How do you tell the difference between food poisoning and the stomach flu?

Question

the only symptom is constant throwing up.

Answer 1

The first answer is incorrect. There are many viral foodborne illnesses such as Norwalk and Hepatitis. There are also fungal and parasitic foodborne illnesses. Oftentimes the terms are used interchangeably. When someone is said to have the "stomach flu" then it can either be some non-foodborne illness that also caused gastric symptoms OR it could just be a foodborne illness.

Foodborne illnesses are notoriously difficult (and embarrassing) to diagnose, so they often are left to run their course.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Answer 2

What in the...!? Never mind these people.

There is a specific, but not necessarily definitive, way to tell whether you had food poisoning or stomach flu. Since the only symptom you wrote was vomiting (emesis), then people may already think that you need to see the doctor..I mean come on! We all don't have the time, so let us just experiment.

One way to distinguish between the two is the duration of the symptoms you are experiencing. Normally in a food poisoning case, the bacterium that produced the toxin need not be in your system in order for you to be sick--the toxin is but enough for you to be sick; in stomach flu, fever is most of the time one hallmark symptom. Abdominal cramps and vomiting can also be experienced in both diseases, with a big difference--the duration. Typical food poisoning and its symptoms lasts 24 hours (for Staphylococcal food poisoning), 24-36 hours (for Clostridium perfringenes food poisoning, and somewhere between the two for Salmonella food poisoning.

The usual symptoms for food poisoning are vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps, and you experience these because your body is doing its best to clear the toxin out of your body...and after that, you'll be fine as if nothing happened; had this been stomach flu, then the symptoms would be all of those PLUS fever, and you may even have the residual "hangover" after the virus has cleared your system.

Since vomiting is the only symptom you gave, time yourself how long you vomited; most likely it is food poisoning, and a mild one at that, because if you have a virus in your body, all of the genes in its DNA pathogenicity islands (gene sequences coding for diseases) would manifest in you being more sick than what you say.

Hope this helps! And you'll be fine, by the way; just replace fluid and electrolyte in your body with typical water and gatorade.

Answer 3

i agree with the first poster that a visit to the doctor is the only sure way to know which you may have.

but, food poisoning symptoms (vomiting AND diarrhea) generally happen within 6 hours of eating the suspect food - any longer than that and its probably not food poisoning.

stomach flu may include vomiting or diarrhea or both, and those symptoms can occur at anytime, and are usually accompanied by general body aches, chills and fever.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

There isn't such thing as the stomach flu. This is miss interpreted. Almost all stomach aches and vomiting is in fact food poisoning in some form. The vomiting is your bodies reaction to the bad food and it is trying to rid itself of the bad food. Depending on what was in the bad food, depends on the severity of the body's reaction. ie......nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, fever. All of these symptoms is your bodies way of ridding itself of the bad food that has gotten into your intestinal track!

Answer 6

The flu is a virus and food poisoning comes from bacteria. A visit to the doctor is the only way I know of.

Answer 7

Go with what "POPS" told You. I would have said pretty much the same thing.