Do You Have Food Poisoning or the Flu?

 Posted on March 10, 2023 in Foodborne illness

When you are not feeling well, it is rare that you know exactly what is going on. Unless you have been in direct contact with someone who is sick or your symptoms are unusually distinct, chances are that you wait until you are surer of what is happening to you before you take action, such as heading to your doctor’s office. After all, in the early stages of medical distress, you could potentially be suffering from anything from food poisoning to chicken pox and it often pays to know what you are dealing with before attempting to manage the situation in specific ways.

Frustratingly, it is not always easy to understand what is happening to your body, even if you wait until you are uncomfortably symptomatic before trying to treat your condition. For example, it is often difficult to discern whether you have food poisoning or the flu if you are experiencing gastrointestinal distress.  

Diagnostic Challenges

Much as the flu and other viral and bacterial illnesses do, food poisoning symptoms generally do not manifest until hours – or even days – after exposure. While Norovirus patients generally become ill within 12-to-48 hours, Cryptosporidiosis patients could be asymptomatic for up to 10 days.

Also, as many illnesses do, food poisoning generally results in gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, stomach pain, and diarrhea, and less specific symptoms, such as fever, weakness, and fatigue.

Generally speaking, however, food poisoning becomes symptomatic within a few hours of exposure, whereas other illnesses usually take at least a day after exposure to become symptomatic. Similarly, food poisoning usually – although not always – runs its course quicker and more intensely than most viral and bacterial illnesses do. 

With that said, it is generally a good idea to speak with a physician if you are sick enough to be missing school or work, as it is possible that your illness or food poisoning condition is both relatively easy to diagnose and to treat. If you have suffered food poisoning, alerting public health officials and speaking with an attorney may also be beneficial for your interests and the interests of others who may have been sickened due to preventable, food-related issues.

Connect with a Knowledgeable Illinois Food Poisoning Lawyer to Learn More

If you either know or strongly suspect that you have suffered food poisoning, it may be worth your time and energy to connect with the experienced Chicago, Illinois food poisoning lawyers at Newland & Newland, LLP. Especially if you incurred medical bills and lost income due to your recovery needs, you may be in a strong position to seek compensation from those whose food made you ill.

All too often, victims of food poisoning avoid seeking legal guidance because they are under the impression that they will not be able to prove their case definitively. Although many symptoms of food poisoning are similar to symptoms of bacterial and/or viral illness, food poisoning is provable under certain circumstances. To learn more, schedule a no-cost, risk-free case evaluation by calling 312-981-0409. We look forward to speaking with you. 

Source:

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/flu-vs-food-poisoning/