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Isn't food poisoning usually caused by the last thing you ate?


Not necessarily. Many of the 76 million annual episodes start 2 to 6 hours after eating spoiled food, but it can take days--or even weeks--for symptoms to strike. Common culprits such as Salmonella (often in eggs or undercooked meat) may not show up for 3 days; rarer waterborne Giardia (linked to 20,000 cases a year) can take weeks to wreak havoc.

Tell your doctor about any symptoms that last more than a few days, because they can lead to severe dehydration and may require a hospital stay with intravenous fluids.

Source: The Editors of Prevention