What can i eat during food poisoning

When food poisoning strikes you with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, you crave relief fast. But what’s the best way to treat symptoms and recover?

Although food poisoning can be deeply unpleasant, its symptoms usually pass after two or three days, says Daniel Feckoury, M.D., a Piedmont family medicine physician. While you’re sick, though, it’s important to take proper care of yourself and monitor your illness’ severity.

Staying hydrated and eating simple, bland foods will usually put you on the road to recovery, Dr. Feckoury says.

What causes food poisoning?

Food poisoning can be caused by bacteria, parasites or viruses, Dr. Feckoury says. Foodborne illnesses are often transmitted through poultry, shellfish and prepared produce, but you can become ill from eating other foods too.

“Unfortunately, there can be a lot of culprits,” Dr. Feckoury says.

Food poisoning symptoms aren’t always the same, but they often include:

• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Nausea
• Stomach cramps
• Vomiting

With so many types of foodborne germs, incubation periods vary in length too. Don’t assume that a bout of illness was caused by the last meal you ate – symptoms may not arise for days or even weeks after you eat contaminated food.

Common foodborne germs include:

• Clostridium perfringens
• Norovirus
• Salmonella
• Staphylococcus aureus

If you want to pinpoint what made you sick, talk to your doctor about your recent meals and food poisoning symptoms, Dr. Feckoury says.

“You have to use historical clues,” he explains. “Who else is ill? Did someone else eat the same meal as me?”

A physician can cross-check your information with your local health department, which compiles reports of other people’s illnesses. But if you never figure out the exact cause, you’re not alone.

How to treat food poisoning

Diarrhea and vomiting can quickly lead to dehydration, Dr. Feckoury says, so getting plenty of fluids is key. You can drink water or try Gatorade or Pedialyte.

You may be tempted to try over-the-counter medications, but Dr. Feckoury says food poisoning usually needs to run its course. In the meantime, he also advises rest and a BRAT diet, which consists of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Broths may also be tolerable.  

“Eating small meals that don’t have a lot of fat in them” is usually the most effective way to stay nourished and keep foods down, Dr. Feckoury says.

While many food poisoning cases don’t require a doctor’s care, you should be mindful of more serious symptoms. If you come down with a fever of 100.4 or higher or experience bloody diarrhea, it’s time to see your physician.

People with compromised immune systems or other risk factors need to stay particularly vigilant. Pregnant women and older people, for example, are at higher risk and should always see a doctor for food poisoning.

If your illness doesn’t improve, a visit to your doctor may be in order no matter what.

“Don’t hesitate to come see us,” Dr. Feckoury says.

Reduce your risk for food poisoning

There’s no surefire way to prevent food poisoning, but you can lower your chances of it by preparing meals safely and correctly.

Dr. Feckoury offers these tips to avoid foodborne illness:

• Wash your hands after you change diapers, blow your nose, touch animals and go to the bathroom.
• Do not drink unpasteurized milk.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them.
• Keep your refrigerator colder than 40 degrees and your freezer below 0 degrees.
• Cook meat and seafood to well-done.
• Keep your knives and cutting boards clean.

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How can I treat food poisoning?

In most cases, people with food poisoning get better on their own without medical treatment. You can treat food poisoning by replacing lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration. In some cases, over-the-counter medicines may help relieve your symptoms.

When you have food poisoning, you may vomit after you eat or lose your appetite for a short time. When your appetite returns, you can most often go back to eating your normal diet, even if you still have diarrhea. Find tips on what to eat when you have food poisoning.

If your child has symptoms of food poisoning, such as vomiting or diarrhea, don’t hesitate to call a doctor for advice.

Replace lost fluids and electrolytes

When you have food poisoning, you need to replace lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration or treat mild dehydration. You should drink plenty of liquids. If vomiting is a problem, try sipping small amounts of clear liquids. Replacing lost fluids and electrolytes is the most important treatment for food poisoning.

Adults. Most adults with food poisoning can replace fluids and electrolytes with liquids such as

• water
• fruit juices with water added to dilute the juice
• sports drinks
• broths

Eating saltine crackers can also help replace electrolytes.

Older adults, adults with a weakened immune system, and adults with severe diarrhea or symptoms of dehydration should drink oral rehydration solutions, such as Pedialyte, Naturalyte, Infalyte, and CeraLyte. Oral rehydration solutions are liquids that contain glucose and electrolytes.

Children. If your child has food poisoning, you should give your child an oral rehydration solution—such as Pedialyte, Naturalyte, Infalyte, and CeraLyte—as directed. Talk with a doctor about giving these solutions to your infant. Infants should drink breast milk or formula as usual.

Over-the-counter medicines

In some cases, adults can take over-the-counter medicines such as loperamide (Imodium) and bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate) to treat diarrhea caused by food poisoning.

These medicines can be dangerous for infants and children. Talk with a doctor before giving your child an over-the-counter medicine.

If you have bloody diarrhea or fever—signs of infections with bacteria or parasites—don’t use over-the-counter medicines to treat diarrhea. See a doctor for treatment.

How do doctors treat food poisoning?

To treat food poisoning caused by bacteria or parasites, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics or medicines that target parasites, in addition to rehydration solutions.

In some cases, doctors may recommend probiotics. Probiotics are live microbes, most often bacteria, that may be similar to microbes you normally have in your digestive tract. Studies suggest that some probiotics may help shorten a bout of diarrhea. Researchers are still studying the use of probiotics to treat food poisoning. For safety reasons, talk with your doctor before using probiotics or any other complementary or alternative medicines or practices. This is especially important when children, older adults, or those with weak immune systems have diarrhea.

Doctors may need to treat people with life-threatening symptoms and complications—such as severe dehydration, hemolytic uremic syndrome, or paralysis—in a hospital.

How can I prevent food poisoning?

You can prevent some food poisoning by properly storing, cooking, cleaning, and handling foods. For example,

• keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from other foods
• prepare salads and refrigerate them before handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs
• promptly refrigerate or freeze foods that can spoil
• wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling food
• wash fruits and vegetables before eating, cutting, or cooking
• cook foods long enough and at high enough temperatures to kill harmful microbes
• wash utensils and surfaces after each use
• don’t eat foods that can spoil that have been sitting out for more than 2 hours, or in temperatures over 90 degrees, for more than 1 hour

Food safety is especially important for people who are more likely to get food poisoning and related complications, including

• infants and children
• pregnant women and their fetuses
• older adults
• people with weak immune systems

Find tips on food safety for people in these groups.

Food recalls

You can help prevent food poisoning by watching for food recalls. Companies recall foods—take foods off the market—if they find out that the foods could make people sick. If you learn that a food was recalled because it could cause food poisoning, check to see if you have the food. If you do, make sure no one eats it. You can return the food to the store or dispose of it.

Learn more about recently recalled foods.

Travelers’ diarrhea

To reduce your chances of getting travelers’ diarrhea when traveling to developing countries, avoid eating or drinking the following

• unbottled or untreated water. Also avoid brushing your teeth with unbottled or untreated water. Tap, well, lake, or river water may contain microbes.
• ice, foods, and drinks prepared with untreated tap or well water.
• unpasteurized juice, milk, and milk products like cheese or yogurt. Pasteurization kills harmful microbes.
• food or drinks from street vendors.
• warm food that was not served hot.
• raw or undercooked meat, fish, or shellfish.
• raw vegetables and fruits that you have not washed in clean water or peeled yourself.

If you are worried about travelers’ diarrhea, talk with your doctor before traveling. Your doctor may recommend ways that you can treat local water to kill or remove harmful microbes. Your doctor may also recommend that you bring antibiotics with you in case you get diarrhea during your trip. Early treatment with antibiotics can shorten a case of travelers’ diarrhea. Doctors may prescribe an antibiotic such as rifaximin (Xifaxan) or rifamycin (Aemcolo) to treat adults with travelers’ diarrhea caused by certain strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) who do not have fever or blood in the stool. For severe travelers’ diarrhea, your doctor may prescribe azithromycin (Zithromax, Zmax) or ciprofloxacin (Cipro).

Doctors may advise some people—especially people with weakened immune systems—to take antibiotics before and during a trip to help prevent travelers’ diarrhea.

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