Lizards, Frogs, Turtles and Snakes!

I think I am finally completely over my Salmonella. It is rather ironic that for all the worrying (not that I worry all that much) about lung cancer and congestive heart failure, it was Salmonella that almost killed me off. I honestly thought I was dying when I came home from the hospital. I didn't call any of my friends because I assumed they'd over-react and want to call an ambulance. I figured I'd rather just die at home.

I got well oh-so-gradually. One day, there was the tiniest bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Day by day, it got larger until I'm back to normal (whatever "normal" is!)

The Health Department takes Salmonella very seriously and I had to do a lengthy interview about where I might have got mine. It turned out I hadn't done any of the things that usually cause it - no restaurant food, no handling raw chicken, no salad fixings in a sack, no pre-cut-up melon (and wash melons first even when you buy them whole as if there is Salmonella on the outside, the knife can carry it inside) So maybe it could have been eggs or perhaps leftovers kept too long.

In the end, she simply told me to keep my fridge between 3.5 and 4. And not to eat at buffets. And to not let foods touch each other. And  not to refill plastic water bottles more than once. She told me to always use a mask and gloves when changing the cat's litter boxes or touching bird feeders. And finally, she said not to handle turtles, frogs, snakes and lizards.

I told her I thought I could promise that last one pretty easily!

As for the rest, I started out being extremely cautious and following all her advice but gradually, I have gotten more lax. I don't eat cut up fruit or lettuce or handle raw chicken but I don't worry with masks and gloves. I'd eat at a buffet. I do look at the sell-by date on eggs but you never really know how long they may have set out in a store or warehouse. I only keep leftovers two days.

If you're a healthy adult, you probably don't have to worry. If you do get Salmonella, you'll probably just get well with time. But it can be deadly for the elderly and children. In my case, by the time I went to the Emergency Room my kidneys were in urgent crisis and I was completely dehydrated.

So if your elderly parent or child gets what seems like the flu and it goes on longer than a couple days, make sure to have it checked. I am here to tell you, Salmonella is wicked stuff!

On the other hand, you can't go through life being anal about protecting yourself from every possibility. Like most things, it's mostly a matter of commonsense.