There’s nothing worse than contracting a bad case of food poisoning. Not only does food poisoning mean that you have horrible symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, but it also means that you have eaten contaminated food.
Infectious organisms like bacteria, viruses, and parasites (or their toxins) are most often the cause of food poisoning. These organisms can infect food at any point during processing or production, or if food is handled or cooked incorrectly.
Although most cases of food poisoning are mild and clear up with a little bit of home care, some people do need to go to the hospital for extra treatment.
If you believe that you got food poisoning from a restaurant or from eating a certain type of food, it’s important to ensure that you are reporting the incident to the proper entities.
Let’s look at how food poisoning is reported and why it’s so important to do so.
HOW TO REPORT FOOD POISONING
According to Foodsafety.gov, when two or more people get the same illness from the same food or drink, it is then what is considered a foodborne outbreak. The public has a right to know about foodborne outbreaks to protect themselves—and the only way for the public to know is if it’s accurately reported.
The best way to report incidents of food poisoning is to contact your city or county health department. When these cities or county health department officials learn about incidents of food poisoning, they can investigate the outbreaks to control them so that more people don’t get sick in the future (and to learn how to prevent it from happening again).
WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE A DOCTOR FOR FOOD POISONING?
Most cases of food poisoning will typically clear up on their own after a couple of days of taking it easy at home, but there are cases where you will need to seek medical attention.
Here are a few signs that it’s time to see the doctor after getting food poisoning, according to the Mayo Clinic:
- Frequent episodes of vomiting and inability to keep liquids down
- Bloody vomit or stools
- Diarrhea for more than three days
- Extreme pain or severe abdominal cramping
- An oral temperature higher than 100.4 F (38 C)
- Signs or symptoms of dehydration — excessive thirst, dry mouth, little or no urination, severe weakness, dizziness, or lightheadedness
- Neurological symptoms such as blurry vision, muscle weakness, and tingling in the arms
Did you have food poisoning during a food-borne outbreak that required hospitalization in Georgia? You may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering or your medical bills. Call the Fry Legal Team, personal injury attorneys, at (404) 948-3571 to learn more about whether pursuing legal action makes sense for you.
