Eating flies + stomach upsets

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goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
You can tell I'm bored when I start thinking these kind of things, but....

Step forward the forum bacteriologists and gastro specialists !

I've been swallowing a lot of flies lately after they zoom in and hit the back of my throat as I'm huffing and puffing my way home. I've also had a rather dodgy stomach of late.

If said flies had been feasting on any - ahem - "dogs' eggs" just before they flew in and I swallowed them (the flies, not the canine number 2s), is there enough bacteria there to cause a stomach upset ?
 

spen666

Legendary Member
I'm more concerned about how many calories are in these insects I swallow?

Is this why I'm putting on weight? (I mean it can't be the cream cakes and chocolates I eat can it?)
 

skwerl

New Member
Location
London
goo_mason said:
You can tell I'm bored when I start thinking these kind of things, but....

Step forward the forum bacteriologists and gastro specialists !

I've been swallowing a lot of flies lately after they zoom in and hit the back of my throat as I'm huffing and puffing my way home. I've also had a rather dodgy stomach of late.

If said flies had been feasting on any - ahem - "dogs' eggs" just before they flew in and I swallowed them (the flies, not the canine number 2s), is there enough bacteria there to cause a stomach upset ?

unlikely.
 
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goo_mason

goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
Tynan said:
your stomach is full of acid mostly, I think you'll be fine

So all that stuff we were warned about with gorey videos of flies landing on your food and transferring the bacteria they were carrying on their feet and in their stomachs was just scaremongering ?

Bah. I've believed a lie all these years ! :thumbsup:

(and boo to Irvine Welsh for propagating this myth in 'The Granton Star Cause' in Acid House - when Boab Coyle became a fly and made his mate and girlfriend ill by running around on their pizza and giving them food poisoning).
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
I take a very robust attitude to eating and drinking

don't eat anything silly natch but people do worry themselves to death sometimes

germs this, germs that, bleah everything

tools of the antiseptic manufacturers
 
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goo_mason

goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
I'm not one of those antiseptic, don't-touch-anything-mucky people - I was just bored and wondered if there may have been a connection between my fly intake recently and the upset stomach that's bothered me this week ! :thumbsup:
 
I swallowed a whopper about a month ago. Mrs B thought I'd stopped to look at my bike - actually I was trying to throw up!

It didn't make me ill afterwards, but I have thought since - obviously I digested the bluebottle or whatever, so surely a little bit of me is now made from fly...

:eek::thumbsup:
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
Hi goo

In most cases the number of bugs on a swallowed fly are probably unlikely to cause any harm. Usually they need to be consumed in some numbers, flies landing on food at an part etc. may give the bugs plenty time to reproduce under perfect growth conditions and so when you finally pig-out on the prawn vol-au-vents there's enough bugs or toxins to cause harm. I reckon this is unlikely from swallowing a fly or several.

However, I knew an old Woman who swallowed a fly...
 

Road Fiddler

New Member
I joined this forum to fuel my love for cycling and my first post is on the merits of eating bugs, around the world insects are considered a delicacy by many people, this is partly due to insects often being the only reliable source of protein in peoples diets.

The University of Wisconsin publishes a periodical called the Food Insect news letter and the British Museum publishes the Why Not Eat Insects? newsletter.

Oh and before you ask i am a survival instructor and this subject is on the menu LOL
 
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