Food Poisoning And Safe Food Handling: When To Call A Doctor

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When To Call a Doctor

Call 911 or other emergency services immediately if:

• You have signs of severe dehydration. These include little or no urine; sunken eyes, no tears, and a dry mouth and tongue; fast breathing and heartbeat; feeling very dizzy or lightheaded; and not feeling or acting alert.
• You think you may have food poisoning from a canned food and you have symptoms of botulism (blurred or double vision, trouble swallowing or breathing, muscle weakness).

Call your doctor immediately if:

• Severe diarrhea (large amounts of loose stool every 1 to 2 hours) lasts longer than 2 days in an adult.
• Vomiting lasts longer than 1 day in an adult.
• You are pregnant and believe that you have been exposed to listeriosis or toxoplasmosis. For more information on toxoplasmosis, see the topic Toxoplasmosis During Pregnancy.
• You have sudden, severe belly pain.

Talk to your doctor if:

• You have symptoms of mild dehydration (dry mouth, dark urine, not much urine) that get worse even with home treatment.
• You have a fever.
• You are not feeling better after 1 week of home treatment.

If you think you have eaten contaminated food, your local Poison Control Center can answer questions and provide information on what to do next. Poison Control Centers are usually listed with other emergency numbers in your telephone book.

Children, pregnant women, and people with long-lasting (chronic) conditions, such as diabetes, are more likely to have severe dehydration and should be watched closely for symptoms. For more information, see the topics Diarrhea, Age 11 and Younger, Diarrhea, Age 12 and Older, and Dehydration.

Watchful Waiting

Watchful waiting is a period of time during which you and your health professional observe your symptoms or condition without using medical treatment. Watchful waiting may be appropriate if you have diarrhea, stomach cramps, and other symptoms of stomach flu (gastroenteritis). You usually recover from these gastrointestinal illnesses at home in several days without medical treatment. Likewise, some cases of bacterial food poisoning are mild and pass in several days. However, if diarrhea is severe or persists longer than a week, call your health professional for advice.

Who To See

Health professionals who are able to diagnose and treat food poisoning include:

• Family medicine doctors.
• Primary care doctors.
• Internists.
• Pediatricians.
• Physician assistants.
• Nurse practitioners.

You may be referred to a gastroenterologist if your symptoms are persistent or severe.

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment

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Last updated:	March 15, 2007
Author:	Monica Rhodes
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Christine Hahn, MD - Epidemiology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman