# Was this food poisoning or ?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025 "2017-05-06T19:43:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/21 "2017-05-07T22:21:01Z")
Old spaghetti gets me every time. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/22 "2017-05-07T22:46:07Z")
Sunny Daze, did you see a doctor, and if so, what did s/he say? ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/23 "2017-05-08T00:17:28Z")
I had similar symptoms once when I was in Wisconsin Dells at a breakfast place and returned the food because there was a big old hair on a sausage. The cook must have shoved the sausage up his ass or let it roll around on the floor because within about an hour of eating it, I got bloody diarrhea, felt like a knife was in my guts and I felt a little off balance for some hours, general discomfort and nausea… went away shortly, but man was that painful, some similar symptoms carried over into the next day. Now whether this food poisoning was chemical or biological is up to debate. Lol Just drink a lot of water, eat some saltines and rest, it’ll pass. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/24 "2017-05-08T00:33:01Z")
I’m going to urgent care as soon as my husband gets back from an errand. I’ve been trying to put it off, but holy shit my belly hurts. I’d still be “trotting” off to the toilet, but there’s nothing left. I’m definitely dehydrated. So, I’m going and I will report back. I guess I just had to be stubborn about it. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/25 "2017-05-08T02:16:55Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I’m going to urgent care as soon as my husband gets back from an errand. I’ve been trying to put it off, but holy shit my belly hurts. I’d still be “trotting” off to the toilet, but there’s nothing left. I’m definitely dehydrated. > > So, I’m going and I will report back. I guess I just had to be stubborn about it. **((((Sunny Daze))))** Get better. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/26 "2017-05-08T02:49:47Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > I had similar symptoms once when I was in Wisconsin Dells at a breakfast place and returned the food because there was a big old hair on a sausage. The cook must have shoved the sausage up his ass or let it roll around on the floor because within about an hour of eating it, I got bloody diarrhea, felt like a knife was in my guts and I felt a little off balance for some hours, general discomfort and nausea… went away shortly, but man was that painful, some similar symptoms carried over into the next day. Now whether this food poisoning was chemical or biological is up to debate. Lol > > Just drink a lot of water, eat some saltines and rest, it’ll pass. This is, literally, what I was talking about upthread in my screed. You got sick and decided it was from the food you ate 60 minutes earlier that had a hair in it, you also decided it was the cook that put the hair in it\*. Could have been from a dishwasher, a waiter, a customer etc. Tell me, what foodbourne illness has an incubation period of 60 minutes, has the symptoms you describe and clears up that quickly? I know a certain type a staph can show up rather quickly, but I’m guessing that’s not it. My WAG, it was either something you had earlier or something you exposed to in some other way ie Rotavirus, Norovirus or just influenza. Keep in mind, you were in an extremely touristy area, sharing (possibly) water parks, hotel rooms, and who knows what else with lots of people that had touched and breathed on them in just that past few days. Plus, think about how many times you were within in just a few feet on a dozen other people. Not, I’m not saying you didn’t have food poisoning, but what you’re doing is really no different than going to work, being getting a cold the next day and blaming one random co-worker or blaming the ugly dog for giving yours fleas. But, like I said, this is a pet peeve of mine, I pay a lot of money in insurance to protect myself for these kinds of things. In fact, my insurance carrier actually writes into the contract that in the event that someone gets sick, they’ll hire a PR firm to deal with the media. People getting food poising is, like, ‘a big fucking deal’. And, ftr, it’s a lot less common than people think it is. > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I’m going to urgent care as soon as my husband gets back from an errand. I’ve been trying to put it off, but holy shit my belly hurts. I’d still be “trotting” off to the toilet, but there’s nothing left. I’m definitely dehydrated. > > So, I’m going and I will report back. I guess I just had to be stubborn about it. Interested to find out what it is. If they don’t do a test (usually a stool sample, fun, huh), my guess is a generic ‘you have a bug, let me know if you don’t feel better in the next 2 days or so’, drink water, try to eat, take some Imodium, maybe they’ll toss you some anti-biotics or anti-virals just for good measure. @Gatopescado, while restaurants can and do make tons of mistakes, be it because of untrained staff, shear volume or any other number of things, you always have to remember that when buying/eating fresh foods, you’re taking all that food safety stuff into your own hands. At my store, leafy greens are washed, celery is cleaned, melons are _bleached_ (this is by federal law before anyone has a fit about it). It’s great if you want to eat healthy instead of fast food, but more often than not, when people get sick e.coli from cantaloupe or get sick from something from Mexico, it’s because they didn’t wash it or didn’t know they couldn’t cut open the package the steak was in then use that knife to make a salad. Something drilled into us over and over and over. Pro-tip, get some vinyl gloves for home. Put them on, cut chicken, work with raw beef, dice jalapenos, peel them into the garbage and even though you’re supposed to in a real kitchen, you could skip washing your hands if you’re careful. \*Yet another huge pet peeve of mine, blaming some random person with exactly zero proof. Case in point. A few years ago I had a customer accuse my cashier of stealing her credit card. She would not listen to me as I explained to her that this was an employee that had been with me for years and as much as I hate the term, if anyone is ‘loyal to a fault’ it was her. Sure, maybe she looked a bit ‘ghetto’, but she’s not stealing anything. I assured her over and over that she wouldn’t have taken her credit card, but this person insisted that she did. I explained to her that if she’s that sure, just cancel it and move on with life, but this customer wanted the cashier fired. Funny after all that BS, there’s no apology when I dug up the camera footage from that time and it clearly shows her getting the card back. As I say in these situations when I can hear them sigh. I’m not sure what happened after you left, but I can see you walk away from the register with [item in question], walk out the door with it and depending on the situation, see you put it in your car. Some of them will still continue to blame me. Those people, I assume, were just calling to get something free and when I (for lack of a better way to say it) called their bluff, they just kept running with it to see if they pushed if far enough eventually I would cave and say ‘well, here’s $20’. God, I love having cameras. –Yet another lengthy post written by your favorite (3x)certified food safety manager with 25 years of experience working in the small business/family business/food business and having a very good working relationship with our health inspector (but never afraid to be proven wrong). ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/27 "2017-05-08T04:16:15Z")
Turns out I have an inflamed colon/colitis. They slapped an IV on me and got fluids into me. I’m supposed to go find a gastro-enterologist tomorrow, which I am very motivated to do. My gut still hurts like a bitch. In the meantime, thanks to Google, I know that I am supposed to only eat clear foods and liquids to try and rest the colon. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/28 "2017-05-08T04:31:23Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > … and liquids to try and rest the colon. Perhaps more focus on the Semi-Colon? ;D ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/29 "2017-05-08T04:45:41Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Turns out I have an inflamed colon/colitis. They slapped an IV on me and got fluids into me. I’m supposed to go find a gastro-enterologist tomorrow, which I am very motivated to do. My gut still hurts like a bitch. In the meantime, thanks to Google, I know that I am supposed to only eat clear foods and liquids to try and rest the colon. To be fair (for all I’ve said) it would appear that colitis can be a caused by at least two of the “Big 6” foodbourne illnesses. Shigella/Shiga and E.Coli, but it also appears that only a specific strain (c.diff) is caused by it. You’re doc, if the sample was lab tested for the strain, probably would have mentioned it to you…in fact, I’d nearly guarantee it since, at least it my state, they’re required to notifiy your local heath department of any confirmed food poisoning cases. FYI, my employees would be, by _federal law_ and signed contract with me, to disclose something like this so I and/or the health department could give them the all clear to go back to work. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/30 "2017-05-08T10:40:41Z")
Joey P. No water parks, this was the first place I went to as I had left the night (well early morning) before. It absolutely only happened after I ate the food, I hadn’t eaten anything else, there cannot be a plausible explanation otherwise except maybe something else in the food screwed me up outside of something biological. Absolutely nothing else possible in that situation. When I went to my doctor 4 days later, that is what was told to me as well. Absence of some other logical explanation, I’m going with what I said, or an odd coincidence, but it happened. In this case, it’s a logical assumption. Also It is not unheard of that an incubation period for an foodborne illness is less than an hour, given it is rare. Anyhow, this is Sunny Daze’s (love the name) post, so I don’t want to hijack it. Hope you feel better Sunny Daze, keep us updated. Glad to hear it wasn’t something related to the Kidney’s… thats gotta be a huge sigh of relief. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/31 "2017-05-08T17:47:52Z")
I keep wanting to change colitis to colitas… for whatever that’s worth. 😉 Earworm! ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/32 "2017-05-08T17:51:08Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I keep wanting to change colitis to colitas… for whatever that’s worth. 😉 Earworm! You do not want the warm smell of colitis rising up through the air. How’s that broth working out for you today? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/33 "2017-05-09T03:35:06Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Turns out I have an inflamed colon/colitis. They slapped an IV on me and got fluids into me. I’m supposed to go find a gastro-enterologist tomorrow, which I am very motivated to do. My gut still hurts like a bitch. In the meantime, thanks to Google, I know that I am supposed to only eat clear foods and liquids to try and rest the colon. How are you doing now? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/34 "2017-05-09T04:34:13Z")
This sucks, frankly. Still got a fever, still got the trots (even though the only things I’m intaking at this point are Gatorade and water). The cramping is reminding me of labor a little too much. I see a gastroenterologist tomorrow. Hopefully they can do something. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/35 "2017-05-09T23:56:18Z")
I went in today and got a bunch of tests ordered. They suspect Inflammatory Bowel disease. ☹ I also get a bonus colonoscopy. I just had one about 6 months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/36 "2017-05-18T17:01:26Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I went in today and got a bunch of tests ordered. They suspect Inflammatory Bowel disease. ☹ I also get a bonus colonoscopy. I just had one about 6 months ago. Coming in a bit late (not sure how I stumbled across this a week after you last posted) but sorry to hear about this :(. Did they attempt to take any blood or stool samples for culturing? I did have a case of some kind of “food poisoning” once, about 24 years back - I truly DO believe it was food-related because it hit about 18 hours after pizza from a particular restaurant, and kept on going no matter what I did, for a full week or more before I went to a doctor. They weren’t able to culture any specific bugs but there were apparently a lot of white blood cells in my blood, the doctor put me on antibiotics, and the symptoms improved - completely - within 24 hours of that. In my case it wasn’t the “runs” so much as severe intestinal cramping causing me to have to dash to the bathroom every half hour (i.e. there was no risk of dehydration). My sympathies on the upcoming scope. I’ve got more experience with these than I like. [Some colonoscopy prep hints](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18167605&postcount=30). ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/37 "2017-05-18T17:54:13Z")
I had virtually the same symptoms that happened within the same timeframe and it was an ovarian cyst that burst (benign). If you are a girl-person, you might want to throw this possibility into the mix as well. Or, as The Gato sez: Sonic. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/38 "2017-05-18T18:38:22Z")
Sunny Daze, just throwing this out there: if you have been in northern CA in the last couple of weeks, around schools or school-aged kids, it may be [norovirus](http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article151158012.html). There has been an outbreak spreading thru this region. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/39 "2017-05-18T18:42:08Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Nah. Not going to tear it apart. Other than the fever, I’ve still got all the other symptoms. I’m thinking I should go see someone. My abdominal region is cramping like a bitch and I’m off to the can every few minutes. I’m trying to stay hydrated, but I’m at the point where I don’t see how anyone could. > > I’ve never had anything progress quite this way, which is why I posted the thread. I’ll post an update later. Sounds like a norovirus, if not for you then maybe the OP > **[Norovirus](https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/)** > > Find info on norovirus symptoms, causes, prevention, current outbreaks, and reporting systems. \*Norovirus causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines or both. This is called acute gastroenteritis. The most common symptoms— diarrhea throwing up nausea stomach pain Other symptoms— fever headache body aches A person usually develops symptoms 12 to 48 hours after being exposed to norovirus. Most people with norovirus illness get better within 1 to 3 days. If you have norovirus illness, you can feel extremely ill and throw up or have diarrhea many times a day. This can lead to dehydration, especially in young children, older adults, and people with other illnesses. Symptoms of dehydration— decrease in urination dry mouth and throat feeling dizzy when standing up\* ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025/40 "2017-05-18T20:48:19Z")
Nope, it isn’t norovirus (I’m the OP). It’s colitis, cause still unknown. 2 weeks or so into this now, no end (ha!) in sight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-food-poisoning-or/786025.md?page=3)