Causes of food poisoning and how to treat it

HOUSTON – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 48 million people get sick, 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases each year in the United States.

“Food poisoning” is the broad term we use every time we have stomach issues, but it can be deadly, especially for the chronically ill and pregnant women.

Undercooked meat, seafood and starches may all be to blame, or maybe a food handler didn't properly wash their hands. If you feel suddenly sick, it's probably food poisoning.

It's easily identified when it's quick, but some gastrointestinal illnesses may also take days to set in, so you may never know the culprit.

“I think anything that sits out for a while, let's say it's cooked and it’s on the counter for a few hours, particularly if it's a pretty warm environment, can be vulnerable to bugs that can cause this,” said Dr. Ned Snyder with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic.

That warning includes thawing meat from the freezer. Snyder said, instead, put it in the refrigerator to thaw so the meat doesn’t sit in room temps.

No matter how harmless, nothing should stay room temperature for more than two hours. That includes late-night pizza!

It's not a guarantee you'll fall ill, but Snyder said the risk certainly goes up if you're eating leftovers that never made it to the fridge, and no, you won't be able to detect disease with a sniff!

“I think if it smells I would be less likely to eat it but probably most of the time when we get sick it smells fine,” Snyder said.

If you do get sick, he said you can treat from home with water, Gatorade, Sprite, ginger ale and over-the-counter medicines. 

“If you can't keep anything down, just take liquids, if you have a lot of diarrhea, things you can get over the counter like Pepto-Bismol, Imodium, can be useful,” Snyder said.

If your temperature exceeds 100.4 then it's time to get to a doctor.