Food poisoning can creep into your life every once in a while. One minute, you’re enjoying a delicious meal, and the next, you’re doubled over with nausea. Once it hits, getting it over with as soon as possible is likely your only priority. But how long does food poisoning last, how do you know if you have it and when is a doctor’s intervention necessary?
How to Know You Have Food Poisoning
Food poisoning and stomach flu symptoms can line up very closely, so it’s important to distinguish which is which so you can treat yourself. The latter has a relatively slow onset — you’ll start to feel crummy 12 to 24 hours before you actually get sick. With food poisoning, your body will start rejecting what you’ve eaten often a few hours and up to a few days after a bad meal.
So, if you start getting diarrhea or vomiting not too long after you last ate or after you have something you don’t usually, it could be food poisoning. But if you’ve been feeling queasy or generally off for a few days and haven’t eaten anything odd, you’re probably dealing with the stomach flu. Get yourself lots of soup, crackers and rest.
What Types of Food Poisoning Are There?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are various germs that cause food poisoning. For example, the classic culprit Salmonella can start affecting you within six hours. Meanwhile, Vibrio — which comes from oysters and other raw shellfish — may take about a day.
Here are a few other nasties, the foods that can cause them and how soon after consumption they’ll make you feel sick:
Listeria: Two weeks, can come from raw sprouts, deli meat, hot dots, soft cheeses, smoked fist, melons and unpasteurized milk
Clostridium perfringens: Six to 24 hours, can come from batch-cooked foods that hover at unsafe temperatures
Escherichia coli: Three or four days, can come from raw sprouts, vegetables and beef, contaminated water, and unpasteurized milk
Staphylococcus aureus: Half an hour to eight hours, can come from foods that stay at unsafe temperatures or aren’t cooked after someone touches them
Campylobacter: Two to five days, can come from pets, unpasteurized milk, contaminated water or raw chicken
Cyclospora: One week, can come from raw vegetables and fruits
Clostridium botulinum: 18 hours to three days, can come from homemade alcohol or poorly fermented or canned foods
Clostridium botulinum will need specialized care to avoid complications, specifically because it’s a toxin. If you experience blurry or double vision, slurred speech, difficulty moving your eyes or swallowing, or drooping eyelids after eating something canned or fermented, see a physician as soon as possible.
How Long Does Food Poisoning Last?
The CDC says that while symptoms vary, food poisoning should last for a few hours and up to several days. However, that can depend on how strong your immune system is and whether the germ produces longer illnesses. For instance, Campylobacter can last up to six days, which is a long time to have abdominal pain, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea.
Helping Yourself Recover: 4 Tips for Managing Food Poisoning
Unfortunately, most food poisonings go away on their own, so you’ll probably be experiencing those symptoms for a bit. In the meantime, here are four tips for keeping yourself well while your body’s fighting the good fight.
1. Get Hydration — and Lots of It
Because you’re losing a lot of water through one end or the other, you must ensure you’re taking enough in. However, gulping it down might upset your stomach even more. Start with small sips and see if you can increase your intake from there. Whether you’re drinking a glass every couple of hours or sipping through one throughout the say, some liquid is better than nothing.
You could stick with water, but sports drinks that replenish your electrolytes will be especially helpful. These will leave your body alongside the water you’re losing. Electrolytes balance your cell’s fluids, and losing too many could make you excessively tired, confused or dizzy, or make your muscles cramp or spasm. Broth is a good alternative if you prefer a savory flavor.
2. Avoid Certain Foods
Try to dodge foods that could be hard on your stomach. Heavy things like dairy, meats and fiber-heavy meals will be hard for you to digest at the moment and could upset things further. Anything acidic or spicy could also cause more issues than solutions.
Alternatively, stick with blander foods that’ll be easier to pass. Classics like Saltines, rice, potatoes, popsicles, plain cereals and Jell-O help you keep yourself nourished while your body fights and recovers. Of course, soup or plain broth are excellent options, as well.
3. Try Ginger
Did anyone ever tell you to drink ginger ale when you were queasy as a kid? Well, turns out, they had the right idea. If you can, get some from the store or make some ginger tea yourself.
You could even make some ginger snaps if you’re feeling up to it. The sweet treat might be just the pick-me-up you need to get through the next couple days.
4. Sleep as Much as Possible
While you’re feeling lousy, sleeping as much and as often as you can is one of the best things you can do. Your body will take that time to focus itself entirely on getting rid of whatever bug’s giving you food poisoning.
When Should You See a Doctor?
If all goes as planned, you should be over your food poisoning in a few days. However, you should talk to your doctor if you experience any of the following:
Extreme dehydration, which includes dry mouth, dizziness and not urinating
A 102 degrees Fahrenheit fever or higher
Diahhrea that’s bloody or lasts longer than three days
Vomiting at a rate where you can’t keep fluids down
Exploring How Long Food Poisoning Lasts
How long does food poisoning last? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t straightforward. There’s a host of germs that could cause it, and each has an incubation period and length of making you sick. In the meantime, make sure you’re drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding foods that could irritate your stomach, drinking or eating ginger, and getting lots of sleep.