You or a loved one is doubled over with abdominal pain and cramping, and these symptoms are only made worse by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that’s keeping you chained to the bathroom.
This type of sudden and severe gastrointestinal (GI) upset is not uncommon and typically boils down to one of two things: 1) Food poisoning, such as Salmonella, which affects more than one million people in the United States each year; or 2) Viral gastroenteritis, which is commonly known as a stomach flu or bug.
One of the more common reasons why people come to see us at Forest Urgent Care is to find relief from GI issues like these. Our team leaders — Dr. Waiho Lum and Dr. Ping Wong — understand just how miserable life can be when you have an illness like a stomach flu or food poisoning, and we work quickly to get you to the other side.
Here, we take a look at the common culprits behind stomach upset and why you should see us sooner rather than later.
Germs are everywhere, especially in the foods you eat, but your body does a great job of dealing with them, often through stomach acids. If, however, your immune system is compromised, you don’t have enough stomach acid, or your body is unfamiliar with a certain contaminant, you can end up with food poisoning.
Classic signs of food poisoning include:
When we refer to contaminants, we’re referring to bacteria mostly, though you can get food poisoning from fungi, parasites, and viruses.
The most common type of food poisoning is Salmonella, which comes from bacteria found in many different foods — from peanut butter to eggs. Salmonella is also more common around certain animals, such as chickens and ducks.
Another cause of food poisoning is Escherichia coli (E. coli), which affects 2.8 million people around the world each year. E coli is mostly found in fresh produce and undercooked meats.
Food poisoning is also common when you travel and encounter new types of bacteria that your body isn’t used to, causing a bad reaction. This is one of the reasons why we offer travel medication services, which include making sure you have some good medications on hand in case you run into food poisoning issues abroad.
The other common cause behind GI issues are stomach flus, but they’re not really related to the flu at all. As we mentioned, the medical term for a stomach flu or bug is viral gastroenteritis, which describes inflammation in your stomach and intestines in response to a virus.
Symptoms of a stomach virus often come on very quickly as the virus multiples in your body, causing your body to launch a counterattack that can leave you with:
The most common stomach virus is the norovirus, which is estimated to affect about 685 million people around the world each year.
If you or your loved one is otherwise healthy, we often recommend waiting a day or two to see if symptoms clear up.
If symptoms don’t clear and you’re experiencing high fever and dehydration, and you can’t keep anything down for more than a couple days, it’s time to get help. It’s also a good idea to get help at the first signs of trouble if you’re in a high-risk group, such as being very young or old or you’re immunocompromised.
We offer lab services, which in some cases may help us identify what’s causing the symptoms. Then we can tailor a treatment plan to help you get to the other side of your GI issue safely, quickly, and more comfortably.
For expert help for your stomach issue, please contact us at our New York City office in Forest Hills, Queens. You can also visit our clinic during our hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday from 8am to 7pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm.
