud your mind!

    As for hand sanitisers, I think the Milton blue gel one (available near the baby products, often) gets rid of noro, and so does Mentholatum Responsebeta, which you can buy from Boots: http://www.boots.com/en/Mentholatum-...-50ml_1016555/ Soap and water is always best where possible though xxx

  11. #11
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    Sep 2011
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    London
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Hi bex, I share all of what you said in your post and i feel like its ruining my life at the moment. I sufffer from anxiety so bad that i feel sick constantly and that gets worse when i eat because i start panicing that i have food poisoning. I constantly clock watch and have to seek reassurance constantly. feel so alone and like im living in a nightmare

  12. #12
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    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    Yes, I am very careful with chicken, eggs, and raw meat. I even have separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables. I always wash very thoroughly after handling meat or eggs. I don't even store meat in my freezer directly. I put it in bags so that the packages of meat aren't touching anything else in the freezer. Doug
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  13. #13
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    Sep 2009
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    Default Re: salmonella..

    I get that way about chicken! I'm absolutley manic about it!

 

 

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