﻿ Food Poisoning Symptoms and Treatment

Food Poisoning

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Food poisoning facts

  • Food poisoning is a common infection that affects millions of people in the United States each year.
  • Most commonly, patients complain of vomiting, diarrhea, and crampy abdominal pain.
  • Treatment focuses on keeping the affected individual well hydrated.
  • Most cases of food poisoning resolve on their own.

What is food poisoning?


Typically most food borne diseases cause vomiting and diarrhea that tend to be short lived and resolve on their own, but dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities may develop. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year approximately 48 million people become ill from food related diseases each year resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths.


Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 10/3/2013

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Food Poisoning Symptoms

What Are Symptoms of Food Poisoning?

Viewer Question: Is it necessary to conduct a culture of feces or vomit in order to determine that a patient suffers from food poisoning?

Doctor's Response: Food poisoning is a general term that refers to gastrointestinal illnesses (usually diarrhea and/or vomiting) caused by food that is contaminated with:

  • parasites,
  • viruses, or
  • toxic substances.

The diagnosis of food poisoning usually is made only presumptively, based on the affected individual's symptoms and the circumstances. Even in outbreaks of suspected food poisoning that involve many people, when careful studies are done, a specific cause is found no more than half of the time.

