My Hub Has Food Poisoning

Updated on April 03, 2008
E.B. asks from Tacoma, WA
5 answers

i tried looking it up on webmd but they didnt have anything but the symptoms and what not...can it be passed if he didnt catch it from the house. he and a bubby at work ate something yesteray he came home and wasnt feeling well woke up this morning and was going to call in and then found out his buddy did too. He started to get ready for work and decided it wasnt worth it. I am a germ freak and now am convinced we are gonna get it which i am freaking out because my baby shower is on saturday. He hasnt had any vomiting which is good but just the runs (TMI) and mild stomach cramping. he has tried to stay away from the kids and i but we are a family that shares everything so if they grabbed something he had in his mouth or something yesterday i dont know if they could catch it. Just a little paraniod!! So far we all seem to feel fine but I dont know if i should start looking for symptoms in my boys and myself or what!! I never have has food poisoning that i know of and neither has my hub. in fact he hardly ever gets ill like this. Anyways any info would help...

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J.M.

answers from Seattle on

Food poisoning is FOOD poisoning. The only way you or your children would get food poisoning would be if you ate the same food. You can't "catch" food poisoning from another person. As long as it was something he ate and not a virus it's not going to spread through the house. If it IS a virus, as long as your husband washes his hands thoroughly after using the bathroom it won't spread. (But to be on the safe side disinfect door knobs, light switches and the toilet flusher.

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A.S.

answers from Yakima on

Hi E....I am a total germ freak myself and I know from experience you cannot catch what he has if it really is food poisoning. I've researched this; you have to eat the bad food. And food poisoning can be just diareah and OR vomitting as well. The key is the stomach cramps and the fact that his budding has the same thing. So don't worry, you and the kids will be totally fine!! Make sure your hubby drinks lots of water. He can get dehydrated too. I'm sure he'll be feeling better soon. Food poisoning usually doesn't last more than a day.

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K.S.

answers from Seattle on

Food poisoning isn't contagious. It lasts for almost exactly 24 hours and can range from the symptoms you've described to violent vomitting and a major case of the runs. (If symptoms last longer than 24 hours, it was NOT food poisoning and was a virus which is contagious so use a bleach solution or Lysol on your surfaces.) Symptoms start pretty quickly - though it depends on how much of the contaminated food was eaten and how much non-contaminated food is also in the stomach. (For example, if you eat an appetizer, a salad or soup, bread, all of the vegetables and all of the potatoes AND the main dish and the main course is bad - the rate of absorption will be slower because the stomach contains so much other food.) Men also have a higher immunity to food poisoning - their livers and kidneys work more effectively than women and children's, so their bodies are designed to deal with poorer food much more efficiently than ours. (So what would give him a upset stomach with a case of the runs would probably have us stuck in the bathroom for twelve hours.)

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

I've had what I thought was food poisoning more than once. Only once did it last more than a day. That time I was vomiting and had diarrhea. Was in bed for 2-3 days because I felt so bad. I knew what I'd eaten and once I started with the stomach cramps I realized that I shouldn't have eaten it.

My daughter had food poisoning when she was 8 or 9. She ate a taco salad that had been in the hot car all day. I told her to not eat it but she does have a mind of her own. She's very careful about food that's sat out or been in the frig for any length of time. She also was vomiting and had diarrhea but she was fine, perhaps a bit weak by the next day.

Everyone in my immediate family has had stomach cramps and diarrhea recently. My daughter still has the cramps and it's been 2-3 weeks. She went to the dr because it's hanging on for so long. The dr said that there is a virus going around now and he thought that was the cause. I know several people who have had the same thing.
I think the incubation period is around 1 week. That means if he has stomach flu it'll probably be a week before anyone else gets sick. It is possible that even if he's sick with the flu that no one else will get it.

Please just relax and not focus on it. Stress and worry causes the immune system to not work as well as it's needed to work. I didn't get the flu until I'd been short on sleep for a few days. I had been taking care of my sick grandchildren off and on for 2 weeks.

If no one else in the office is sick, except his buddy, I think it's most likely to be food poisoning. Did they eat in a restaurant? If so you could check with the restaurant to see if anyone else has called. It's caused by eating contaminated food. Protein based foods may become contaminated if left out of refrigeration for more than an hour or two. Some poisonings are the result of improperly handled raw ingredients, such as raw eggs, meat, poultry, eggs. Every once in awhile restaurants have been shut down because the "poison" was in the salad bar. The "Poison" is neither a bacteria or a virus. They're in a category all their own.

I suggest you look up "food poisoning" on a search engine. It is important to know how to avoid getting it, how to handle food.

If you are concerned about getting a stomach flu
virus you could call your dr and ask if it will have a negative affect on your baby. It would be good for the kids to get a mild case of the virus because that is the way that they build up immunity.

One of the reasons we have so many viruses now is the result of people "protecting" themselves and their children from germs. My generation of kids playing in the dirt, had a bath once a week. We were exposed to germs all of the time and built up immunities without getting so sick. We also didn't have antibacterial soaps, wipes, etc. and I think that we were healthier as a result. Also caused by using antibiotics for a virus or minor illnesses and our body builds up an immunity to the antibiotic. Antibiotics only work on bacteria.

My daughter's sister is a "germ freak" and her kids are sick all the time. My daughter's kids are less sick less often. She's more casual about the possibility of germs.

This may be more than you want to know. I hope it helps and doesn't make you more paranoid. You have enough to take care of without worry over possible illnesses.

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M.C.

answers from Seattle on

To my knowledge you cannot "catch" food poisoning you have to eat the bad food. Now if he has the stomach flu you can get that. The two are easily mixed up. I have never known anyone to get food poisoning without throwing up. So he might be sick with something else. Just make sure he washes up and keeps clean.

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