Bad sushi... parasites?
March 22, 2019 7:56 PM Subscribe
I ate raw salmon and tuna sushi that smelled really off today, from a supermarket in Chinatown. The other ingredients masked the off-ness until I was halfway through and stopped eating. I had stomach cramps afterwards and my skin feels a little itchy.
I know I'm at risk for Anisakis and tapeworm. What other parasites? What kind of tests/medications can I undergo to ensure that any possible parasite is removed, such as an ultrasound?
I'm NOT looking for opinions on whether or not I am overreacting. Thank you! I have health insurance and will be meeting with a gastroentorologist in a week or so but I know they make a cost-benefit analysis when choosing whether to prescribe a test. Assume I am immuno-compromised for infection purposes (not for purposes of the medications).
I know I'm at risk for Anisakis and tapeworm. What other parasites? What kind of tests/medications can I undergo to ensure that any possible parasite is removed, such as an ultrasound?
I'm NOT looking for opinions on whether or not I am overreacting. Thank you! I have health insurance and will be meeting with a gastroentorologist in a week or so but I know they make a cost-benefit analysis when choosing whether to prescribe a test. Assume I am immuno-compromised for infection purposes (not for purposes of the medications).
Most raw fish is first frozen to kill worms and parasites.
posted by vivzan at 9:10 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by vivzan at 9:10 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
You see, it is mandated in certain places that fish be frozen for parasites but it totally depends where. In the US your fishmonger will tell you about whether sashimi grade fish has been frozen for parasites. In Sydney, not do much. And trust me, I asked more than one fishmonger about it. Better to be safe than sorry.
posted by jadepearl at 1:15 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by jadepearl at 1:15 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
What kind of tests/medications can I undergo to ensure that any possible parasite is removed, such as an ultrasound?
Providing stool samples for them to analyze is often part of being assessed for worms and confirming that treatment was successful.
If you can find out if the sushi was frozen, you may not have anything to worry about, but if you are immuno-compromised it's probably a good idea to confirm with your doctor whether or not certain foods should be part of your diet in general.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:13 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Providing stool samples for them to analyze is often part of being assessed for worms and confirming that treatment was successful.
If you can find out if the sushi was frozen, you may not have anything to worry about, but if you are immuno-compromised it's probably a good idea to confirm with your doctor whether or not certain foods should be part of your diet in general.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:13 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
- As mentioned above, almost all fish used for sushi is frozen in advance to kill any parasites (NYTimes article).
- If you could tell the sushi was off, it was by bacterial contamination, not by any parasites that may have been in the fish.
- If the fish had parasites, it would takes days or weeks for you to feel ill, not the few hours it took after eating the sushi. Which also means that there would be unlikely for any parasitic infection to be detected now or in the next couple of weeks.
- I'd say give your digestive tract a few days to calm down. The odds are that the fish had no parasites, end even in the unlikely chance it did, you wouldn't be noticing effects from them so soon after eating the fish.
posted by ShooBoo at 9:56 AM on March 23, 2019 [5 favorites]
Itchiness can be caused by your liver being overburdened removing toxins from your body. If your liver is a bit inflamed, you can be good to it by using caffeine, and by avoiding alcohol, tylenol, aspirin, and any other medication that is not essential, not eating too much fat, and drinking adequate water to help your body eliminate anything toxic. The liver is amazingly resilient; when I had an inflamed liver due to a medication reaction, it cleared up quickly. Alcohol and Tylenol, specifically, are irritants to your liver, and while you're healing, I'd keep to a pretty simple diet with plenty of veg., some meat and protein, some carbs.
posted by theora55 at 10:34 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 10:34 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
A reaction to Iodine can cause those exact symptoms. Maybe a med you take causes that.
posted by Oyéah at 7:45 PM on March 24, 2019
posted by Oyéah at 7:45 PM on March 24, 2019
Response by poster: Update: met with gastroenterologist today who drew blood to test for increased white blood cell count. I'm also supposed to send stool samples in although it took some convincing from him (I'm squicked out). Apparently imaging tests can only find them if they've invaded tissue so they're not very conclusive. Also anti-parasitic meds can cause neurological damage so....
posted by kinoeye at 5:14 PM on March 25, 2019
posted by kinoeye at 5:14 PM on March 25, 2019
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Access to deworming medication is going to be dependent on location. If you are in Australia you can get Mebendazole easily over the counter which can handle a range of parasites including pin, hook and in a clutch, giardia, too.
Here is what deworming meds seem to be available in the US using the CDC site.
If you have a serious infestation then your medical professional will probably prescribe more hardcore meds to deal with it.
posted by jadepearl at 8:43 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]