How long does it take to get food poisoning?

Question

From when you eat the offending item until you get sick, and how do you know its food poisoning and not something else?

Answer 1

I was very sick to my stomach once, so I called the hospital and talked to a nurse. I was told it was probably not food poisoning since it happened way way after my meal. Instead, it was probably a stomach virus, like norovirus, which just happened to be going around. The nurse explained that if it was food poisoning, I would have gotten very sick immediately after consuming it to, at the most, in my case 1 or 2 hours later. The fact that it wasn't immediate was how we knew that it was something else, in this case, a virus. In either case, I would need to stop eating from 10 to 24 hours and just consume water to flush it out. That's another way we went about determining that it wasn't something worse. If I could begin to eat small amounts of food and then later, larger amounts of food after the 10 to 24 hour period, then we would know for sure that it wasn't something more serious that required medical attention at the hospital.
Well, hope this helps...

Answer 2

It depends on the pathogen (disease-causing agent). Botulism toxin is a neurotoxin that takes 3-4 hours until the initial onset of symptoms, which include wandering eyes and facial paralysis. Paralysis progresses from the head down. You can tell botulism because the effects are seen equally on both sides of the body. Get medical assistance immediately if you suspect botulism poisoning. Ptomain poisoning is similar to a really bad case of diarrhea. Onset of symptoms takes place in about 8-12 hours. You will have severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Usually goes away in a few days but if you see any bloody stool or if the pain is too severe, see your doctor. There are other bacteria that can cause food-related poisoning. If you suspect food poisoning, try to keep a sample of the food or remember where you might have been exposed.

Answer 3

There are many germs that can cause a food born illness and the incubation period is different for each one. For instance, a staph food born illness can cause symptoms within one hour of ingesting the offensive organism and it's the fastest type. Hepatitis A can take 28 days before you start to get symptoms making finding out where you picked it up at next to impossible and different germs like to grow in different conditions and on different foods. So it's hard to tell if you are suffering from food poisoning or just a case of gastroenteritis (stom. flu), but if you are miserable and cant keep fluids down or are in extreme pain or are otherwise worried, you should seek the advise of your doctor.

Answer 4

Ya know that pain you get when you have cramps and it's pretty uncomfortable, but sorta manageable...well, that's just normal, "ugh, I don't feel good." When you have food poisoning, you seriously want someone to put you out of your misery and kill you...just to end the pain.

You can get sick almost immediately up until your body starts voiding the offending item.

Answer 5

Typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea that come on suddenly (within 48 hours) of consuming a contaminated food or drink. Depending on the contaminant, body weakness, fever and chills, bloody stools, dehydration may follow. it is usually mild, but you can die from it (botulism for example is a deadly one).

i usually know it is food poisoning because little red spots appear on my stomach just before the cramps...the first signs usually appear after 2 to 6 hours... but you can't be sure it's food poisoning until the cramps....

i can tell you from my experience that eggs and chocolate are the worst. be very careful when eating them.

Answer 6

i got mine the night of the millennium. it took about 3 days to start feeling sick. & i stayed about a week in bed with stomach cramps, fever, chills, vomiting, but i had a serious virus. most food poisoning appears in a few hours 2 aday & ppl get stomach aches & vomiting / diarrhea.

Answer 7

It happened at the school where I am a teacher. It was several years ago, and many children as well as teachers got sick within an hour or so. It was a HUGE deal.
Several hundred of them were ill.
BAD dressing with the Thanksgiving meal.

Answer 8

It's food poisoning when you start gagging and puking uncontrollably, and your stomach grumbles to a much greater degree than when you're hungry.

Answer 9

in as little as 4 hours from eggs, fish, and poultry. chances are if you get the trots and you're throwing up it's food poisoning if you're that concerned with it go to the emergency room!

Answer 10

i think it takes about three-five hours till you feel it. usually your stomach hurts, and you feel sick