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Yes it does. Go see a doctor immediately. If you don't think you can make it to the hospital, call an ambulance.
Posts: 1594 | Registered: Apr 2006
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People die from food poisoning. Obviously, not from every case. But if you're throwing up that bad, I do think it justifies a trip to the ER, or at least a call to a nurse line to see what they say.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I've never gone to the doctor for food poisoning. I just let it work itself out.
HOWEVER ... E. coli and salmonella etc. are not really anything to fool with. E. coli at least can be fatal in some circumstances. My mom was in the hospital for a few days with salmonella poisoning. She now washes her cantaloupes before cutting them open (which is where she thinks she got it).
So, if someone with medical knowledge tells you to go to the doctor, I would say follow the advice of someone who knows what they are talking about. I have been "lucky" in my few cases of food poisoning so far, I guess.
Oh, and it could be something else (or hiding something else), like a gall bladder attack, which does require medical attention.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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You might have to get your stomach juices sucked up. Thats what I hear happens to people who get food poisoned. Good luck with that.
Posts: 1158 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Dude, I am not about to call an ambulance because I'm throwing up my Arizona chicken wrap. All the doctor is going to do is have me drink lidocaine and Mylanta and shoot me full of phenergan.
Edit: I'm pretty sure it's food poisoning and not something else because I and other people have gotten food poisoning from the school cafe before. Whee, health inspector grade C.
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Most of the time gastroenteritis can be dealt with at home. Drink very small amounts of clear liquids periodically. Once you start keeping them down, work your way up to crackers, bananas, etc. Stay away from dairy products, citrus juices and other harder to digest things until you've recovered.
As for Salmonella and E. coli, they are not food poisoning, but food infection, and they take considerably longer to manifest - at least 24 hours after exposure and usually 2 or 3 days. although sometimes people will have nausea or vomiting, those are not major symptoms of either Salmonella or E. coli. With food infections, people typically get severe diarrhea, sometimes bloody (especially with E. coli)... of course, any diarrhea (which is defined as 3 or more LIQUID stools in a 24 hour period) lasting more than a day or so should be evaluated by a physician (and s/he would hopefully order lab tests, but unfortunately they don't always, especially in ERs).
Also, most of the time, antibiotics are not prescribed for Salmonella and E. coli infections, unless the case has underlying illness that would make complications likely. The infections will usually clear by themselves in 2-3 days (Salmonella) or 1-8 days (E. coli).
Edit: of course, if you start having symptoms of dehydration, you should go to the ER right away. Watch for decreased urine output, and/or dark yellow urine, dry mouth, no tears, sunken eyes.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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I got food poisoning from a Taco Bell about 12 years ago (the current stories bring back the horrificness of it all - the place was shut down 2 months later and is now a credit union...!)
Anyway... my body took care of it all. In nasty, nasty fashion (bum on toilet, head in sink, sorry for grossness). My parents called the doctor... She said that as long as I wasn't still puking + the rest of it constantly + I was coherent - I was okay. What about a call to the doctor if you don't want to actually GO there?
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I have no doctor to call. The school clinic is closed, and the urgent care clinic would just tell me that they can't give me any advice without me coming in.
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What about a 24 hour clinic you could call? Or even something like a hotline or something where you could call and give your symptoms and ask what they think? That's at least better than paying the co-pay if you don't think it's too bad...?
Posts: 1355 | Registered: Jul 2006
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When did your symptoms start and what are they? I'm assuming you're vomiting, but do you have other symptoms? Body aches? Fever, headache, cramping, diarrhea?
If you've been sick for less than 24 hours, and you have no underlying chronic illness, I wouldn't be too concerned. If you've had active vomiting and/or diarrhea for more than 24 hours, you should consult with a clinician - an ask-a-nurse at the very least.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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I have a book at home published by my health insurance that has great flow-charts that tell when you should see a doctor (based on symptoms) and when you can treat yourself at home. Here's an online version:
quote:Originally posted by maui babe: When did your symptoms start and what are they? I'm assuming you're vomiting, but do you have other symptoms? Body aches? Fever, headache, cramping, diarrhea?
If you've been sick for less than 24 hours, and you have no underlying chronic illness, I wouldn't be too concerned. If you've had active vomiting and/or diarrhea for more than 24 hours, you should consult with a clinician - an ask-a-nurse at the very least.
It just started today, three hours ago. Vomiting, headache, and probably fever...although that's hard to tell because when I get nauseated I crave cold. And tummy ache.
Edit: I was feeling kind of sick for a little before that, but I figured it was a lack of food or something. I get low blood sugar sometimes. The last thing I ate was that stupid chicken wrap around 2:30.
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