How to treat food poisoning at home

What is food poisoning?

Food poisoning is caused by eating something that has been contaminated with germs or toxins. Many germs can cause food poisoning, including bacteria, parasites, and viruses.

How do you get food poisoning?

Dr Hana Patel explains that many foods can cause food poisoning. Often food poisoning is caused by eating food after its advised use by date, or eating contaminated food.

Thorrun Govind, Pharmacist and Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, says: "Food poisoning can be caused by a few different bacteria - campylobacter is quite common in the UK. There's also salmonella or Escherichia coli (E. coli). Food can be contaminated by viruses, such as the norovirus, too."

What are the symptoms of food poisoning?

Symptoms of food poisoning include:

• Vomiting.

• Nausea.

• Fever.

• Diarrhoea.

• Abdominal pains.

• Body aches.

• High temperature - above 38°C.

• Chills all over.

• Tiredness.

How to treat food poisoning at home

You should rest as much as possible while you have food poisoning. Even if you don't feel like eating, try to have small, light portions. Plain foods are good, such as plain toast or crackers.

How long does food poisoning last?

If you have food poisoning, you will likely feel unwell a short time after eating, perhaps a few hours. However, symptoms can be delayed by a few days, even weeks.

Vomiting typically only lasts a day or two, but sometimes longer. As for diarrhoea, this commonly lasts for several days.

Patel says symptoms of food poisoning tend to pass within a week.

Do I need to see a doctor about food poisoning?

If your symptoms last for longer than a week and over-the-counter medicines haven't helped, it might be time to get advice from your doctor.

These lasting symptoms could be the sign of an infection, which will need treatment.

You also need to see someone if you are finding you are passing less and less urine, or you cannot manage any oral fluids at all. In these cases, you should go to your nearest hospital.

You should be extra mindful and seek medical advice if you are a pregnant woman, elderly, have a weakened immune system due to a long-standing health condition, or if your food poisoning was caught abroad.

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How to prevent food poisoning

While it might not be possible to avoid food poisoning completely, there are safety measures you can follow when preparing and eating food to minimise your odds.

As mentioned before, there are various hygiene factors which often contribute to food poisoning. Therefore, you should ensure you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before making a meal or eating. This is also important if you're feeding someone else.

If you are unwell, do not get involved with the food preparation process.

When it comes to the food itself, make sure you are following the instructions on the packaging, rather than trying to cut corners. This means being extra careful when freezing, chilling, or reheating food, knowing what temperatures to cook things on and how long for, and what food should look or feel like when it is fully cooked.

The standard advice from the Food Standards Agency is to cook food until it has reached a core temperature of 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is particularly important when cooking meat.

Cooking food at the correct temperature, for the right amount of time means there's more chance of harmful bacteria being destroyed. Using a sterilised temperature probe can help you determine how hot your food is. Make sure the tip of the probe enters the thickest part of your food for an accurate reading.

Additionally, always wash fruits and vegetables before eating, and keep raw foods separate on your kitchen counter. If you plan to use one utensil or chopping board for multiple food items, wash the item in between. A specific chopping board should be kept for raw foods only.

Once you are finished in the kitchen, wash down your surfaces and clean your utensils with hot, soapy water.