Can you get food poisoning from raw tuna?

[iconoclastic cat]

Right now, I am curled in a ball by the keyboard. I can't seem to hold down toast.

I wonder if I should go to a doctor. I had sushi (tuna only) last night at a very nice joint, but ever since about three hours afterwards my entire digestive tract has been in open revolt. I feel like I have been punched in the stomach by George Foreman. This sitution appears to be resistant to Pepto.

Is it possible to get food poisoning this way? What do you do about it?

[Guy_Montag]

1. I think it probably is possible to get food poisoning that way...

grin & bear it - I guess. Not much help sorry.

[mede8er]

2. How much

Wasabi was involved.....sometimes that'll do it.......

[afraid_of_the_dark]

3. It's entirely possible...

All it takes was someone handling the tuna improperly. It might be worth a trip to doctor though... to make sure that it's "only" food poisoning (with raw fish, it could be a number of things).

[ZenLefty]

4. You can get food poisoning from cooked tuna, too.

No matter where it's from, the time spent suffering from food poisoning may well be your most miserable hours here on Earth. Fortunately, it passes through relatively quickly (a day or two, though you may not feel 100% for about a week). Just try to stay hydrated and keep some mild food down if you can. Everything in small quantities. Sips of coca cola help to settle the stomach too.

If you're vomiting for more than 24 hours, or if you can't hold any water down and are getting dehydrated, or if you just feel like total crap and want a professional opinion (as opposed to ZenLefty's free advice) go see a doctor.

[Heddi]

5. As a health care professional and ex-chef,

get yourself to a Dr right away.

You can get foodpoisoning from ANYTHING. It doesn't have to come from the food you're eating. That tuna could be sterile, but if an employee didn't wash their hands after going to the bathroom, you could get e.Coli

If an employee didn't wash the knife good after cutting a peice of chicken, you could get Samonella

If an employee didn't wash the table down well from the night before, you could get sick.

If a peice of fruit or veggie wasn't washed properly, and came into contact with the fish, you could get lysteria poisioning.

Go to the Dr--seriously. Vomiting and Diarrhea can cause you to become badly dehydrated. Go to a Dr--they will most likely do a stool culture. If you have a food-borne illness, you'll need to get on antibiotics ASAP, as you can spread this to unsuspecting co-workers and family members should YOU not wash your hands as well as you should (don't feel bad--90% of the population don't wash their hands long enough to do anything but remove surface dirt anyways).

Better be safe than sorry, and better see a Dr now, than wait until you pass out or, seriously, at worst-case, die from interobacter or something of that nature.

:)

Edited because I'm not spelling something right...

[iconoclastic cat]

6. Heddi and all: thanks

I called my doc. I'm going in a few hours.
Thanks!

[oscar111]

7. eat nothing raw

We like cooked food, because those who by accident did, were the ones who cooked a lot, and so killed germs. They surviveed to reproduce and pass on genes for liking cooked, warm/hot food.

to survive, cook all. ALL.Not other's cooking.. see it done yourself. Say goodby to restaurants. Avoid foolish food fads. Never let yuour fingers touch food or the food part of utensils. Fold kleenex to a 4 layer thickness, before using. Look at how porus it is. Never never touch your eyes ears or mouth {some add ears} with bare fingers.. cover with 4plex kleenex.

The clean survive. the filthy live short nasty brutish and unplesant lives.

Get flu shots 4 X per year, like health workers. Some flu is always around.

[Heddi]

9. well, I wouldn't say to eat nothing raw

but to make sure that you thoroughly clean anything that you plan to eat raw.

A good thing to do is soak any fruits/veggies in a mixture of white vinegar and water for 30 minutes before eating. The vinegar doesn't really affect the taste of fruits (I use it on grapes & apples especially) and just rinse the fruit before you eat it. It's a good way to remove dirt and pesticides.

Any leafy greens that grow in sandy soil (like lettuce, spinach, broccolli, and especially romaine lettuce and leeks)---wash wash wash! You can never get these things clean enough.

Even if you peel the skin off your onions before cutting, make sure to wash the root end, where dirt and bacteria can cluster and grow.

Also, avoid any onions that have black spots on them, or have soft spots on them---could get botulism from it (nasty!)

BUT----you can wash your fruits and veggies all you want, but you'll never be cleaner than if you wash your hands properly:

If using liquid soap, a drop will do. Otherwise, bar soap---lather in hand.

Make sure water isn't too hot (will cause you to wash less than you should) or too cold (won't kill bacteria). Shower/tub temperature is great!

Lather lather lather! Wash hands pointing downwards, so soap falls into sink, than running up your arm (recontaminating). Wash under rings and watches. Take care to scrub your fingernails inside and out. If you don't have a nail brush, just run your nails over the palm of your hand. Use another fingernail to dig under the nails of your hand.

Wash wash wash!! Repeat the ABC's in your head 2x's and if you can do that and still be washing, you're in good shape.

Now that you've washed, rinse rinse rinse in colder water than you washed in.

If at all possible, let your hands air dry. If no time for air dry, dry with paper towel. Drying hands on a dish-towel or hand-towel just re-contaminates your hands and undoes all the good you just did!

----

WHen cooking with any meat product, clean the area thoroughly with a mixture of bleach and water. Use a disposable rag or cloth to clean chicken or beef or pork blood/cuttings.

Use a separate cutting board for veggies and meat.

Always cut things to be served raw first. Then cut your veggies to be cooked, THEN cut the meat.

Wash EVERYTHING down after you cut meat (either cooked or raw). Especially your knife and MOST especially your hands.

---

Clean kitchen sponges (which are basically living petri dishes) by putting in the microwave for 15 seconds, or putting in the dishwasher and blasting on the hottest setting your dishes can handle. Do this every other day (microwaving works best, imo).

[Heddi]

11. oh and btw

I don't know if the other poster was being smart-aleky, but health care workers don't get 4 flu shots a year......eeek. We'd die if we had that many flu shots....

[jukes]

8. eeeeewwwww!

worms!


:puke:

[GumboYaYa]

10. As a person who suffered in pain from Salmonella poisoning for

five days before seeing a doctor, Heiddi is 100% correct. I did the whole lying in a ball thing for way too long. As a result I lost over 20lbs., most of it fluid. By the time I got to the hospital, I ended up having to be admitted and put on an IV drip.

The doctor can give you medication that will allow you to hold fluids and then you are on your way to recovery.