Food poisoning is one of the common stomach infection that affects millions of citizens across the country each year. Food poisoning is food borne disease. It is caused due to ingestion of food that is toxic or might have chemical or infectious agents like viruses, bacteria, parasite or prion.

Food poisoning causes adverse signs of poisoning in the body. The signs of food poisoning might be limited to gastrointestinal tract or they can also affect other organs such as brain, kidney or muscle.

Most of the people experiencing food poisoning experience signs based on what type of bacteria, virus or parasite is involved in the infection. Irrespective of the type of infection, signs of poisoning such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting are the most common in the people suffering from the infection.

Signs that the person might be suffering from food poisoning

• A person suffering from food poisoning might experience cramps in the stomach and gut, and may also experience diarrhea, vomiting after 1 hour of eating infected food, it might also appear as late as 10 days.
• Some other signs of poisoning might include bloating and gas, fever, muscle aches, weakness, abdominal pain, and cramping.
• Botulism is a sign of poisoning that is caused due to bugs that carry bacteria and viruses like campylobacter, E.coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella.
• Signs of poisoning due to botulism include muscle weakness, hard time swallowing, dry mouth, muscle paralysis from head down, vomiting, slurred speech, blurred vision.

Difference between food poisoning and stomach flu

Food poisoning and stomach flu differ from each other in terms of signs of poisoning. They differ in terms of causative agents. Which means one of the disease is caused due to contaminated food and the other might be caused due to non-food agents like bodily secretions. Stomach flu is usually equated to viral gastroenteritis. It is an illness that usually resolves in under 24 hours, which is caused by a virus called as adenovirus, Norwalk virus or rotavirus.

• Food poisoning might last for a couple of days. If the signs of poisoning last longer than usual, then that person should consult a healthcare professional.
• Infections may be difficult to detect if a person is suffering from an infection called as cyclospora. This might be considered as a potential cause of food poisoning as these might be prolonged symptoms.

If a person is suffering from any of the above-mentioned signs of poisoning, it is advisable to consult a health care professional who will diagnose the cause of poisoning and provide the required treatment to provide relief from the symptoms of poisoning.