Aug 17, 2018

Interviewer: Food poisoning. How long after you eat information technology will it take to affect you? We'll talk about that next on The Scope.

Journalist: This is "From the Frontlines," with emergency room dr. Dr. Troy Madsen on The Scope.

Interviewer: All right. Yous're at a charcoal-broil or a party or something and you ate a little something and now yous're kind of wondering, "Oh, human being. Peradventure that chip dip was out a fiddling too long." You're worried that you lot're going to get nutrient poisoning. How long is it going to take until yous actually know whether or not you did? Dr. Troy Madsen is an emergency room md at University of Utah Wellness. Food poisoning. How long after you lot eat something will information technology take to bear upon y'all?

Dr. Madsen: And then food poisoning'southward going to have virtually half-dozen hours to hit you. And when I tell y'all this, I'm speaking from personal experience because I had some actually bad spud salad one time, that I knew was bad, and I still ate information technology and six hours after, I was every bit sick as I've always been.

Interviewer: And what are those symptoms?

Food Poisoning Symptoms

Dr. Madsen: So, typically, you're going to get some nausea, airsickness, perhaps you lot become some diarrhea as well. Intestinal cramping, you might hurt all over, you might have a headache with it besides, but, typically, it'due south going to be those stomach, those GI symptoms. Merely lots and lots of airsickness as your trunk is reacting to that bacteria that are in the food that made y'all ill.

Interviewer: So about vi hours, normally. Does it vary from bacteria to bacteria?

Dr. Madsen: It does, but the most common one we see is Staph aureus, which affects thing similar white potato salad, mayonnaise-based sorts of foods. And that's usually what we're seeing, where you're at a charcoal-broil, you're at a dinner, these things are left out too long, someone brought it from domicile and forgot it in their car and then goes out and gets it, you know. All these kinds of bad scenarios that are setting information technology upwards to really start to grow bacteria in there. And and then, nigh of the fourth dimension, it'southward six hours.

Interviewer: All right and how . . . does it automatically cause symptoms if you eat something that could be potentially bad, or do some people just react differently?

Dr. Madsen: I remember some people it merely depends, maybe . . . I don't know. You know, like I said, I had a personal experience with information technology and I knew this was not great irish potato salad, simply I'm like, "I've got a strong stomach."

Interviewer: I guess y'all didn't, huh?

Dr. Madsen: I estimate non. So I don't know if there's only, like, a certain threshold where if yous eat Ten amount, you volition go sick. If you lot eat less than that, you won't get sick. It's either really bad or information technology'south not bad at all. Seems like well-nigh cases nosotros see are people who come in who are feeling really sick from this.

Interviewer: Sure, which would make sense if they're coming into the emergency room, I suppose. So if some sort of food poisoning, or something I believe to be food poisoning, hits, you know, it's the six hours later after I ate something, maybe it was fifty-fifty at a eatery, should I automatically exist worried, or volition my body kind of accept care of it?

Food Poisoning Treatment

Dr. Madsen: Your body should take care of it. You know, if you've got other illnesses like kidney disease, eye problems, issues with dehydration, then I'd be more concerned because you're going to lose a lot of fluid. Simply if you're otherwise salubrious and you think you tin can get through it, it's probably going to last six to 12 hours, and then you should feel better. You lot may want to become to the ER if you demand to get some fluids, need to get some medication for nausea and vomiting, just to get through it. Only the reality is most people are going to get through it okay. They're going to feel pretty crummy, simply come out of it feeling weak, but feeling all correct later 12 hours.

Interviewer: Would an urgent care be able to help you lot with those things, an 4 and medication?

Dr. Madsen: They might be able to. The problem is if you go in an urgent care and you're just vomiting a lot, they might simply get concerned plenty, they might just send yous straight to the ER. So it's kind of a tough phone call. Your doctor also might be able to call in a medication for you, some nausea medication, and peradventure someone could pick information technology up for you. Because if you could merely get that stuff in your system, y'all should be able to get through it okay.

Interviewer: Got yous. And other than my own personal health, could it be something else that's more insidious than just nutrient poisoning that would cause concern? I suppose if information technology doesn't cease in 12 hours, that's when . . .

Dr. Madsen: Yep. It admittedly could, and that's the tough thing with nutrient poisoning. We take people come in all the time that say, "I've got food poisoning," and honestly, I have no way to know unless they tell me, "Yes, this other person was there and they got sick too and ate the same thing." Could exist a virus, could be appendicitis, could exist a bowel obstacle. There are lots of things that go through my mind so, definitely, if y'all're not feeling better after even half-dozen hours, you may consider getting checked out. And if you're having lots of intestinal pain, bloating in your abdomen, like your abdomen merely feels like it's really distended, like it's sticking out, or y'all're actually tender in the right, lower side of your abdomen, those are all things that might suggest something else going on.

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updated: Baronial 17, 2018
originally published: Feb three, 2017

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