Food Poisoning and Gastroenteritis: Symptoms, Home Care and Treatment

It usually begins a few hours after a wedding dinner, a roadside chaat or a restaurant biryani that sat out for too long: cramps, nausea, then vomiting and loose motions. Food poisoning is miserable, but most healthy adults recover within a day or two. The danger is not the infection itself but the loss of fluids, especially in children, older people and in the summer heat.

What is food poisoning?

Food poisoning, also called gastroenteritis or “pait kharabi”, is an infection or irritation of the stomach and intestines caused by contaminated food or water. Common germs include Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, norovirus and rotavirus. Toxins from bacteria such as Staphylococcus can cause sudden vomiting within a few hours of eating.

Common causes

• Undercooked chicken, meat and eggs
• Food left out in the heat, and reheated rice or salan
• Unwashed salads, chutneys and cut fruit from street vendors
• Contaminated water, ice and juices
• Poor hand washing by the person preparing food
• Unpasteurised milk and unsealed dairy products

Symptoms

• Nausea and vomiting
• Watery diarrhoea, sometimes with cramps
• Stomach pain and bloating
• Low-grade fever, headache and body ache
• Weakness and loss of appetite

Symptoms start within 1 to 3 days of eating the contaminated food, though toxin-related illness can start within hours. Most cases settle in 1 to 3 days. If you have bloody stools, a high fever, or symptoms lasting longer than a few days, it may be something else, such as typhoid or dysentery.

What to do at home

• Rehydrate first. Sip oral rehydration salts (ORS) in small, frequent amounts. If you vomit, wait ten minutes and start again with smaller sips. Water, clear soups, lassi without sugar and coconut water help too.
• Rest your stomach for a few hours, then restart with plain food: rice, banana, toast, boiled potato, daal and yoghurt.
• Avoid oily, spicy and sugary food, caffeine, milk-heavy sweets and alcohol until you recover.
• Wash your hands carefully and do not prepare food for others while ill.
• Anti-sickness medicine can help severe vomiting, and probiotic products may shorten diarrhoea slightly. Your doctor or pharmacist can advise.
• Antibiotics are not needed for most food poisoning and can make some infections worse. Do not take them on your own.
• Anti-diarrhoea tablets such as loperamide should not be used if there is blood in the stool, high fever, or in children, unless a doctor says so. Diarrhoea is the body clearing the germ.

Signs of dehydration

• Very dry mouth, no tears, sunken eyes
• Passing little or no urine, or very dark urine
• Dizziness on standing, rapid heartbeat
• In babies: a sunken soft spot on the head, no wet nappy for 6 hours, unusual sleepiness

For children, see our guide on diarrhoea in children, ORS and zinc.

When to see a doctor or go to hospital

• Blood or mucus in the stool, or black stools
• Fever above 38.5 C (101.3 F) or lasting more than two days
• Vomiting so often you cannot keep fluids down for 12 to 24 hours
• Severe or constant abdominal pain
• Signs of dehydration, confusion, or extreme weakness
• Diarrhoea lasting more than 3 days (1 day in children and older adults)
• You are pregnant, elderly, a young child, diabetic or have a weak immune system
• Blurred vision, difficulty swallowing or weakness after eating canned or home-preserved food (possible botulism, an emergency)

Prevention

• Wash hands with soap before cooking and eating and after using the toilet.
• Cook meat, chicken and eggs thoroughly.
• Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and reheat until piping hot. Do not reheat rice more than once.
• Keep raw meat separate from cooked food and use separate chopping boards.
• Drink boiled, filtered or sealed bottled water, and avoid ice of doubtful source.
• Be careful at weddings, buffets and roadside stalls in hot weather.

Key takeaways

• Most food poisoning gets better in 1 to 3 days with rest and fluids.
• Dehydration is the real danger. ORS is the most important treatment.
• Avoid antibiotics and anti-diarrhoea tablets unless a doctor advises them.
• Blood in stool, high fever, severe pain or signs of dehydration need medical care.

Related products on Medimart

• Oral rehydration salts (ORS): replace lost fluids and salts
• Ondansetron: a prescription anti-sickness medicine
• Racecadotril: prescribed to reduce watery diarrhoea
• Saccharomyces boulardii: a probiotic that may help with diarrhoea

Browse diarrhoea care products and nausea and vomiting products on Medimart, delivered across Pakistan. Prescription medicines are supplied only against a valid prescription.

This guide is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor.