Ask HN: Did I catch a cold from eating unwashed fruit?
Recently I caught a cold in presumably an amazingly short period of time (~6h). From prior infections I had the experience to have 24 to 48 hours "left" being a bit ill, before being forced to stay in bed. Observing my disease I asked myself what went different this time. In general I don't get ill too easy.
Morning: got to work as usual feeling reasonably well
12pm: ate some sushi bought from a supermarket
~3 pm: ate a bowl of strawberries - unwashed
6pm: already felt a scratchy throat
9pm: having a Skype call planning some event, starting to have a headache
11pm: falling to bed really exhausted
I did not have contact with visibly ill people during that day.
1. Since I got hit so fast I'm assuming being exposed to a high number of bacteria.
2. The pathogens where possibly passed by an ill harvester.
3. Strawberries being sweet, moist and un-chilled seem to be the perfect fertile ground for reproduction.
4. The incubation period of colds is usually a lot longer (2-5 days). Does a higher number of bacteria result in a shorter incubation period?
5. Washing the strawberries would have helped. The bacteria was just on the surface area, since the vessels of the strawberries of course where not alive anymore.
Am I right with my assumptions or did I miss something? I'd like you to confirm or debunk my theory of getting ill.
Thank you!