Should I stay away from my mom?

Question

Last night my mom was up all night with diarrhea, and she threw up once. She thinks it is from some pork she ate (which I didn't). She hasn't thrown up for about four hours, but she still has diarrhea. Does this sound like food poisining or a virus? Should I stay away? I just got over gastroenteritis about a month ago and I really don't want to go through that again any time soon.

She also said it hit her fast and the worst onlylasted about three hours, which is why she thinks it's from the food.

Answer 1

sounds like food poisoning

Answer 2

There is a virus going around the US and Canada called norovirus that causes these symptoms. It's the same as the one that hit the cruise ships. I ended up getting it. It is highly contagious. It might be food poisoning or it might not. Better safe than sorry. Stay away from her and wash your hand frequently.

Answer 3

This sounds very well she did get food poisining. just tell her to take in alot of fluids and buy some imodium to stop diarrhea. or tell her lf this doesn`t help go to the Doctor`s.

Answer 4

It's POSSIBLE it's food poisoning.... especially if the meat sat in the fridge too long before cooking it, or if the pork itself was undercooked. Both are dangerous scenarios. The contamination would definitely cause what you describe. My mom-in-law had the same thing happen from leaving butter at room temp. too long, before using it.

Answer 5

It's hard to say. I've never had food poisoning. You should probably stay away until you can consult your doctor. Just take the necessary precautions...nothing dramatic.

Answer 6

Yes!!
Stay Clear of her germs until she gets to a doctor to verify her case

As long as you still love her and she knows that...you shouldn't have to compromise your own health unless it was something more serious but since it's just the runs...stay away and use Lysol, Purell, and anything else!

Answer 7

You can not catch food poisoning from a person as long as you wash your hands regularly and don't eat what they "emit." It is also important for yor mother to wash her hands after using the bathroom.

Answer 8

If it was a virus then you prob already been exposed , I wouldnt worry about it . drink lots of water and eat foods high i acid "pickled" garlic and ginger virus love them NOT . Just take care of your mom , and make sure she drinks plenty .

Answer 9

Very interesting question. Seeing as you say she has diarrea and you have Gastroenteritis it makes me think that it could very well be the condition of the food.

I have found this article in Wikipedia to go over this.

At home, prevention of Foodborne illness mainly consists of:

separating foods while preparing and storing to prevent cross contamination. (i.e. clean cutting boards, utensils, and hands after handling meat and before cutting vegetables, etc.)
washing hands and/or gloves before handling ready-to-eat foods.
not preparing food when sick or recovering from recent illness
respecting food storage methods (hot foods hot and cold foods cold) and food preservation methods (especially refrigeration), and checking the expiration date;
avoiding over-long storage of left-overs;
washing the hands before preparing the meal and before eating;
washing the fresh fruits and vegetables with clear water, especially when not cooked (e.g. fruits, salads), scrubbing firm fruits and vegetables with a brush to clean;
washing the dishes after use, rinsing them well in hot water and storing them clean and dry;
keeping work surfaces and chopping boards clean and dry;
keeping the kitchen and cooking utensils clean and dry;
not relying on disinfectants or disinfectant-impregnated cloths and surfaces as a substitute for good hygiene methodology (as above);
preventing pets walking on food-preparation surfaces.
Bacterial growth
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Bacteria need warmth, moisture, food and time to grow. The presence, or absence, of oxygen, salt, sugar and acidity are also important factors for growth. In the right conditions, one bacterium can multiply using binary fission to become four million in eight hours. Since bacteria can be neither smelled nor seen, the best way to ensure that food is safe is to follow principles of good food hygiene. This includes not allowing raw or partially cooked food to touch dishes, utensils, hands or work surfaces previously used to handle even properly cooked or ready to eat food.

High salt, high sugar or high acid levels keep bacteria from growing, which is why salted meats, jam, and pickled vegetables are traditional preserved foods.

The most frequent causes of bacterial foodborne illnesses are cross-contamination and inadequate temperature control. Therefore control of these two matters is especially important.


Food temperature
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Thoroughly cooking food until it is piping hot, i.e. above 70 °C (158 °F) will quickly kill most bacteria, parasites and viruses. Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus, produce a heat-resistant spores that survive temperatures up to 100 °C (212 °F). Norovirus and Hepatitis A can sometimes survive temperatures up to 190°F. Once cooked, hot foods should be kept at temperatures out of the danger zone. Temperatures above 63 °C (135 °F) stop microbial growth.

Cold foods should also be kept colder than the danger zone, below 5 °C (41 °F). However, Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica can both grow at refrigerator temperatures.

Hot foods should be held at 57°C (135 °F) or hotter until ready to cool. Hot foods need to be cooled quickly to limit the amount of time the food is in the danger zone (temperature range at which bacteria can grow.) The food should be cooled from 57 °C (135 °F) to 20 °C (70 °F) within two hours. Then further chilled to less than 5 °C (41 °F) in 4 hours. Foods take much longer to cool than most people realize. Food should then be held chilled at 5 °C (41 °F) or less.


UK HACCP guidelines and other official information
The UK Food Standards Agency [1] publishes recommendations as part of its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) programme. The relevant guidelines at csctcooking state that:

"Cooking food until the CORE TEMPERATURE is 75°C or above will ensure that harmful bacteria are destroyed.
However, lower cooking temperatures are acceptable provided that the CORE TEMPERATURE is maintained for a specified period of time as follows :


60°C for a minimum of 45 minutes
65°C for a minimum of 10 minutes
70°C for a minimum of 2 minutes"[2] [3]
Previous guidance from a leaflet produced by the UK Department Of Health “Handling Cooked Meats Safely A Ten Point Plan” also allowed for:

"75°C for a minimum of 30 seconds
80°C for a minimum of 6 seconds"
as well as the above. Secondary references for the above may be found at:

http://www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/doc.asp?cat=8455
http://www.wiganmbc.gov.uk/pub/ehcp/eh/commlflt/cookmeat.pdf This document states that: "This publication may be freely reproduced, except for advertising, endorsement or likely that, in the interests of good customer relations they will be commercial purposes. Please acknowledge the source as Wigan Council Community Protection Department."
http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/fs1694b.pdf
http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/Downloads/Documents/Safer_Cooked_Meat_Production.pdf
http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/pdf/Food%20Safety%20-%20Ten%20Point%20Plan%20for%20Safer%20Cooked%20Meat.pdf
Note that recommended cooking conditions are only appropriate if initial bacterial numbers in the uncooked food are small. Cooking does not replace poor hygiene
Note that the above advice is open to critique

For example, some spore forming bacteria can survive cooking until the CORE TEMPERATURE is 75°C or above - and may in fact be stimulated to grow. If food is cooked to a core temperature of 75°C, it must be kept out of the "danger zone" (5 to 60°C) thereafter to prevent spore formers from multiplying. Spore formers like Clostridium perfringens can cause serious gastroenteritis.
Another problem is that although a core temperature of 75°C will kill most dangerous vegetative bacteria it does not inactivate some toxins (eg staphylococcal enterotoxin). So it is possible to become ill after eating well cooked food, as the food may already be contaminated with toxins before cooking.
For more information, see Foodborne illness.