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Food Anxiety Paranoia Topic!!!

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Posted 6/3/2007 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
Haha. Well, it's not about food, but water.
Since I'm moving I haven't been buying groceries much lately, and I've developed the strange habit of drinking about half a bottle of water and putting it in the fridge to drink later. I have this "rotation" system so that if they're more than 24 hours old, they're emptied and recycled. But everything's mixed up in there now.
I have my refrigerator set at it's lowest setting...somewhere in the mid 30 degree range (Fahrenheit), so I'm pretty sure water's good for much longer than 24 hours, and none of them could've been in there for more than a few weeks.
So the question is, can I drink this water? The water that's been in there 2 weeks? 3?
Posted 6/3/2007 4:04 PM (GMT 0)

I think it's okay cuz it's been in the fridge.  Bacteria does develop once you've drank from the bottle.  I don't know.  I drink water that's been sitting around for awhile but I have a strong stomach.  If you don't, maybe you should just throw it out and buy s'more. 

Anyways, good day.  have fun moving!

Posted 6/3/2007 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
HI Debaser
I would think that the water would be fine as long as lids are on them tight ya know
I too have a major thing same with you but with Ginger ale lol...I try to remember the rotation thing but sometimes I get the " fog" and forget what is supposed to be drank first and where I am with rotation
I have so many quirks and problems with food ( not being as I like it and stuff that I can /will eat due to CD)
I dont think IMHO that we are totally alone in this .......
Take care and be well
LYN
Posted 6/3/2007 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the answers. More answers, though, please! I don't have time to go buy water and I'm thirsty! The tap here tastes all funny and chlorinated, and the vending machine downstairs is sold out of water. I'm having to resort to Dr. Pepper right now.
Eh, I think I will go buy water, though. I'm good about keeping my hands clean but not my face. It could be that the mouths of these bottles are just teeming with bacteria and each of them are little death traps. I know the newest ones would be okay but I don't know which they are.
If I have OCD, it centers around food and these water bottles. Like if I go get fast food and it's not incredibly hot by the time I get it home, I'll nuke the crap out of it in the microwave before I'll even consider eating it. I can't even tell you how much perfectly good water I've put down the drain over the last couple years.
I had kind of a bad night, by the way. It was pretty disappointing. If you're in the mood for a sad story read the last couple entries of my blog. Doing okay right now, though.
Posted 6/3/2007 8:17 PM (GMT 0)
if you pour the water into a glass and replace the bottle top I think there will be no germs
Posted 6/3/2007 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah. You're right. I mean, it's just bottled water. There's nothing for bacteria to live on in there. If there is we're all being swindled.
I just went out and got some new water, though. Fair enough. But the info is helpful for the future.
Posted 6/4/2007 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
Well, food poisoning doesn't usually kill you and so it seldom makes it into the newspapers. It usually causes vomiting, diarrhea, etc. It's a rational concern. I know of a lot of people without anxiety/panic who don't eat fast food because it's commonly mishandled. I'm not too afraid to eat it, but I want to make sure it was hot enough recently to make sure my food is dead. In other words, if I bought it close to my house and it's room temperature when I get home, it's not safe. I'm not so obsessed that I'll pull out a thermometer every time I bring food home. I can tell whether it's hot enough without that.
But there is a rational basis for concern, and it's not entirely stupid. I know this because I worked at a fast food joint when I was a kid! It'll be okay almost no matter what they do to it as long as it was cooked properly and served promptly.
When I'm anxious I don't eat fast food (for several reasons). When I'm not I'm still careful.
Posted 6/4/2007 1:51 AM (GMT 0)
Suggestion for next rotation, use a marker on the bottle and date it and time you opened. I think your water is alright, but you need to feel comfortable about drinking it.
The big Calagon Water coolers can sit a long time before changed out. Of course know one is drinking out of the bottle.............picture that
Posted 6/4/2007 10:47 PM (GMT 0)
I too have many quirks about take out food but again it centres around my CD
great idea
Posted 6/5/2007 4:50 AM (GMT 0)
You've never worked in a fast food joint, apparently. And I'm pretty sure you weren't in my Microbiology course, either. That guy scared the crap out of all of us for life. Seriously, I told my mom she ought to buy an autoclave for the kitchen and she was really offended. I've been paranoid ever since then, and believe me, I haven't always had anxiety.
But I will admit that I never worried about water until I had all those stomach problems, which is what gave me anxiety. So you're right about that. But, it's still a rational question, because you really could get sick from it. Ask any nurse here. I might not have asked it for rational reasons, but it's a rational question.
Posted 6/5/2007 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Well, since childhood I've had a vomiting phobia, and it obviously got worse when my panic disorder started. So that's why I want my food cooked to temperature and held there until they hand it to me. Not unreasonable. We should all demand the same.
You're right about the water. As long as the liver is healthy and you have the proper bacteria in the stomach it'll usually be alright. Then again, 100 years ago people were still dying of waterborne diseases right and left. In lesser developed countries they still are. I'm not afraid of our tap water, though. I just don't like the taste. If I lived in Gary, Indiana, or some other industrial rust belt town I might actually be afraid of the tap water, though.
What's weird is that NYC has some of the oldest utility infrastructure in the nation. Some of the pipes are 150 years old or more, yet I've read that their water is very clean. And Manhattan is surrounded by some of the most polluted water around. Go figure.
Posted 6/5/2007 4:54 PM (GMT 0)
Where my EX works in a frozen food factory and packaging there is a plant that does get mixed in
HAS to be taken out or vould cause dangerous and bery serious illnesses
I will ask him next time what it is called
I have seen my share of what goes on in fast food joints especially friom working side of counter in my younger times .
No thanks
Posted 6/5/2007 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
i get quesy about issues of "cleanliness" or lack thereof in restuarants as well.  i only drink bottled water.  however, i believe that our bodies can handle most bacteria and it's good to get a little bacteria in your body to strengthen your immune system. That's my belief anyway.  it's carcinogens and other chemicals that freak me out.

debaser, don't hate me for bringing this up and don't mean to nag or sound like a mom but you mention in your blog that you smoke.  I don't have to tell you that smoking is worse for you than any old water or dirty fast food. 90% of people with lung cancer are smokers and the other 10% were exposed to second hand smoke. (I was exposed as a child.  my father was a smoker) only bringing it up cuz I care.  when my doc told me about my abnormal chest x-ray last summer, it scared the crap out of me.  trust me, you don't EVER wanna go there...

 

Posted 6/5/2007 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
Debaser
Here in Bothwell we are literally built on oil wells so we still have the sand "Points " and other oldies for water in the country but in town it is well I am not sure what it is lol

I WILL Not drink any tap water from this are at all I get sick as a dog if I even have a part glass ......
SO does Cait .
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