How long food poisoning set in

Minus Related Pages. On This Page. Symptoms and Sources of Common Food Poisoning Germs Some germs make you sick within a few hours after you swallow them. Staphylococcus aureus Staph Symptoms begin 30 minutes to 8 hours after exposure: Nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps. Most people also have diarrhea. Common food sources: Foods that are not cooked after handling, such as sliced meats, puddings, pastries, and sandwiches. Vibrio Symptoms begin 2 to 48 hours after exposure: Watery diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, fever, chills Common food sources: Raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters.

Clostridium perfringens Symptoms begin 6 to 24 hours after exposure: Diarrhea, stomach cramps. Usually begins suddenly and lasts for less than 24 hours. Vomiting and fever are not common. Common food sources: Beef or poultry , especially large roasts; gravies; dried or precooked foods. Salmonella Symptoms begin 6 hours to 6 days after exposure: Diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, vomiting Common food sources: Raw or undercooked chicken , turkey, and meat; eggs ; unpasteurized raw milk and juice; raw fruits and vegetables Other sources: Many animals , including backyard poultry , reptiles and amphibians , and rodents pocket pets.

Clostridium botulinum Botulism Symptoms begin 18 to 36 hours after exposure: Double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech. These are the most common causes of food poisoning in the United States along with the foods associated with them:. The time between when you ingest contaminated food and first experience symptoms can be anywhere from under one hour to three weeks.

This depends on the cause of the contamination. For instance, symptoms of a bacterial infection linked to undercooked pork yersiniosis , can appear between four to seven days after eating the contaminated food. But on average, food poisoning symptoms begin within two to six hours after consuming contaminated food. Symptoms of food poisoning vary by the type of contaminate.

Most people experience a combination of the following:. Check out: Is it a stomach bug or food poisoning? Tips for identification ». If you are vomiting or have diarrhea, the most pressing concern is dehydration. But you may want to avoid food and fluids for a few hours. As soon as you are able, begin taking small sips of water or sucking on ice chips.

Besides water, you may also want to drink a rehydration solution. In the UK, food poisoning caused by parasites is rare. It's much more common in the developing world. The symptoms of food poisoning caused by a parasite usually develop within 10 days of eating contaminated food, although sometimes it may be weeks before you feel unwell.

If left untreated, the symptoms can last a long time — sometimes several weeks or even a few months. Food poisoning can usually be treated at home without seeking medical advice. Most people will feel better within a few days. It's important to avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of water, even if you can only sip it, as you need to replace any fluids lost through vomiting and diarrhoea.

If you have food poisoning, you shouldn't prepare food for other people and you should try to keep contact with vulnerable people, such as the elderly or very young, to a minimum.

Oral rehydration solutions ORS are recommended for people vulnerable to the effects of dehydration, such as the elderly and those with a pre-existing health condition. ORSs are available in sachets from pharmacies. You dissolve them in water to drink and they help replace salt, glucose and other important minerals your body loses through dehydration. If you have a kidney condition, some types of oral rehydration salts may not be suitable for you. Ask your pharmacist or GP for further advice about this.

If your symptoms are severe or persistent, or you are more vulnerable to serious infection for example, because you are elderly or have an underlying health condition , you may need further treatment. Tests may be carried out on a stool sample to find out what it causing your symptoms and antibiotics may be prescribed if the results show you have a bacterial infection.

Medication to stop you vomiting anti-emetics may also be prescribed if your vomiting is particularly severe. In some cases, you may need to be admitted to hospital for a few days so you can be monitored and given fluids directly into a vein intravenously. The best way to avoid getting food poisoning is to ensure you maintain high standards of personal and food hygiene when storing, handling and preparing food. These steps are important because things such as a food's appearance and smell aren't a reliable way of telling if it's safe to eat.

You can prevent the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses by maintaining good personal hygiene standards and keeping work surfaces and utensils clean. You shouldn't handle food if you are ill with stomach problems, such as diarrhoea or vomiting or you have any uncovered sores or cuts. It's important to cook food thoroughly, particularly meat and most types of seafood, to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.

Make sure the food is cooked thoroughly and is steaming hot in the middle. To check that meat is cooked, insert a knife into the thickest or deepest part. It is fully cooked if the juices are clear and there is no pink or red meat. Some meat, such as steaks and joints of beef or lamb, can be served rare not cooked in the middle , as long as the outside has been cooked properly. When reheating food, make sure it is steaming hot all the way through. Don't reheat food more than once.

Certain foods need to be kept at the correct temperature to prevent harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Always check the storage instructions on the label. If food that needs to be chilled is left at room temperature, bacteria can grow and multiply to dangerous levels. Most often, food poisoning is mild and resolves without treatment. But some people need to go to the hospital. Food poisoning symptoms vary with the source of contamination.

Most types of food poisoning cause one or more of the following signs and symptoms:. Signs and symptoms may start within hours after eating the contaminated food, or they may begin days or even weeks later. Sickness caused by food poisoning generally lasts from a few hours to several days. Contamination of food can happen at any point of production: growing, harvesting, processing, storing, shipping or preparing.

Cross-contamination — the transfer of harmful organisms from one surface to another — is often the cause. This is especially troublesome for raw, ready-to-eat foods, such as salads or other produce.

Because these foods aren't cooked, harmful organisms aren't destroyed before eating and can cause food poisoning. Many bacterial, viral or parasitic agents cause food poisoning. The following table shows some of the possible contaminants, when you might start to feel symptoms and common ways the organism is spread.

Whether you become ill after eating contaminated food depends on the organism, the amount of exposure, your age and your health. High-risk groups include:. The most common serious complication of food poisoning is dehydration — a severe loss of water and essential salts and minerals. If you're a healthy adult and drink enough to replace fluids you lose from vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration shouldn't be a problem.

Infants, older adults and people with suppressed immune systems or chronic illnesses may become severely dehydrated when they lose more fluids than they can replace. In that case, they may need to be hospitalized and receive intravenous fluids. In extreme cases, dehydration can be fatal. Some types of food poisoning have potentially serious complications for certain people.