One of the highlights of your vacation or business trip is probably relaxing at a hotel with a good meal. You might be eager to sample the cuisine offered by the hotel establishment. If you start to feel sick, however, the food might have caused you health problems.
Food poisoning can be a serious condition, possibly even a deadly one. For this reason, you should not ignore signs that your hotel dining has made you ill.
Examples of food poisoning symptoms
Generally, someone who has food poisoning will manifest various digestive disorders. Your stomach could feel upset, followed by pain or cramps. You might vomit your food. Diarrhea can occur, possibly with bloody stool. Other symptoms such as a fever or a headache could accompany your digestive problems.
Sometimes symptoms can become serious enough to seek medical help or go to the emergency room. These include dehydration as well as diarrhea and vomiting that does not stop. Severe food poisoning can also afflict your nervous system, causing blurred vision and changes in behavior.
Time frame for symptoms
According to the CDC, signs of food poisoning may emerge at different times depending on the germs contained in the food. Staph food poisoning can cause symptoms as early as 30 minutes after ingesting. Vibrio, clostridium perfringens and salmonella infections may all result in problems within a day. A Cyclospora infection could take a week to manifest.
Your hotel has the responsibility to keep you safe from injury, including health problems caused by germs contained in hotel food. Be aware of your options if you suspect a hotel stay has resulted in a significant illness.
