Food poisoning — also referred to as foodborne disease or foodborne illness — from contaminated food is one of the more common illnesses. It affects about one in six Americans every year. In most cases, people recover at home with rest and fluids. But severe food poisoning can lead to serious illness.
If you’re searching for the closest emergency room to treat food poisoning in the Sacramento region, all six Dignity Health hospitals of Greater Sacramento offer expert, comprehensive emergency services. If you think you have food poisoning symptoms from a food-borne illness, call 911 or visit your nearest Dignity Health ER as soon as possible.
In serious cases, food poisoning can lead to life-threatening dehydration and organ damage.
Seek emergency medical care or call 911 if you see these signs of food poisoning:
The symptoms of food poisoning vary depending on the type of contaminating bacteria, virus, or parasite. The symptoms may begin within a few hours of eating or drinking the contaminated item, but they may not start for several days or weeks.
Most people with mild or moderate food poisoning experience:
Food poisoning is usually the result of:
We recommend follow these tips to prevent food poisoning:
Fortunately, most bouts of food poisoning are not severe. They typically last one to 10 days and go away on their own. For mild symptoms, you should rest, not eat solid foods until symptoms go away, and drink water or electrolyte drinks to stay hydrated. Call your doctor at Dignity Health if your symptoms get worse.
At our state-of-the-art emergency rooms, our highly trained emergency care teams will treat you for dehydration and may test your blood and stool for the source of poisoning.
Different treatments include:
Dignity Health provides emergency services to treat food poisoning in Sacramento, CA and the surrounding areas.