How often is too often for getting food poisoning?

December 17, 2020 12:36 PM

I've lived 30+ years without a sensitive stomach, but in the past 13 months, I've had three episodes of violent reaction to something I ate. Is this just bad luck or reason to see someone?

First time was in Costa Rica last November. Had the same lunch order as the other two travelers, but did have a pineapple juice, so I had chalked it up to that. Roughly two hours later, intense stomach pain, whole body turns weak and cold sweats, involuntary vomit, then very quick diarrhea. Basically emptied out. Felt weak and not great the following day or two, but no more vomit and only a little diarrhea.

Second time was a few months ago with takeout at home. Sushi restaurant. I got raw salmon and scallop and roe w rice. My partner had a piece of my salmon as well. Two hours later, vomit then diarrhea, very violent, very quick. Same type of feelings. Weakness, cold sweats. Nothing the next day. This was a beloved local restaurant that we've gotten take out from many times before. They are close to our house, so it's not like the food sat in our car for a long time. I told them about it that night, and the person shared that the staff had eaten the same things that night and had no symptoms. I figured it was a bad scallop.

Then last night, I made some stewed pork ribs at home. Stewed for over an hour. Ate it with some leftover vegetable stirfry and rice. Partner had the exact same dinner, out of the same plates. Immediately after I felt something weird in my stomach, then I had two drinks, then about two hours after eating, violent vomit and then diarrhea. Same exact symptoms. Felt very weak after and still don't feel great today, some occasion bubbling in the stomach but no more expelling. It's possible I didn't wash my hands thoroughly enough after cutting the pork, then tasted a bite of the food an hour later w my hand. I have no idea.

I've not really had a sensitive stomach in my adult life. I ate many tacos off the streets in Mexico and never got sick. It's just seeming a little weird that it's happened three times in the past year all of a sudden. My partner thinks I should see someone, but I feel like maybe it's just bad luck? Any advice or ideas what it could be?

posted by monologish to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

I would review these events carefully for foods that may be new allergy triggers for you. Was there fish sauce or seafood that could be implicated in the non-sushi events?

Because COVID, I think it’s reasonable to keep a food journal around these events for now, and see a doc (maybe virtually) the next time this happens. If you can get a virtual visit now, though, why not? My insurance asks for a description of the issue before online appointments and will tell you if it’s something you need to be seen in person for without counting it as a visit.
posted by momus_window at 12:46 PM on December 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

I've had similar episodes that I've traced down to an allergy to - in my case - carelessly washed fruit from Spain, so probably some pesticide they use there. An actual allergist confirmed that the symptoms point to an oral allergy, especially since in my case they include going puffy (to the point my hearing gets fuzzy), tingling lips and high anxiety. For now I have a quick-acting sublingual antihistamine, with the option of going for a full food allergy panel of the 100+ antigens kind if I have a reaction to something else than Spanish fruit. And I employ dish soap and a brush on the current bumper crop of tangerines.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:46 PM on December 17, 2020

Underlying chronic conditions can make you more susceptible to food poisoning. Anything from your stomach not making as much acid as it used to because you're using antacids to taking longer to move things through your colon because of constipation can also make you more susceptible. Liver & kidneys not working as well as they once did can also lead to you being more prone food poisoning.

I'd suggest seeing a doctor & getting a check up & blood work & urine tests to rule out any underlying conditions.
posted by wwax at 12:57 PM on December 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

If that first bout in Costa Rica was caused by bacteria or virus, it may have affected your gut biome and changed the way your body processes food.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:57 PM on December 17, 2020 [13 favorites]

hmmm it's the third one that worries me. Traveler's diarrhea, common. Bad sushi, common. (OH HOW I PUKED. I will never forget it.) But that third one, with the cooked meat... might be worth following up with a GI doctor.
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:13 PM on December 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Improperly stored leftover rice can be a surprising source of food poisoning. According to the National Health Service, “ If you eat rice that contains Bacillus cereus bacteria, you may be sick and experience vomiting or diarrhoea about 1 to 5 hours afterwards. Symptoms are relatively mild and usually last about 24 hours.” So maybe that explains your third bout, and potentially some of the others as well.
posted by radiomayonnaise at 1:25 PM on December 17, 2020 [6 favorites]

Leftover rice is a common source of food poisoning, and may account for your third bout. Your partner might just have a stronger stomach/better luck?
posted by EllaEm at 1:26 PM on December 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

You can get food poisoning within a couple of hours of eating bad food, but that's a pretty quick onset, depending on what makes you sick. And when you ate the pork you say you felt something weird immediately, which jumps out as not very food-poisoning-like.

It strikes me as a little unusual that it happened to you that quickly three times and that all three times, other people ate the same food and didn't get sick. It wouldn't be exactly shocking if you were just that unlucky (and who knows maybe you subconsciously tasted something off in the pork and that's why you felt weird), but I think it's worth checking this out to make sure something else isn't going on.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 2:40 PM on December 17, 2020 [5 favorites]

I had this sort of problem until I discovered I had become allergic to eggplant. Was there _any_ ingredient in common between the foods, or even an ingredient that might have plausibly touched them?
posted by LadyOscar at 4:43 PM on December 17, 2020

Pineapple is a plausible component in all 3 meals, as juice or a marinade (that stuck out for me because I actually do have a pineapple allergy, though with different effects, and it can be an annoyingly stealth ingredient in a lot of things.)
posted by tchemgrrl at 5:42 PM on December 17, 2020

When I was 29, I got “food poisoning” for the first time. I would get it a few times a year afterwards, and I would always be the only one of my dining companions who got it.

Fast-forward 13 years, and I’m getting an upper endoscopy to check out if my lifelong acid reflux has damaged my esophagus. It hadn’t, but we found out that the “food poisoning” was being caused by a neuroendocrine tumor in my pancreas that was pushing on my stomach. (This is what Steve Jobs had.) By the time we figured it out it had already metastasized to my liver.

My advice to you (and my past self) is to not let it go with your doctors until it’s fully figured out. NETs are not common and you can test for them with a blood test for chromogranin A. My prognosis is still a mystery while we see if the liver tumors shrink in response to a few different drugs. I could have avoided a LOT of this (and likely prolonged my life by at least a decade) by pushing harder on my GPs, insisting on seeing a good gastroenterologist and other specialists, and insisting on biopsies of EVERYTHING.
posted by quartz at 11:14 PM on December 17, 2020 [7 favorites]

This sounds a lot like one of my relatives who got an H. pylori infection while travelling. It was also marked by a robust stomach turning sensitive. The bacteria can cause food poisoning symptoms the first time you get it, but then afterwards it sets up shop in your stomach lining and persistently weakens it, causing ulcers. It can also cause reactions to eating protein due to acid secretion into a weakened stomach lining. I would get a H. pylori test (not the antibody test, I think there is a scope test which looks for live bacteria in your stomach and is more reliable).
posted by benzenedream at 12:19 AM on December 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

I had bouts of “food poisoning” that got more frequent. It turned out to be a parasite. It’s worth seeing a doctor.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 7:29 AM on December 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

My son had similar symptoms and it was a parasite. He also developed permanent (so far) lactose intolerance afterwards - the kind where he gets really sick on a small amount of dairy. I don't think it's an emergency but it's worth getting checked out. He was diagnosed via a series of stool samples.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:39 AM on December 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

If you keep a food diary to track if it's food poisoning or allergies, keep in mind that food poisoning can have an onset of up to 48 hours after the food in question has been eaten, and list your food for a couple of days beforehand. It's normal to assume the problem is the most recent food you've eaten, but it's quite often something you ate previously.
posted by telophase at 8:34 AM on December 18, 2020