What to do if you think you have Food Poisoning
Symptoms of Diarrhoea and Vomiting that come on after a meal at restaurant,
after a take away, BBQ or reheating food at home may raise suspicions of
Food Poisoning.
Sometimes it can occur with severe vomiting a few hours after ingestion of the
bacteria contaminating the food but this is actually quite rare and make up
only 3-5% of cases. 20% start after about 12 hours and have mainly
diarrhoea symptoms. While the commonest causes such as campylobacter,
salmonella, and E. Coli, may take 3 to 5 days to develop symptoms.
Luckily most cases will settle quickly and can be helped by following the
advice under the Diarrhoea and Vomiting heading in our website information
section.
To avoid Food Poisoning all food should be thoroughly cooked and any frozen
foods thoroughly defrosted first. Ideally people with tummy upsets or
infections on their hands should not prepare meals. Any meals being reheated
should be piping hot before eating- it is not a good idea to reheat meat
leftovers and rice dishes in particular.
Raw foods like Shellfish/Oysters and raw egg in mayonnaises can be
particularly prone to bacterial or viral contamination. Some estimates put
Oyster contamination in some areas with Norovirus at 70%! Chicken meat is a
common cause of food poisoning - it is a good idea to cook chicken in the
oven first if using the BBQ and just finish off on the BBQ for that charcoal
effect.
When to see/speak to the Dr/Nurse:
If symptoms are severe and not settling
If there is a persistently high fever >38 deg C
If dehydration has occurred
If there is any bowel blood loss usually with severe cramps (Campylobacter
infection)
If under 1 year old or Pregnant
If immunosuppressed
If travelling back from Abroad and symptoms are not settling
Often we will ask for a specimen to send to the laboratory if symptoms
continue and food poisoning is suspected. There is no point sending a
specimen if the motions are not runny and the specimen needs to be dropped
off to the GP early in the day so that it can be sent in good time to the
hospital. The result will take on average 3 days whilst bacteria grow.
If positive you will be offered antibiotics unless symptoms are settling as
funnily enough antibiotics can make the risk of you becoming a carrier of
disease more likely. Patients with bleeding often end up on antibiotics.
We have a statutory duty to inform Public Health of any food poisoning so that
they can contact you if necessary; or a particular restaurant if several cases
occur in one area. We also have to give details of your occupation as well as
basic patient details like your name and contact details.