Mon 15/04/13
I've had two weeks away from base working on a few construction jobs with my brother and my lad (good work experience for him). Weather was cold and mainly dry but there was a freezing wind nearly the whole time which added a Siberian twist to the whole experience.
We did 11-hour days most days, with no days off in order to get the jobs done. Weather warmed on the last two days so we were able to concrete the floor slab of the stable block, but then it also rained. Typical!
I didn't manage (or feel much like doing) any training the whole time save for some bodyweight stuff.
Got back home last Tuesday night. On Wednesday eve I made myself a sardine supper with roasted peppers, chilli and ginger and some grapes. Half-an-hour after I'd eaten it I knew something was up: stomach was decidedly uncomfortable and I started to feel strange. After an hour I felt like I had a ball of hate inside me. I started to feel chilly and nauseous. In another half-an-hour I was vomiting and had diarrhoea. This continued on-and-off until 5:30 am. during which time my heart had been beating like fury, I'd been shivery, had muscle cramps, headache, been light-headed and found my balance was impaired. I've never had such a powerful vomit response. It was my ab workout of the year! I didn't wake up properly until 3:30pm on Thursday. Diarrhoea all through rest of Thurs but no more vomiting (there was nothing I could possibly vomit!). I managed to get myself a mug of peppermint tea, which I slowly sipped my way through. Very light-headed and my balance was still not great. Weighed myself and was not surprised to see that I had lost about 10lbs over the course of Weds night! Drank water through Thurs night and then by Friday I was feeling a whole lot better albeit still light-headed and very weak.
On Thursday, I started trying to figure out what on earth had been the cause of my sickness. I thought it must have been my sardine supper but I had to make sure I was able to rule out everything I'd eaten prior to that. I made a few calls and confirmed that the folks I had gone out to lunch with for a Thai meal earlier the same day were all fine. We had all shared dishes so everyone had had something of everything. Everything pointed to the sardines. I've been eating tinned sardines for years and never had a problem before. They are such a great (and cheap) source of Omega-3 and protein. So I Googled "canned sardines sickness" and came across the term "clupeotoxin". Hmm... One site said this:
Sardine poisoning (clupeotoxin): Introduction
Sardine poisoning (clupeotoxin): Some sardines contain toxins (Clupeotoxin) which can be poisonous to humans if eaten. Heat does not destroy the toxin and there is still uncertainty as to the origin of the toxin. The toxin appears to be present in higher concentrations in summer and is believed to be possible linked to the consumption of toxic food in its food web. The size and age of the sardines does not appear to be related to the toxicity. The sardines are found in coastal waters off Africa and the Caribbean, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Another said this:
Clupeotoxin
poisoning occurs in humans who eat fish contaminated with the
toxin. This toxin occurs in plankton-eating fish, such as herring, anchovies, bonefish, slickheads, tarpons, and sardines. These fish are found in African, Caribbean, and Indo-Pacific coastal waters. Clupeotoxin is more commonly found in fish caught in the summer. The toxin is concentrated in fish organs and is tasteless and odorless. The identity of the toxin is unknown.
Toxicity does not depend on fish freshness or size. The poison does not break down when the fish is cooked.
Then I read this:
Clupeotoxin Poisoning Symptoms
- Symptoms of clupeotoxin poisoning begin 30-60 minutes after eating contaminated fish.
- The poisoned person may experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dry mouth, a metallic taste, headache, sweats, chills, dizziness, and elevated heart and respiratory rate.
- The lips, fingers, nose, and toes may become blue tinged.
- The poisoned person may become very lightheaded, and the person’s blood pressure may drop.
- Death occurs in about 50% of people poisoned by clupeotoxin.
When I saw the last point I felt pretty annoyed! What??? Seriously???
I still don't know for sure that I had some clupeotoxin poisoning, but I did have a lot of the symptoms listed above. I have no idea about blood pressure or whether I had any sign of going at all blue as I didn't look to see. I think I would have noticed if my fingers went at all blue.
Another unusual thing that happened when I cleaned my teeth on Friday night was that my gums bled a bit when I cleaned my teeth, which they don't normally do. I got a bit of a shock when I spat out a mouth of red toothpaste! That hasn't happened again since which is a relief.
I still have the empty
evil tin whose contents gave me so much grief, and I'll be writing to the supermarket where I bought the sardines to find out what they know about the likelihood of this toxin being in the sardines they produce. It must surely be extremely rare.
Anyone else reading this ever have a similar experience from a humble can of sardines?
I want to get back to training as soon as I can but I'm going to see my Doc first for a quick check-up, just to be on the safe side. I feel a whole lot stronger again today but still not 100%.
