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Do You Have Symptoms of a Stomach Bug or Food Poisoning – There’s A Difference!

When you experience those uncomfortable days with an upset stomach, can you figure out if it is food poisoning or stomach flu. It’s imperative to know the difference because you need to be careful while interacting with others around you.

Stomach bug or stomach flu is not related to the seasonal flu which is a respiratory infection. The cause of stomach bug is a virus e.g. rotavirus. It is transmitted through physical contact with an infected person as the virus stays in the body fluids. Also, the sharing the contaminated food/drink/utensils can harbor the virus. In food poisoning, various bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi are intake due to infected foods.

The symptoms of a stomach bug manifest as the virus attacks the stomach and intestinal regions in the digestive system. Usually the incubation period after which the stomach flu symptoms appear is about 1 to 2 days. However, this period is relatively uncertain in case of food poisoning. Symptoms may occur within few hours or take weeks to show.

The symptoms of a stomach bug include an upset stomach diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, fatigue, abdominal cramps, etc. Out of these stomach flu symptoms, the watery diarrhea is the most significant one as it causes great fluid loss from the body. The food poisoning symptoms are very similar to the above. However, the pattern and severity of their occurrence is the variable factor.

The mentioned symptoms of a stomach bug usually stay for 24 to 48 hours. Nonetheless, in cases of complications arising from stomach flu, like dehydration, the symptoms may recede after a span of 10 days. The severe food poisoning can cause fatal damage to kidneys and unborn babies if not taken care of.

Whenever you experience the reported symptoms of a stomach bug or food poisoning, you must immediately seek medical help. The doctor would be able to prescribe required antibiotics in case of bacterial infection. Otherwise, the major recommendation is to consume a lot fluid to replace the essential fluid level of body and rest.

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