feel like i'm going nuts with worry about ds.

[ruty]

Soemone please tell me i'm overreacting [tho you're probably all out enjoying yourselves!] Ds has just come out of a week of high fever and terrible nights, and I just reheated some mash potato that i made last night and had been refrigerated. Then as i'm giving it to him remember someone saying to me recently recooked potatoes can cause botulism and now`I'm terrified i've poisoned him. potato wasn't even very hot [ i know it should have been but he wanted it quickly, hasn't eaten for days]. Plus he was playing with a raw potato last night. Am I a bllody neglectful mother or am i being over dramatic? Can't tell anymore.

you are totally overreacting - i love mash potato when i am ill so you are a brillian mother and probably a bit sleep deprived. take care

can they? ds had reheated mashed potato this evening too.

I can't imagine how though. I'm sure our dses'll both be fine.

i just didn't reheat until it was properly hot as i usually do. It was a bit lukewarm because he was screaming 'mash potatoooo!' Trying to stop myself googling terrible nerve damage results of botulism....

you're being over-dramatic, relax

to get botulisum poisoning, you would have to have botulinum toxin in your food (unlikely). if you had the potato in the fridge rather than festering on the cooker top for two days I'm sure its fine.

Not sure how much consolation, but if he had ingested botulinum he would probably have carked it by now as (just learned at uni this week) it is the most toxic substance known.

As he is NOT dead, i'm sure he feels a lot better having a mashed potato serving, loving mum!

I've done a quick Google - it says about botulism outbreaks being related to incorrectly stored baked potato wrapped in foil (and presumably stored at room temp). If the spuds were boiled before (obviously) and then kept in the fridge, I bet they were fine )

not sure whether to feel relieved or terrified by your post GGL!
FIT, thanks for that, i was also worried about the raw potato, as i found something about the spores being on the surface of raw potatoes...maybe i am just really sleep deprived and garbled. Definitely garbled anyway.

I think to actually multiply, the spores need to have conditions to grow that you don't find on the surface of raw potatoes... (microbiologists please correct me if wrong )
Hope you all sleep well tonight

brain not working brilliantly tonight [for a change] you may be right fit - thanks.

and thanks everybody - feel a bit less panicky and nightmarish now -thank god for the good sense on MN...