Food poisoning is more dangerous for some people than others.
The majority of food poisoning cases are mild and resolve on their own.
Common signs of foodborne illness are upset stomach, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.
These can develop in as short of a time as 30 minutes to as long as several days or weeks after consuming contaminated food or water. Often these symptoms will resolve on their own with rest and rehydration.
However, if you or a family member develops any of the following signs of severe food poisoning, you should seek medical attention:
Beyond these obvious symptoms, parents and family members often sense when serious illness is developing and they should trust their instincts regarding when to seek help.
Many describe lethargy, paleness, sleepiness in the hours/days leading up to diagnosis with severe foodborne infection.
Food poisoning is more dangerous for some people than others. It’s best to call a doctor for:
Call your doctor or go to the emergency room
“I think we are dealing with food poisoning, but our doctor thinks we can treat it at home for now …
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that each year one in six Americans are sickened with a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Only a fraction of these cases ever get reported to a state or federal health department.
More than 80 percent of foodborne illness incidents are considered sporadic, meaning they haven’t been associated with an identified outbreak of infections.
Foodborne illness is most often caused by directly consuming food contaminated with a pathogen, an infectious agent that causes illness or disease.
Secondary infection can also be caused by coming into contact with another person who is infected (person to person transmission), such as occurs in settings like childcare facilities and nursing homes.
Pathogens can also be contracted by drinking or swimming in water contaminated by cattle runoff or swimming in pools with inadequate sanitization. Direct animal to human transmission can occur, for instance at petting zoos.
An incubation period is the amount of time (hours, days, weeks) between when you’re infected and when you might begin to see symptoms.
It’s different for every pathogen.