Campylobacter - Campylo-no sorry I have WHAT?!?! What does it feel like to get Campylobacter?

What does it feel like to have Campylobacter?

Last week I'd never even heard of it. This week I have a notifiable disease.

Last Sunday I finished work at about 4pm.  I currently work in a supermarket - (this was my idea of a stress free job after the call centre).  I felt a little bit on the rough side so took the opportunity to go to bed early. I fell asleep at 6pm without any tea and stayed asleep until 7.30am the following day.

Woke up feeling a bit rough with stomach cramps at the top of my stomach.  I had to go out to town in the morning to meet a friend but had to come home early as I was feeling worse as the morning progressed.  Came home for 1pm and went back to bed.

4pm - bit of a dodgy stomach - lots of gurgles and cramps and a few more visits to the bathroom.
3am Tuesday morning ARMAGEDDON. Headed for the bathroom at 100mph and got there just in time. Firing on all cylinders I sat on the bathroom floor for about 30 minutes until it was safe to return to bed. Headache, temperature, felt rough, stomach cramps.

Thursday, still rough, rang GP - was told not to go to surgery as likely I was contagious and if it was a virus there was little they could do.  Was told to call again Friday and send in a sample of the offending output if no better.

Friday - very little catchable output if you get my drift. Hadn't eaten for four days so no surprise.

Saturday rang out of hours GP - internals still not conforming to anything remotely similar to 'normal' I was quite concerned. Appetite gone and been in bed five full days.  I was told have to wait until Monday.

Monday I managed to gather enough evidence to take to the GP.  I was feeling better but still delicate. 

Thursday I had a phone-call from the Environmental Health Officer. WTF? She was calling because I had recently been diagnosed with CAMPYLOBACTER which, apparently, is a notifiable disease which the GP has a duty to report. I was HORRIFIED!  From being 'out of sorts' I now had this. I had never even heard of Campylobacter before and now I was a proud carrier.

I googled it - YUCK - don't get it - it's not nice!  So Environmental Health called me BEFORE the GP even rang me and wanted to ask me all the questions surrounding where I had eaten. If my family was affected (no), had I been abroad recently? Did I work with food (erm) Do I know how to cook and handle chicken?

I think she was trying to be helpful but I couldn't help feeling guilty about getting something like that as if it were somehow my fault.

I have been racking my brain to think and I believe I know how I got it. The Saturday before I started feeling a bit dodgy I had been on the checkout and had put through a raw chicken.  These chickens are wrapped in a flimsy plastic packaging and are often wet outside as they have been in the fridge and gathered compensation while in the trolley. This particular chicken, as I remember felt slimy as I put it through. Believing the packet was ripped I put it in a clear bag and put it through. My hands were slimy so I wiped them on blue paper which we keep on a roll. I looked for antibac wipes, there were none. I wasn't able to leave the checkout to go and wash my hands.  We typically spend four hours on the til and are not able to go wash our hands every time a chicken comes through. Imagine 5 people in the checkout queue and the assistant leaves to wash her hands every time a chicken appears on the belt. I wiped my hands and the belt with blue paper and carried on.  I would, as always wash my hands before dinner.

However, at some point I think I must have put a sneaky chewing gum in my mouth about an hour later thereby transferring the black death to my mouth.

The rest is history.

I am back in work now and each time a chicken appears I pick it up in a bag dog poo fashion - pick it up with the inside of the bag, slide the bag over it and I don't touch it at all. Once bitten - never bitten again.  I also have antibac gel.

My colleagues think I am insane, and have never heard of Campylobacter either.  Environmental Health want to visit the store now.

So along with Gastroenteritis, E-coli, Salmonella there's a new one you can catch from raw chicken -but try not to. It is not nice. - Symptoms - stomach cramps (last time I had cramps that bad I had twins a short while later). Cramps at the top of the stomach with a general dicky belly feeling. Temperature, loss of appetite, fever, nausea, vomiting and the worst explosive squits you have ever had -you may even believe you have grown an extra bladder. Lasted a week in my case and you are highly contagious during all the time you are ill and 48 hours after.

Be safe out there folks.