Tuesday, August 26, 2008

75%

 
I wish I wasn't rly sick! Actually, I'm a lot better. The worst seems to be over, and I was able to sleep on the couch for a couple of hours (I dozed to the comforting sounds of CNN's convention analysis), and then a nice hot shower made me feel better. I was thinking I was up to about 85%, but I talked to Mom before they leave on a short vacation, and I didn't have a whole lot of energy even for talking. So I'll take it back down to 75%.
 
I had that feverish feeling, with a cold sweat and chills, but I was finally able to keep down some of my diet green tea. I was glad, because I was so damn thirsty! I feel like I've been able to rehydrate fairly well. I also think it's a good sign that I'm really famished--not surprising, because everything I ate yesterday is long gone!--and I hope I'll be able to eat some Humanwich tonight. I'm starved!
 
And thanks for all the kind wishes and "get wells." You guys are peaches.
 
In my entry about the Hot Pockets recall, a couple of people mentioned Totino's Pizza Rolls. Full disclosure time: I totally love those things. I don't eat them often, but sometimes if Ken is on a business trip, I get a craving. I just toss 'em in the microwave, so they're probably especially disgusting, and then I dip them in yellow mustard.
 
You can tell I'm hungry--I'm thinking how good those sound right now!
 
Ziggy mentioned that there was a food recall in Canada, too, due to the bacterium Listeria. Ziggy wondered how safe our food really is. That's not easy to answer. I would say that for the  most part, things are quite safe. There are plenty of quality checks in place, FDA standards, etc. Most of us will go our entire lives without getting a case of food poisoning from packaged foods (restaurants and potlucks are a different story). But when one batch or lot number of something gets contaminated with Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, etc., it can make a whole lot of people sick. We used to see outbreaks fairly frequently. That doesn't account for "foreign material" such as that found in the Hot Pockets, either.
 
To me, sometimes it all seems like a crap shoot [pun intended!]. While you can be careful by not eating too many processed and packaged foods and buy as much fresh as possible, you can get E. coli from contaminated beef and lettuce, Cyclospora (a parasite) from raspberries, Salmonella from uncooked eggs, and Cryptosporidium (another parasite) from your freakin' water supply! If you think about it too much, it will make you paranoid and turn you into another Howard Hughes, walking around the house with Kleenex boxes on your feet. I try not to worry about it, and most of these things are self-limiting, anyway. You'll feel miserable for a while, but it will eventually get over it. It's a bigger problem for those who have compromised immune systems, and they will usually need some kind of treatment, sometimes just supportive therapy like making sure they don't get too dehydrated.
 
The big question during the dental torture scene in "Marathon Man" is "Is it safe?" I can't answer that question anymore than Dustin Hoffman could.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm taking this all in, and I'm going to stop eating anything, right now !   D

Anonymous said...

Didn't know you were sick, but I'm glad you are feeling a little better!

L

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that you're up to 75%....  I just got through cooking Manwich for our supper.  I hope you'll be able to eat.  Hang in there!

hugs,
Hollie

Anonymous said...

We do all take our chances on the food we eat.  We like to assume that everything is safe.  Even when it's not safe we eat it unawares.  It seems every thing I like is bad for me anyway.  I can't do very well without my meals so I'll be taking my chances and enjoying it all.  Drink plenty and get well !  'On Ya' - ma

Anonymous said...

Gee get well soon!
hugs,nat

Anonymous said...

There is a lot of heart disease, obesity & diabetes in my Mom's family & plenty of the "approved" food they've all consumed isn't really all that "safe" (& yes, I know the amounts consumed factor into that also)either.

Anonymous said...

I've got a good one for you.....

I eat from the taco stands on the corner when we go to Mexico.  I don't want to know what's in it or how long it's been sitting there.  LOL  I keep waiting for the day I end up with diarrhea, but so far, so good....

~Amy

Anonymous said...

I have never had food poisioning from restaurant food or gotten sick from anything I purchased in a store.  You know...you could go your whole life and not eat this or that for fear of getting sick and then pick up a bug from someone you passed in a department store and be sicker than a dog.  I think you just have to live your life and not worry about all that stuff. Even preparing your own food could be hazardous to your health. Hope you're back to 100% soon !  Linda in WA  

Anonymous said...

OH i am so behind, sorry!
I saw a one hr special on H. Hughes 2 wks ago...maybe on the History channel? He had undiagnosed OCD....and some mental illness that was never treated. It was a fascinating show.
My dad and i got genuine food poisoning in 1989 (see, i still remember the year!) from lasanga from a farmer's market. I have NEVER ate another morsel of lasanga since. I thought we both were going to die and all i have to say about that is THANK GOD FOR TWO TOILETS in one house. I missed three full days of work!
I hope you are back to feeling much better. I love it when you talk about disgusting things.....i am so weird.
XO

Anonymous said...

I loved the movie the Aviator. My father has severe OCD. I had to live with that all my life. I used to have it real bad now I can control it really well. I used to bath myself 3 to 4 times a day. ..... I hope you feel much better...love ya, Christine

Anonymous said...

Catching up on the entries I've missed...I surely hope you are feeling ALOT better by now ~ let's shoot for 100%.  
Lisa