Originally Posted By jonvn get flu shots. I don't know why people don't get flu shots. Next year, get a stinking flu shot.
Originally Posted By friendofdd I tried to get a stinking flu shot, but I just couldn't stand the smell. Hope a regular one will do as that is what I got.
Originally Posted By jonvn No, it won't prevent viral gastroenteritis. Many episodes of stomach flu are actually mild cases of food poisoning, though. People still should get flu shots. Public service announcement #23.
Originally Posted By dlkozy >>>Many episodes of stomach flu are actually mild cases of food poisoning, though."<<< True. But, food poisoning does not go on for multiple days at a time. With food poisoning your system does a pretty good job of flushing out the offending poisons very quickly, as opposed to the stomach flu which can go on for a few days.
Originally Posted By Kathi K Sorry to hear about those who got sick. We were there on 1/3 but thankfully neither of us got sick. Hope you are all well now!
Originally Posted By 4Disnee I am so sorry to hear about your family being sick on your trip that is a real stink. When we were there in June I came home with something that sounded just like that I was really really sick for 24 hours and then felt like yuck for the rest of the week. I hope that you and your family are feeling better now.
Originally Posted By jonvn Actually, food poisoning can go on for several days. It can be pretty bad. Recently one girl at work ended up in the hospital sick for a week.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ I've had food poisoning. It lasts for days, it's not a quick thing. In fact, it was months before I could eat anything acidic again. jonvn - read the original post. We'd had flu shots. Actually, we've all had all the vaccinations currently available.
Originally Posted By lilprincess food poisoning can last anywhere between 30 minutes and one month (or more) in the worst cases. it's true, most "flus" are food intoxication, it's just people self diagnose themselves as having the flu. vomiting isn't even a major symptom of the flu, it can happen, but it's a lesser occurring symptom. in addition, you usually don't catch illnesses right away, there's an incubation period, depending on the virus or bacteria, usually 3-7 days (most common). hand sanitizers don't protect you anymore than regular washing of your hands, in the case you have nothing of course it's ok, but it can actually strengthen them. with the flu shots, they don't protect against all the tons of strains, usually around 5-10 of them, but it does decrease your chances of getting sick.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ I used "flu" because what we had is the common definition of flu, not the medical one. Besides "Gastrointeritis Warning!" would have been an awkward topic title, LOL We figure this had to be a virus because we all came from different places, meeting at Disneyland. No one had been sick recently. We reviewed what we'd eaten that day and none of we sickies had had the same things. My sil and her son ate exactly the same thing all day. He got sick and she didn't. The ER dr's told us virus.
Originally Posted By koobar i was at DCA on 1/4, had lunch at Ralph Brennan's and In n Out (Tustin Marketplace) for dinner and fell ill later that night. i ended up vomiting on the drive home (i had to pull over on the shoulder of the freeway) and four more times once i got home. the following day i was bed ridden with zero appetite. i'm pretty sure this was attributed to food poisoning and both restaurants have received complaints/warnings of possible food mishandling.
Originally Posted By dlkozy You can check out all you ever wanted t know about food poisoning here: <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001652.htm#Expectations" target="_blank">http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medline plus/ency/article/001652.htm#Expectations</a>%20(prognosis) As the site states MOST food poisoning lasts from 12-24 hours, the time needed for your system to flush out the offending poison. Of course there are the news worthy exceptions as happens with everything.
Originally Posted By lilprincess usually you are sick from something you ate about 3 days before getting sick, it's rarely ever what you have just eaten. flu and food poisoning aren't and have never been interchangeable.
Originally Posted By dlkozy No-not according to what I have read lilprincess-here is a quote from the same site that I posted here earlier: >>"The symptoms from the most common types of food poisoning generally start within 2 to 6 hours of eating the food responsible. That time may be longer (even a number of days) or shorter, depending on the toxin or organism responsible for the food poisoning..."<<< You are right in that flu and food poisoning are not the same thing. Most people do not get the "stomach flu but rather they get food poisoning.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ Yep. Oftentimes, when we think is a bad cold is really the flu. We all just associate throwing up as being "stomach flu". By the way, does it really matter if it's technically the flu or not? Saying "flu" gives folks the general idea of what's wrong without having to go into bodily function detail. In the mid-80's, there was a large outbreak of food poisoning from Jalisco cheese. That's when I had it the worst. Full symptoms for about 2 days, residual symptoms for 2 weeks, nothing acidic for a few months!
