Symptoms Of Food Poisoning

 

If you have ever endured the symptoms of food poisoning, you know that it is no fun at all. Food poisoning comes from eating food that is contaminated with bacteria and toxins. It usually occurs after eating out and usually a large group of people suffer from food poisoning at the same time because they have all eaten the same foods. You could be the only one to have the symptoms of food poisoning but it occurs more frequently in a public setting than it does at home.

Causes of food poisoning

Most of the time the causes of food poison are eating meat that was undercooked, or letting meats, milk products or mayonnaise sit out too long at room temperature. In the summer it is easy to have a picnic and leave the potato salad out all day when it should be refrigerated.

The most common causes of food poisoning are the following bacterium and viruses: salmonella, E. coli, bacillus cereus, staphylococcus aureus, botulism, listeria, cholera, shigella, campylobacter, and Yesinia. Eating raw fish and poisonous mushrooms are both causes of food poisoning that are seen frequently in hospital emergency rooms.

Some people are more at risk for the symptoms of food poisoning than others. For instance, if you have a chronic disease, such as diabetes or kidney problems, you will be more susceptible to these types of toxins and organisms. People with AIDS can have a horrible time if they encounter contaminated food, simply because their immune system is already so weak fighting the HIV virus. The elderly, pregnant women and children all might become seriously ill of they suffer from food poisoning.
 
Symptoms of food poisoning

The strange thing about the symptoms of food poisoning is that they can appear almost immediately after eating the food in question, or they might not appear for several days. Sometimes if people are traveling, they may arrive home before the symptoms of food poisoning affect their systems.

The most frequent symptom of food poisoning and the one most likely to occur first is diarrhea. You will probably also experience abdominal cramping to go with it. Also at the top of the list of the symptoms of food poisoning are nausea and, of course, vomiting. Some people have a few of these symptoms and not others.

Some of the symptoms of food poisoning that can also occur are headaches, weakness, or you could even have a fever and cold chills. Because some of these symptoms are so close to the symptoms of other illnesses, some people have food poisoning and just think they have the flu or other similar illness.

Because food poisoning can be a very serious illness that can even lead to death under certain circumstances, it is best to visit your doctor or the hospital emergency room should you start to notice a few of the symptoms of food poisoning, especially if they occur right after eating. You also have to be careful in monitoring what you eat. Many people will have a food, such as milk or mayonnaise, for example, and think it smells a little off but not bad enough to throw out. If something smells off, don’t use just a little of it, throw it away.

Food poisoning diagnosis

If you have the symptoms of food poisoning, you need to get to a doctor or hospital as soon as possible. They will want to do some tests to determine if it is indeed food poisoning or if you have some other ailment that requires treatment. You will probably need to have blood or stool tests.

If you are pretty certain you have food poisoning and even know which food may have caused it, bring the food with you to the doctor or hospital as they can test the food to see what types of bacteria or other organisms are in it. You may also need to have tests to determine if it is really food poisoning or something else. If you had blood in your stools, a doctor might want to do a sigmoidoscopy, which is when they look at the anus to see if there might be a lump or other cause of the symptoms. (continued...)