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Original poster

I definitely ate raw chicken and am on a downward spiral

137 replies

whatanabsoluteidiot · 11/11/2025 15:04

Hi, I have name changed for this post - I have to post because I’m going absolutely insane and need to talk to someone about this.
we have had a hectic home life lately - lots of work in the evening, ill children off nursery, etc etc. on Saturday I ate a chicken stir fry out of the bowl I’d defrosted the raw chicken in. This is so unlike me - I’m an emetophobe and I am absolutely crazy about hygiene and chicken. As the dinner was ready I just saw the bowl and thought I’d already got myself a serving bowl. I only realised straight after finishing dinner when I was stacking the dishwasher and realised I was missing the raw chicken bowl. I went absolutely cold. I even remember that the bottom of the bowl was wet 😭 why didn’t I realise??

i ate about 9.30pm on Saturday. Yesterday I thought I was going to throw up in Costa, left, drove home, lay down. Nothing more. This morning I had one short bout of diarrhea. It didn’t happen again. This is frankly not usual for me as I suspect I have mild IBS.

i have hardly eaten since Saturday night and I’m starting to feel quite weird and not knowing whether I am ill or hungry. About an hour ago I had a bit of soup and bread and a malt bar to get some sugar into me.

what is going to happen to me?? My brain is exhausted thinking about incubation times and what I need to cancel for the rest of the week. I think salmonella is now less likely but campylobacter is typically days 2-5. I am going out of my mind. I can’t believe I did this and am terrified I’ll give it to my young children (I’m hand washing crazily). I haven’t told my husband as he’s in the worst week of his work at the moment with a million commitments and meetings - and he ate a bite.

uggggghhhh please please quiet my mind one way or another … or just something calming. This is like a nightmare to me and I can’t even think about the horror.

OP posts:
APatternGrammar · 12/11/2025 08:09

Nobody thinks you’re “crazy”, as you say. You’re just not well and it happens to be affecting your thinking. The GP can help you and your quality of life can improve.

Hotflushesandchilblains · 12/11/2025 22:17

whatanabsoluteidiot · 11/11/2025 21:29

Thanks so much for all your comments. I think half my issue was that I felt I couldn’t tell anyone about it because my food hygiene error just felt so utterly nuts to me. I have been really reassured by all of your messages and one of the things I’ve been surprised about was how calm some of you are - part of the reason I felt I couldn’t talk to anyone about my worries was because I felt my error was so utterly egregious and awful. Now I understand it’s just one of those things - and it is about my anxiety in the larger picture.

im not massively anxious about a lot of stuff but there’s definitely an underlying issue with control (I need it!) and with vomiting in particular (which I’ve had since I was a child). I’ve been surprised by how my response seems extreme to some and due to that I think I will look into getting some help. Is a GP really someone who can help with this? I’ve honestly never thought of asking before.

thanks again! I feel okay and have had no further symptoms. I also felt much better after my small lunch and your messages. I ate a panini for tea and at the moment I feel normal.

THANK YOU

Most Talking Therapies services can treat emetophobia and it is free through the NHS.

bobandbrenda · 16/11/2025 14:36

whatanabsoluteidiot · 11/11/2025 21:29

Thanks so much for all your comments. I think half my issue was that I felt I couldn’t tell anyone about it because my food hygiene error just felt so utterly nuts to me. I have been really reassured by all of your messages and one of the things I’ve been surprised about was how calm some of you are - part of the reason I felt I couldn’t talk to anyone about my worries was because I felt my error was so utterly egregious and awful. Now I understand it’s just one of those things - and it is about my anxiety in the larger picture.

im not massively anxious about a lot of stuff but there’s definitely an underlying issue with control (I need it!) and with vomiting in particular (which I’ve had since I was a child). I’ve been surprised by how my response seems extreme to some and due to that I think I will look into getting some help. Is a GP really someone who can help with this? I’ve honestly never thought of asking before.

thanks again! I feel okay and have had no further symptoms. I also felt much better after my small lunch and your messages. I ate a panini for tea and at the moment I feel normal.

THANK YOU

Are you still fine OP? Something similar just happened to us and I am also wondering about the likelihood of something awful happening!

Original poster
whatanabsoluteidiot · 16/11/2025 15:13

@bobandbrendaoh no - I’m sorry. Stressful. But yes, have been fine! I hope you will be too x

OP posts:
Letmehaveabloodyusernameplease · 16/11/2025 20:51

Fantomfartflinger · 11/11/2025 15:41

This happened to someone I know with chicken and they felt ill about an hour or 2 after consuming and for about a day they had stomach ache quite bad. No runs surprisingly. They had a slightly watery mouth but weren’t sick.

You do need to be a bit more stoic about vomit though, I’ve seen these posts on MN about emetophobia and it is ridiculous for a grown women, most people really hate and avoid it but to label it as a debilitating phobia, not necessarily you but in posts I have seen is OTT. it’s a bodily function for you and your children sometimes and is mainly there to protect you.

Edited

Respectfully, emetophobia IS debilitating for those who have it.

Hotflushesandchilblains · 17/11/2025 18:38

@Fantomfartflinger - there is a massive difference from the normal disgust reaction that most people would have around vomit and emetophobia - no phobia is rational and if you dont have them, its easy to label them as ridiculous. The OP has a level of anxiety which is clearly outside of what most people would experience, so mentioning phobias and advising therapy is quite reasonable.

Fantomfartflinger · 17/11/2025 19:17

Hotflushesandchilblains · 17/11/2025 18:38

@Fantomfartflinger - there is a massive difference from the normal disgust reaction that most people would have around vomit and emetophobia - no phobia is rational and if you dont have them, its easy to label them as ridiculous. The OP has a level of anxiety which is clearly outside of what most people would experience, so mentioning phobias and advising therapy is quite reasonable.

Compare this phobic anxiety to people that actually have a life threatening medical reaction to being in the same room as or contact with a substance, anaphylactic reactions. You could die or really sick, that’s terrifying.

So yes get therapy if needed, first world problems but it’s the attitude that everyone has to validate your trauma, inc the NHS, as if your leg is hanging off because you or someone else puked.

Fantomfartflinger · 17/11/2025 19:28

Letmehaveabloodyusernameplease · 16/11/2025 20:51

Respectfully, emetophobia IS debilitating for those who have it.

Show quote history

People don’t like stepping in dog crap, it’s disgusting and they worry about stepping in it by walking carefully. It turns their stomach. Going to the doctor about it though, no.

Skyflyinghigh · 17/11/2025 19:46

Fantomfartflinger · 17/11/2025 19:28

People don’t like stepping in dog crap, it’s disgusting and they worry about stepping in it by walking carefully. It turns their stomach. Going to the doctor about it though, no.

Show quote history

It’s not the same at all. It is an extreme phobia around vomiting and it has a severe impact on suffers lives. Just because you don’t understand it please don’t think it’s nothing. It’s a recognised phobia

User0311 · 17/11/2025 19:51

I once had food poisoning from chicken I knew about it within about 6 hours. I think if you were going to be ill from it you’d have had it by now! I thought I was going to die when I had it 😂

Hotflushesandchilblains · 17/11/2025 19:57

Fantomfartflinger · 17/11/2025 19:17

Compare this phobic anxiety to people that actually have a life threatening medical reaction to being in the same room as or contact with a substance, anaphylactic reactions. You could die or really sick, that’s terrifying.

So yes get therapy if needed, first world problems but it’s the attitude that everyone has to validate your trauma, inc the NHS, as if your leg is hanging off because you or someone else puked.

Edited
Show quote history

No one decides to develop a phobia and they can be debilitating. I would always be to advise the person to get help to overcome it - I would never want anyone to accept these limits without doing something about it.

But it seems like you are doubling down and want to ridicule people who have phobias and not accept how real anxiety is to the sufferer.

Letmehaveabloodyusernameplease · 18/11/2025 12:07

Fantomfartflinger · 17/11/2025 19:28

People don’t like stepping in dog crap, it’s disgusting and they worry about stepping in it by walking carefully. It turns their stomach. Going to the doctor about it though, no.

Show quote history

Not the same by any stretch of the imagination. I suggest you do some research.
It's a recognised phobia, many people don't just dislike being sick, it can lead to eating disorders and suicidal idealation.
Good for you if you dont have a phobia like this, but many do, myself included, and at times it can be a living nightmare.

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