Shellfish =[

[Isthmus]

Alright, so I ate mussels on two occasions about 8 months ago, after the second time I  spend the next couple of days with high temp and sicking my guts up. I have eaten oysters twice recently, the second lot I ate just the other day and I got food poisoning (I guess) again. So I have about a 50% rate of getting food poisoning so far with eating raw shellfish...

Supposedly plenty of others here experience no problem with raw shellfish? I don't get it! I really don't think I'm going to touch them again, at least for a long time, based on my personal experiences with them.

[CitrusHigh]

No actually I think I can correlate some nasty, ghastly experiences with oyster consumption. I get flu like symptoms as well as heavy perspiration, vivid, awful dreams and other symptoms I can't recall. However, the last time I had that happen was prior to my RVAF. I've eaten oysters since healing and have had no problems, but quality oysters are not easily available in my budget so I eat them very infrequently here in the midwest. So don't count them out for good, might just be a part of detox, or the batch might be bunk or you might just need some time to heal (which is sort of still tied in with detox).

[Lynnzard]

With shellfish a big, REALLY important factor is being able to get them absolutely fresh. I don't know where you live, but when I lived inland from the coast by more than a couple of hours, I never, ever ordered raw oysters. The people I knew who did frequently got food poisoning. (Different people, not the same ones over and over.)

With truly fresh oysters, you will rarely have a problem unless they come from overly polluted waters. The same can be said of any filter feeders. I'm sorry you've had this experience, but if it happens to you frequently when you eat them, I'd say you are either getting them sourced from somewhere polluted or they're not truly fresh like they ought to be. The reaction you described didn't sound like a food sensitivity but a lot more like low to mid-grade food poisoning.

[goodsamaritan]

I only eat live clams and oysters.
Also make sure I get them only from clean waters, must have some trust with sellers.
I eat quite a lot of these.

Do not rule out that you may be allergic to these.

[eveheart]

If your live oysters are kept alive in tanks or on ice without feed, they can get starvation-shriveled and polluted even while alive. Know your shellfish source well.

[Lynnzard]

If your live oysters are kept alive in tanks or on ice without feed, they can get starvation-shriveled and polluted even while alive. Know your shellfish source well.

That's a really good point. A healthy oyster is very plump with lots of "juice" inside, even if it's a small one. The edges are kind of ruffled, but not shriveled. If it looks at all shriveled, it's not nearly as fresh or healthy as it should be. Also, if you can easily open the shell, toss it and get another. It's already dead or close to it. I don't order on the half shell. I want to open my own so I know for a fact it's still alive.

[cherimoya_kid]

I once had terrible diarrhea and stomach cramps for a MONTH STRAIGHT from some bad raw oysters.  They were Gulf Oysters, which are often contaminated. I now avoid Gulf oysters, for the most part, unless I'm actually very near the Gulf, where they are fresher.  Even then, I don't overdo it.

Seriously, I couldn't even SLEEP without having a heating pad on my stomach, to control the cramping.  For a MONTH.

[Lynnzard]

I once had terrible diarrhea and stomach cramps for a MONTH STRAIGHT from some bad raw oysters.  They were Gulf Oysters, which are often contaminated. I now avoid Gulf oysters, for the most part, unless I'm actually very near the Gulf, where they are fresher.  Even then, I don't overdo it.

Seriously, I couldn't even SLEEP without having a heating pad on my stomach, to control the cramping.  For a MONTH.

I can easily believe it. When I lived in Arkansas, I can't tell you how many people I knew who went to a raw bar (in Hot Springs, which to me was just...the height of crazy...pretty much right in the middle of the state) only to wind up with horrible cases of food poisoning. Some were hospitalized for it, and some did have symptoms that lingered for weeks afterward. The common theme for all of them was ordering the oysters on the half shell. Hell, I wouldn't even order oysters on the half shell in northern Louisiana. Too long of a trip from the coast.

[sabertooth]

The gulf is still highly polluted from the BP oil spill, so I would advise avoiding shell fish from that part of the world.

I never had any poisoning from eating oysters, but I have had some that were not very good, and even ate a few that were down right nasty.

I think the last time I ate gulf oysters I felt a little off in my belly, but I don't know if it was psychosomatic or a real reaction.

I only crave shellfish in the mid summer when I need something salty to replenish my electrolytes.

[Dorothy]

I've been thinking about raising my own oysters. I still have a lot to learn about it first though. Farming crayfish, shrimp and oysters would allow for real control of environmental factors, their diet and freshness - and they are supposed to be pretty easy to farm. One of the problem with farmed anything is that the care is usually not taken to provide what is needed for the creature to really thrive - but when farming for oneself and not to sell -- it allows for the time and expense and care to be taken to do it the best way possible. My eggs probably cost me a fortune as I feed my chickens better than 99% of humans eat and even the bugs that I feed to the chickens eat better than 99% of the human population. I'm hoping that I can do the same with some marine animals too. I love oysters, but these stories do scare me living inland and with anything but the gulf being so very far away.