Ate raw oysters. Why am I such an idiot?!

[MadameSzyszkoBohusz]

I know the UK coast is being pumped full of raw sewage, so what the hell was I thinking?!!

Now I’m as sick as a dog (well not my dog, he’s snoozing right to me quite happily) and feel like death.

I’m an idiot. 🤢

Food poisoning is the worst, though luckily usually it settles fairly quickly, just eat dry toast and sip water at first when you stop being sick. I had it 3 weeks ago but from a supermarket salad of all things, nothing as tasty as oysters alas. They have not admitted guilt but it’s the only thing that dh didn’t eat, and I had thrown away the packaging (as you do)

Obviously wasn’t the oysters, it was the poisoned raspberry cheesecake 😄

Glad it’s passing through, even if not as fast as hoped.

Scallops are my "never again" food. My brother in law offered me one from his portion as I'd never tried them. He was fine, I was horrifically unwell (must have been just one dodgy one). To make matters worse, my symptoms were both ends and we were on a camping holiday.

No, there’s no way for a kitchen to test for norovirus.

If it is noro from the oysters you’ll be v v contagious!

Hope you feel better soon!

Dd & I went to Whitstable for oysters yesterday.
we treat ourselves to them from time to time & we especially like happy hour when it’s £12 for a dozen.

The restaurant has its own oyster beds. They weren’t serving oysters as it had been raining. They said after rain they need 4 days before harvesting so they hadn’t been serving many oysters this year.

sorry you got ill.

What?? Oh no!

Massive sympathy. I had this a few years ago. Apparently Oysters are notorious for Norovirus... something I found out after I ate them! I was so ill ! Hope you get better soon.

I thought you’re supposed the never eat oysters in a month with an ‘R’ in it? Superstitious maybe but I thought it’s because otherwise they make you unwell?

I thought it was ONLY eat them in months with an r in - ie: not in the summer?

Much higher chance of getting sick from an oyster in February, if you’re going to have them you need to leave it to the summer.

Haha I wish it was quick when I had it! 10 days of shitting myself with campylobacter
never ever again do I want that

I sympathise OP. They are one of my favourite foods on the planet but the last two times I’ve had them I’ve been violently ill and there truly is nothing worse than oyster poisoning. Sadly I’ve decided the game is not worth the candle and I won’t eat them again, but I bloody miss them.

Whoops, I just googled and you’re correct. It’s the other way around to prevent summer food poisoning from hot weather! My whole life has been a lie 😅

The 'r' month rule was mostly because British native oysters spawn in the summer and their flavour and texture change entirely. Noro can survive in cold water and because levels peak in colder months the risk can be higher. We've also had a really wet spell, which means more sewage discharges.

Thank you, OP, you have done me a service (although you probably don't appreciate it yet). I adore oysters and mussels but am horrifically allergic and can't eat them without my breathing shutting down. I frequently bemoan this and pine and stare pathetically at people eating moules in all forms.

But I feel a bit better about not being able to eat them now. I do hope you make a speedy recovery,

Or the 'salt' on the cashews

You know, it’s a mark of how unwell I’ve been feeling that I didn’t pick up on this joke till the follow up. Shame on me!

I never knew that about the norovirus either. Is that the only way oysters make you sick? I always thought it was just generalized bacteria or by accidentally eating a dead one. I love them and thankfully have never been ill yet. They always say you never forget your first bad oyster.

@MadameSzyszkoBohusz hopefully you can feel better in the next 12 hours. Do you have any broth or Swiss Marigold bouillon powder in the house to make up a warm cup of light liquid?

Oysters are always served raw.

You need to notify the restaurant. All shellfish is harvested from areas graded for water quality. With lots of testing. There are strict rules in place. They need to know about a failure to check what happened.

The issue did used to be primarily bacterial, which was why the 'r' rule also helped to protect against food poisoning (most bacteria are killed by cold).

The noro risk has risen dramatically in recent years and is the direct result of untreated sewage being routinely discharged at the coast:

"Norovirus contamination in oysters largely occurs due to human sewage releases close to oyster beds. Oysters are filter feeders who take up norovirus as they filter seawater. The levels of norovirus vary widely depending on season, with higher levels in winter months than in summer months."

https://www.food.gov.uk/research/foodborne-pathogens/risk-assessment-to-support-guidance-for-norovirus-outbreaks-in-oysters

It's not the oyster making you sick. As other posters said, they are filter feeders. Meaning lots of water passes through them, they extract plankton etc as food.

If there are bacteria or viruses in the water, then this can be present in the oyster. Bacteria or viruses can make you ill if you eat it. Shellfish is managed really carefully in this country, but nothing is 100%. Hence they need to know you are unwell.

The oysters you eat are farmed pacific oyster, not natives.

You are mistaken - multiple species of British native oysters are eaten widely in their season, i.e. Sept-April.

DS had this with clams. He had eaten them plenty of times before with no issue. Then had a pasta dish with them in a tomato sauce. We call it his Mount Vesuvius moment, projectile red vomit all over his bedroom.

Assumed a bad clam. He had them again a few months and the same thing happened again, luckily managed to get to the bathroom this time.

He’s never had them since as assume he now can’t tolerate them any more.

🍋