How can you tell which food made you sick?

Question

If you eat a group of foods, or several meals throughout the day, and then get sick hours later (vomiting, fever, diarrhea, etc) how do you know which food is the likely cause?

Answer 1

A food diary is helpful in cases like that, if it happens repeatedly. That's how I found out that I have a reaction to frozen venison, and to seafood, but only if I eat dairy afterwards (like ice cream for dessert after crabs!).

However, fever is not usually a symptom with an allergic reaction. That is more common with food poisoning. Here, you need to be aware of how old the food was and the sanitation conditions under which the food was prepared. Most of my cases have developed fairly quickly, within several hours, so I can tell it is confined to the last meal I've eaten and can track what caused it that way.

Check the first site below for more information on food poisoning and the second one for information about food allergies.

Good luck & I hope you feel better quickly!!

Answer 2

In general, the culprit is usually either a food that can turn bad quickly (dairy-based) or something undercooked (meat-based). Other than the recent spinach/e-coli outbreak fruits and veggies are not usually the cause. Also, if you have this reaction often, you might be allergic to something or lactose intolerant. If it happens frequently, keep a food log and try to determine commonalities on the days you get sick.

Answer 3

Gee, I know where you are coming from. (mind you, the fever symptom is not something I'm familiar with, so keep that in mind). I went for years not knowing what was upsetting me - and finally after allergy testing, found out that I was lactose intolerant (not allergic). So now I use Lactaid - which replaces the enzyme I'm missing to digest dairy - and can eat pizza, lasagne, etc. without spending the night in the bathroom.
Another thing which can be serious is if it's a bug like listeria or something from cold cuts or cheese. Talk over your symptoms with your doctor, and get referred to an allergist. Sometimes you have to do an elimination diet - where you are off sugar for one week, off beef for another, off grains for another - to try to weed out what could be causing the problems. Wish you luck!

Answer 4

You really can't.

Answer 5

Food poisoning table

The following table provides a side-by-side comparison of a few different types of food poisoning. 1, 2, 3

Organism
Methods of transmission
Symptoms

Botulism (Clostridium botulinum)
Improperly canned foods
Garlic in oil
Vacuum-packed and tightly wrapped food
Double vision, droopy eyelids, trouble speaking and swallowing, and difficulty breathing
Usually appear 18 to 36 hours after infection, but can sometimes appear as few as 4 hours or as many as 10 days after infection
Fatal in 3 to 10 days if not treated

Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter)
Contaminated water
Raw milk
Raw or undercooked meat, poultry, or shellfish
Fever, headache, and muscle pain followed by diarrhea (sometimes bloody), abdominal pain, and nausea
Appear 2 to 5 days after infection and may last 7 to 10 days

Listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes)
Ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs, luncheon meats, cold cuts, fermented or dry sausage, and other deli-style meat and poultry
Soft cheeses
Unpasteurized milk
Fever, chills, headache, backache, sometimes upset stomach, abdominal pain, and diarrhea
May take up to 3 weeks after infection to appear
Pregnant women and newborns, older adults, and people with impaired immune systems may later develop more serious illness.

Marine toxins (transmission and symptoms correspond to numbers)
Scombrotoxic fish poisoning
Ciguatera poisoning
Paralytic shellfish poisoning
Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning
Amnesic shellfish poisoning
Tuna, mackerel, and bonito
Fish living in tropical waters, such as barracuda, grouper, sea bass, snapper, and mullet
Shellfish in colder coastal waters, such as mussels, cockles, clams, scallops, oysters, crabs, and lobsters
Oysters, clams, and mussels from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast of the southern United States
Shellfish such as mussels
Rash, diarrhea, flushing, sweating, and headache, vomiting; appear in 2 minutes to 2 hours
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, excessive sweating, headache, and muscle aches; appear in a few minutes to 30 hours
Numbness or tingling in the face, arms, and legs, followed by headache, dizziness, nausea, and loss of coordination; usually appear within 2 hours
Numbness, loss of coordination, an upset stomach, and tingling in the mouth, arms, and legs; appear in 1 to 3 hours
Upset stomach, dizziness, headache, disorientation, and short-term memory loss; appear within 24 hours

Noroviruses Shellfish
Salads
Ready-to-eat foods touched by infected food handlers
Nausea; vomiting; watery, large-volume diarrhea; and sometimes fever (rare)
Appear 24 to 48 hours after infection; last 24 to 60 hours

Perfringens food poisoning (Clostridium perfringens)
Food left for long periods in steam tables or at room temperature
Meat and meat products
Gravy
Watery diarrhea and cramping
May appear 8 to 22 hours after infection; usually last about 1 day
Less severe symptoms may persist for 1 to 2 weeks

Salmonellosis (over 2300 types, mainly Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis)
Raw or undercooked eggs, poultry, and meat
Raw milk and dairy products
Seafood
Stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, headache
Usually appear 12 to 72 hours after infection; may last 1 to 7 days

Shigellosis (Shigella; over 30 types)
Person-to-person contact (often between young children and in day care centers and institutional settings)
Diarrhea containing blood and mucus, fever, abdominal cramps, chills, and vomiting
Appear 12 to 50 hours after infection
Can last a few days to 2 weeks; usually 5 to 7 days

Staph food poisoning (Staphylococcus aureus)
Meat and meat products
Poultry and poultry products
Salads such as egg, tuna, chicken, and potato
Dairy products
Severe nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea
Appear 1 to 6 hours after infection; recovery within 2 to 3 days, but longer if severe dehydration occurs

Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma gondii)
Raw or partially cooked pork, lamb, or beef
Accidentally consuming contaminated substances, such as by putting hands in mouth after gardening or cleaning cat litter box
Generally no symptoms; may develop flu-like symptoms
In people with impaired immune systems: central nervous system (CNS) disease, myocarditis, or inflammation of the lungs
Appear 6 to 10 days after infection; illness lasts months

Vibrio vulnificus food poisoning (Vibrio vulnificus)
Oysters and other shellfish found in warm coastal waters during the summer months
Exposing open wounds to seawater
Vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain in healthy people
Fever and chills, decreased blood pressure (septic shock), and blistering skin wounds possible in people with weak immune systems
If the bacteria infect an open wound, skin breaks open and sores develop.