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swine flu symptoms and food poisoning
Food Poisoning or Flu? How to Tell the Difference
The two can trigger similar symptoms, but knowing the difference will help keep you healthy.
By Emily Main
Topics: swine flu, food safety, flu
Protect yourself from restaurant food poisoning; wait out a “stomach flu” for a day or two to see if it’s influenza or just some bad lettuce.
An upset stomach and other flulike symptoms could signal bad mayo, not swine flu.
Here are a few ways identify norovirus food poisoning, and how to protect yourself:
• Pay attention to the timing. It’s easy to confuse norovirus and the flu, says Jason Dees, DO, family physician and board member with the American Academy of Family Physicians. However, unlike norovirus, the standard flu and H1N1 (swine flu) viruses generally cause a cough, runny nose, and sore throat, he says. Also, most cases of norovirus resolve themselves in a day or two. “Anything that lasts longer than that, see a doctor,” says Dr. Dees. (However, don’t wait if your symptoms are severe.)
• Look for the letter grade. Norovirus is often spread at restaurants, where an infected chef, waiter, or waitress has passed the disease on to you. A number of cities and county health departments have started requiring restaurants to post their most recent health inspection scores or letter grades somewhere obvious to customers, so look for that when considering a new dining spot. If your local restaurants aren’t so regulated, check your health department’s website to see if they at least list restaurants that have failed their inspections. If you do get sick, don’t rule out a high-graded eatery as the cause. “It’s a great baseline to make sure restaurants are meeting standards,” says Dr. Dees. “But that means it was safe on the day the inspector was there. Does the 98 on that sheet mean they would score a 98 on the day you eat there?”
Published on August 4th, 2009
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So not what headline suggested
This article had nothing to do with how to tell the difference, like the title suggested, and just told basic tips on how to avoid catching norovirus. BAD!!!!!!!!1
Expected More
Really? You didn't even answer the question poised in the headline. Disappointing.
Needs to be clarified more
While I appreciate the effort made here, and understand that it may be difficult to clarify medical issues in abridged form, I would urge you to do a little better job next time. This article grabbed my attention right away but did very little to answer my questions and concerns. You have the opportunity to educate here, something that many people need regarding the pandemic.
shame on you!!!
Like all the previous comments, I, too, feel "robbed" of information. This is a bait and switch headline, if I have ever read one!!! Shame on you for jumping on the Swine Flu Panic bandwagon to increase readership with InfoFluff.
Do all cases of Swine Flu cause respiratory AND stomach problems? Sometimes, and not ALL the time? Or, are these two mutually exclusive?
And how the heck will anyone be able to tell if they have a regular flu vs. H1N1? How does a physician even tell between the two?
Is it true that the gov't only allowed a complete test for H1N1, if the patient was hospitalized? (In other words, the ONLY true tests done for H1N1 were of hospitalized patients?)
If you're going to add to the Swine Flu Panic, at least give your readers FACTS.
you can do better
Really an inferior article. Doesn't clarify what to look for and offers superficial suggestions to prevent contacting anything.
Clarify
I agree with the above respondants.....this article is most
confusing. PLEASE clarify how to ID the two.
Isn't "flu" a respiratory illness and "stomach bug" a virus?
I think you've just perpetuated a misunderstanding.
"stomach flu"
True influenza in a respiratory illness and has nothing to do with the digestive system. This is what you should be explaining to your readers.
I'm confused too
How do I tell flu/food poisoning/norovirus apart -- only after the fact by how long it lasts?
unclear article
I don't think this article is very clear on how to differentiate the 2. does it mean that if you have nausea, vomitting and cramps between 12-48 hours, it is more likely the norovirus. YOu didnt really say what symptoms/timing should clue you into the stomach flu? Is there such a thing as the stomach flu? help
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