Ever hear that song by The Doors that goes: “Come on baby, light my fire Try to set the night on fire, yeah”? Well, this story is kind of about that – there’s fire involved, it happens at night, and a baby may or may not be present, depending on how you read it.

But really, it’s a story about how a girl was visiting her boyfriend’s parents and was having an upset stomach because of their dodgy cooking practices. After going to the toilet, she lit a match to mask the smell (yes, that actually works), and that would have been it, but all hell broke loose when the parents smelt it and came down on her.

More info: Reddit

Having an upset stomach can be super embarrassing, especially if you’re visiting someone important, for example, your partner’s parents

Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual image)

The poster was wondering if she was a jerk for lighting a match to mask the smell of her diarrhea

Image credits: u/AmITheeA*s

Image credits: SHVETS production (not the actual image)

She would use fresheners to cover the smell, but the problematic father would say the smell made him sick

Image credits: u/AmITheeA*s

Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual image)

She lit a match, which covered the smell, after which she put it under water and even wrapped it in foil, to be extra safe

Image credits: u/AmITheeA*s

The dad smelt the match and woke everyone up, everyone berating the poster, even her boyfriend

If you didn’t want to get your hands dirty reading the entire story or only skimmed it – here are the main points. The original poster (OP) was visiting her boyfriend’s parents’ house, and all was well – besides one thing.

That thing would be the father of the house, who would be very particular and controlling about others’ behavior. OP would frequently have an upset stomach at the house and would try to mask the unpleasant smells with fresheners or Just A Drop, but the dad asked her to stop as they were making him “feel sick.”

Her mom suggested a new method – burning a match, which actually works, because the sulfurous smell is far stronger and covers others up, but at the same time more pleasant for people.

Well, she tried using it late at night, taking all of the precautions to make sure it was extinguished, but the dad picked up on the smell and woke everyone up in a panic. They found out it was the GF and turned on her, and even her boyfriend lectured her for 15 minutes about how “embarrassing” it was and that she wasn’t using common sense.

There may be various reasons why OP’s stomach is constantly upset around the boyfriend’s parents. It may be something they eat that is unusual to her, could be the water, or any number of reasons alone or in combination.

But it could also be somatization – a psychiatric term describing the phenomena of how psychological distress may manifest itself as physical symptoms. Even if you don’t know the term, this has probably happened to you before, more than once. And if it hasn’t – you’re likely a very calm or lucky person.

It may manifest itself as a headache, chest pain, back pain, nausea, or fatigue. In OP’s case, being around the family, especially the dad, may make her stomach upset. The stomach issues then make her feel embarrassed and humiliated, which further feeds into her stress, and it becomes a vicious cycle.

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Once you realize that you’re suffering from somatization, it’s important not to run from it and analyze it further. Your subconscious is likely trying to tell you that you’re trying to ignore something consciously.

A lot of people were talking about this issue in a Quora discussion, mentioning that it’s important not to ignore your body’s signs, especially if you’re feeling this around a person you should feel safe with.

Image credits: Alex Green (not the actual image)

The real reason why OP is feeling this way is hidden in the comments, and it seems that it’s not somatization at all. Apparently, there is a lot of cross-contamination (when a knife that cuts raw meat touches, say, salad) in the boyfriend’s parents’ kitchen, and if that weren’t enough, they also thaw out raw meat by leaving it out on the counter all day. They also don’t put leftovers in the fridge, and if they do – they do it too late.

If you didn’t know, cross-contamination is very serious, as it can cause food poisoning when bacteria are transferred from raw food to ready-to-eat food. This can happen if raw and prepared food touch or if you re-use the same utensils or cutlery without washing them. People can also transfer bacteria from their hands and clothes to prepared food, so exercising hygiene in the kitchen is super important.

Healthline mentions that minor side effects can be an upset stomach, a loss of appetite, nausea, and diarrhea – which seems to line up with OP’s case. In severe cases, cross-contamination may lead to organ failure or even death, so it is not something to be toyed with.

The comments were in support of OP, saying that next time she should let them smell her sh*t. Others were majorly aghast at the way the family prepares food, also suggesting that they either don’t visit each other’s families or just get a hotel next time. What are your thoughts about this story? Let us know down below.

The comments reveal that she may be getting an upset stomach because of stress at the parents’ place and supported her

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