Back to Health A to Z. Food poisoning is rarely serious and usually gets better within a week. You can normally treat yourself or your child at home.
The symptoms usually start within a few days of eating the food that caused the infection. The most important thing is to have lots of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration. Read about how to treat diarrhoea and vomiting. The incubation period typically lasts hours and the symptoms usually pass in a couple of days. In young children, the rotavirus is a common cause of infection from contaminated food. The symptoms usually develop within a week and pass in around five to seven days.
In the UK, food poisoning caused by parasites is rare. It's much more common in the developing world. The symptoms of food poisoning caused by a parasite usually develop within 10 days of eating contaminated food, although sometimes it may be weeks before you feel unwell.
If left untreated, the symptoms can last a long time — sometimes several weeks or even a few months. Food poisoning can usually be treated at home without seeking medical advice. Most people will feel better within a few days. It's important to avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of water, even if you can only sip it, as you need to replace any fluids lost through vomiting and diarrhoea. If you have food poisoning, you shouldn't prepare food for other people and you should try to keep contact with vulnerable people, such as the elderly or very young, to a minimum.
Oral rehydration solutions ORS are recommended for people vulnerable to the effects of dehydration, such as the elderly and those with a pre-existing health condition.
ORSs are available in sachets from pharmacies. You dissolve them in water to drink and they help replace salt, glucose and other important minerals your body loses through dehydration.
If you have a kidney condition, some types of oral rehydration salts may not be suitable for you. Ask your pharmacist or GP for further advice about this. If your symptoms are severe or persistent, or you are more vulnerable to serious infection for example, because you are elderly or have an underlying health condition , you may need further treatment.
Tests may be carried out on a stool sample to find out what it causing your symptoms and antibiotics may be prescribed if the results show you have a bacterial infection. Medication to stop you vomiting anti-emetics may also be prescribed if your vomiting is particularly severe. In some cases, you may need to be admitted to hospital for a few days so you can be monitored and given fluids directly into a vein intravenously.
The best way to avoid getting food poisoning is to ensure you maintain high standards of personal and food hygiene when storing, handling and preparing food. These steps are important because things such as a food's appearance and smell aren't a reliable way of telling if it's safe to eat.
You can prevent the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses by maintaining good personal hygiene standards and keeping work surfaces and utensils clean. You shouldn't handle food if you are ill with stomach problems, such as diarrhoea or vomiting or you have any uncovered sores or cuts.
It's important to cook food thoroughly, particularly meat and most types of seafood, to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present. Make sure the food is cooked thoroughly and is steaming hot in the middle. To check that meat is cooked, insert a knife into the thickest or deepest part. It is fully cooked if the juices are clear and there is no pink or red meat.
Some meat, such as steaks and joints of beef or lamb, can be served rare not cooked in the middle , as long as the outside has been cooked properly.
When reheating food, make sure it is steaming hot all the way through. Don't reheat food more than once. Certain foods need to be kept at the correct temperature to prevent harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Always check the storage instructions on the label. If food that needs to be chilled is left at room temperature, bacteria can grow and multiply to dangerous levels.
Cooked leftovers should be cooled quickly, ideally within a couple of hours, and put in your fridge or freezer. Cross-contamination is when bacteria are transferred from foods usually raw foods to other foods. This can occur when one food touches or drips onto another food, or when bacteria on your hands, work surfaces, equipment or utensils are spread to food. Home Illnesses and conditions Infections and poisoning Food poisoning. Food poisoning See all parts of this guide Hide guide parts 1.
About food poisoning 2. Causes of food poisoning 3. Treating food poisoning 4. Oysters in particular are particularly risky, says the CDC. Symptoms usually occur within 24 hours after eating the infected food, according to the CDC, but they can sometimes take a week to appear, says Dr. These include watery diarrhea, cramping, nausea, fever, and chills. Most infections occur from May to October, when waters are warmer, and people with liver disease are at greatest risk.
Still, most people with a mild case of the bacterial illness will get better in about three days. It causes diarrhea, nausea, and stomach pain. And outbreaks of it have even caused cruise ships to turn around to prevent more passengers from getting sick one outbreak in January saw a reported passengers fall ill from this nasty bug, which can also be transmitted through the air, not just by food.
It's one of the most contagious viruses around, and a source of major food poisoning outbreaks. Norovirus can also be seen in uncooked shellfish, says Dr.
Pandolfino, if their source has become contaminated. When it comes to a Staph infection, you usually think of a skin infection , not food poisoning. We all carry it on our skin and in our noses, but it becomes dangerous if it enters the body.
You most likely will pick this up from the person who prepared your food, though. Symptoms—vomiting, nausea, stomach cramps, and diarrhea—start between 30 minutes to 6 hours after ingesting, and usually last only one day. For that reason, don't stick to just plain drinking water.
Use sport drinks, since they contain electrolytes, says Dr. It's important to keep taking in calories to help your body function properly.
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