Processed ham/food poisoning does anyone know?

[Nogodsnomasters]

Hi, would anyone know if you ate out of date processed cooked ham how long would food poisoning take to kick in? I made a sandwich yesterday with dennys processed ham and ate it around 1pm. This morning I've went to make another one for my husbands lunch and realised there is two opened packets in my fridge, one with a date of 24th Dec and one with a date of 31st Dec! I have no idea which one I used yesterday on 27th and am now massively paranoid I've eaten 3 days out of date ham.

I have emetophobia so massively worried about causing food poisoning. Would anyone know if I have eaten the wrong one when would symptoms start typically? Is it 24hrs or could it be longer?

Thanks for any help/info in advance.

[Nogodsnomasters]

Yes it very almost stopped me from having a child, but it has stopped me from having more than 1. My pregnancy was the worst thing I experienced due to morning sickness and severe panic attacks, I barely functioned.

[WhoisitnowRalph]

NigesFakeWalkingStick sorry to hear its effected you so badly. You're braver than me, it's pretty much the only reason I never had children.

I don't think we'll ever truly be "cured" because you can't run away from your own body, our best hope is to simply manage it from day to day. I hate this time of year, but things have been quiet on that front - you know what I mean! Have you tried switching up your medication?

[WhoisitnowRalph]

IfOnlyOurEyesSawSouls It's the 6th most common phobia in the UK (I can't remember where I got that statistic but it might be out of date now). The reason so many people have it in this thread is that emetophobes will be drawn by the subject matter and will either rally to offer support, or morbidly/rabidly come and read the responses to store for future reference (e.g did the OP get sick from the ham, have previous posters been sick from old ham, etc).

People who are not phobic (or not that interested in food hygiene) will probably just scroll past.

Flossie44 I take 70mg lofepramine daily, have done for 21 years. It takes the edge of the anxiety off so I can function.

A PP very accurately surmised that true emetophobia is not simply "not liking" vomit (who likes it?), but extreme, debilitating anxiety and panic triggered by references to, sights, sounds and smells of anything even vaguely linked to stomach symptoms, vomit or vomiting. I once ditched a car and ran across a dual carriageway, and vaulted a table and climbed out of a window because somebody vomited (in the car scenario, I was tricked into believing someone had thrown up because they thought it would be funny to see my reaction when I was driving).

[NigesFakeWalkingStick]

I have emetephobia too - very severely. To the extent where it's completely ruined my life for over 20 years. I'm medicated, I've had tonnes of therapy, but I still can't get past it. I now have a 3 year old and everyday I am terrified of it. It's stopped me from living. I'm a shell of a person, so it's a very real and very severe phobia depending on who it affects.

[Nogodsnomasters]

I've had cbt for health anxiety, which touched on my phobia a bit but not massively. It worked in the sense that I used to be a lot worse but it's never fully gone away. I used to carry anti-nausea tablets with me every where I went and panicked if I didn't have them, but I haven't had those for 7 years now, I also wasn't able to even see people fake throw up on TV shows or films without covering my eyes and feeling a wave of anxiety wash over me but now I'm OK with fake throw up (I know this sounds completely ridiculous!) so there have been improvements over the years but it's still there unfortunately.

[DramaAlpaca]

I would, and do, happily eat ham a good few days over its use by date. It's processed, therefore has preservatives in it, and as long as it's been stored in the fridge at the correct temperature it will be fine. As I say to my 20-something DC, just use your nose, it'll be obvious if it's off.

[Hilda44]

You'll be fine my DH is a chef

[Flossie44]

What treatment are people on?? Those who say they are medicated??

[flatoutpanic]

What a waste of life eh getting so worked up over something minor for most people, actually makes me feel so pathetic.

Not pathetic at all - you can’t rationalise phobias. A friend of mine had a good degree of success with CBT for emetephobia. May be worth a try if you haven’t already?

[Lougle]

I'm amazed at how many people have emetophobia on a thread 22 posts long.

I imagine it's a spectrum. I'm a nurse. I don't like vomit sand when I was a young care assistant in a nursing home, we had a client who could vomit at will if she didn't like what you said or didn't say, did or didn't do. I remember saying to myself "Lougle, you're going to go in, hold your breath, count to 10 and come out again." and that's what I did. I still have a gag reflex at vomit, but I've worked hard to overcome it and I can deal with vomit without seeming to be bothered in a patient-facing role. At home, though, DH deals with any vomit. I wouldn't describe myself as an emetophobe, I just very sensibly dislike vomit. At the other end of the scale will be people who can't hear about vomiting, think about it or discuss it without huge anxiety.

[Nogodsnomasters]

ifonlyoureyessawsouls I've heard it's a very common phobia in women. I work with a lady who also suffers from it and I went to school with a girl who had it too. My mum also had it.

[Nogodsnomasters]

worldsonfire I'm glad I'm not the only one who worrys so much about this type of stuff. I know what you mean!

[IfOnlyOurEyesSawSouls]

Im amazed at how many people have emetophobia on a thread 22 posts long.

[WorldsOnFire]

I have a friend who ate cooked ham 6 weeks after use by date. It had been sat in fridge unopened and she said ‘I thought it said X July but it actually said X June’ both her and her DH were fine.

I’d freak out too, I get so paranoid I stick labels on anything open in my fridge to remind myself when they were opened. If DH opens something and doesn’t label it I can’t use it... I just can’t!
He’ll say things like ‘oh yeah I opened that yoghurt a few day’s ago it’ll be fine’ and I’m like ‘I don’t fancy yoghurt actually’

But inside I’m like 😡 WHAT?? It says quite clearly on the tub to only keep open for 2 days....are you trying to kill me? Do you want me to get sick? 🙈 is it really that hard to stick a sodding label on?? 😂🙈

I’m currently 27 weeks pregnant, which has made my issues worse 😂🙈

[GaaaaarlicBread]

I ate ham that was about 7 days out of date once as I chucked the wrong packet away thinking it was the one that had been open too long ! So not only was it out of date but it had already been ironed god knows how long !
I didn’t even have an upset stomach so you’ll be ok. I worry about food poisoning too- I don’t have a sick phobia but don’t like the idea of germs 🦠 food poisoning kicks in pretty quickly - my husband ate a dodgy curry once and the symptoms kicked in within about half an hour x

[MacavityTheDentistsCat]

It's so long ago that I'm really not sure but about 8-10 days . I was distracted on the 'phone and gave it to her without even looking at it. She ate it and then said, ''Yukky mummy' .

[Nogodsnomasters]

felicitybeedle Lord have mercy on my soul. I would have had a nervous breakdown upon realising that error!

[Nogodsnomasters]

macavitythedentistscat how out of date was the ham you used do you know?

[FelicityBeedle]

I once ate ham with legit fly eggs by accident (thoight they were breadcrumbs) absolutely fine

[Nogodsnomasters]

Thanks everyone for the advice and reassurance, I really appreciate it. What a waste of life eh getting so worked up over something minor for most people, actually makes me feel so pathetic.

[MacavityTheDentistsCat]

I think you will be OK, NoGodsNoMasters I once gave my (then two-year-old) daughter ham that was out of date. She started being sick within two to three hours.

[Flossie44]

Op I’m sending you a huge hug. I have emetaphobia too and this is exactly how I live my life. Worrying about food so so much!!
I’m sure you will be fine as time has passed. Also I think ham looks and smells odd if off.

X

[SageRosemary]

You will be fine. Please don't worry about this. Even BB dates have a safety net and ham has a long shelf life anyway.

[Fishcakey]

Another Medicated emetophobe. I would massively panic. I ruined Xmas day for myself as my supper time turkey sandwich had a red bit in it. My sensible side says you will be totally fine. It happens much quicker than 24 hours. Don't worry.

[Lougle]

Please don't worry, you'd know if you'd eaten off ham.