You feel terrible — nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, headache, fever and chills … just the thought of food makes you ill.
You might have food poisoning. It happens when you eat food or drink water containing bacteria, parasites, viruses or toxins made by these germs. The organisms pass through your stomach into your intestine and start to multiply. Some stay there, some produce a toxin that’s absorbed into your bloodstream and others migrate to body tissues. The result – you get very sick.
Most food poisoning cases are caused by common bacteria such as E. coli or staphylococcus. Symptoms can start anywhere from one hour to seven days after you’ve consumed the food or drink.
Keeping food at the proper temperature is crucial to staying well. You can get food poisoning after you eat or drink:
- Food prepared by someone who didn’t wash their hands properly
- Undercooked meat or eggs
- Food prepared with contaminated cooking tools
- Raw fruits or vegetables that have not been washed well
- Dairy products or food containing mayonnaise that have sat out unrefrigerated for too long
- Frozen or refrigerated foods stored at the wrong temperature or not properly reheated
- Raw fish or oysters
- Unpasteurized fruit juices, honey and dairy products
- Untreated water
Children and the elderly are at the greatest risk. Most individuals typically recover within 12 to 48 hours. The loss of fluids, with accompanying thirst, dizziness and light-headedness, is the biggest issue. See your provider if:
- You can’t keep water down — you may need intravenous fluids.
- Diarrhea has not improved or worsens in five days.
- You have bloody diarrhea.
- You have a fever above 101 degrees —100.4 degrees for kids with diarrhea.
