Stomach Flu VS Food Poisoning: Differences and Similarities

People may get thrown up after feeling such a nausea, dizziness. For further condition, those symptoms can be followed by diarrhea, either in mild or severe rate. Those symptoms are pretty similar with food poisoning symptoms. Stomach flu or gastroenteritis shares the same symptoms. How could we differ stomach flu vs food poisoning to find the best treatment and medication?

Stomach Flu VS Food Poisoning

All About Stomach Flu

It would be better to have a clear description about these two diseases to ensure stomach flu vs food poisoning. Differs stomach flu and food poisoning can be started by defining every single detail about stomach flu. This disease is known as gastroenteritis. It happens when the intestine or stomach gets infected by virus or bacteria. Stomach flu is different from the flu or influenza. Stomach flu deals with stomach problems. Influenza becomes the main cause of some general aches like sore throats, fevers, runny noses, and others.

Causes of Stomach Flu

Stomach flu or gastroenteritis often affects kids. The viruses that may cause this disease are rotavirus, adenovirus and norovirus. Those viruses can lead to gastroenteritis that is very common during November to April. If there is no medication applied, this disease may last during 10 days. People with gastroenteritis will undergo the worst period in the first days. After those days have passed, the disease will get better.

Stomach Flu Symptoms

Stomach flu vs food poisoning will share the similar symptoms like diarrhea, vomit, and nausea. The different of food poisoning and stomach flu is some matters like foods, medication and treatment. When people are affected by stomach flu or gastroenteritis, they should consume the proper foods and drinks that they can get better. People with stomach flu are losing their vital bodily fluids as they sweat, vomit, and get diarrhea. They should drink plenty of liquids.

Treatments for Stomach Flu

The best liquids that people with stomach flu should drink are water and broth. These liquids can revitalize their bodily liquid needs. Some sports drinks, which contain electrolyte are very helpful for stomach flu. Sport drinks can help the body to get the lose electrolytes replaced. The acid will be absorbed by sodium bicarbonate in sport liquid. Ginger tea and peppermint tea are much recommended to relieve nausea and calm the stomach. Those liquids should be taken. Some other should be avoided, especially the caffeinated ones (strong black tea, chocolate, coffee, etc.) and alcohol. They can make the stomach upset.

There is some proper food that people with stomach flu should take. Banana can replace the lost nutrients as the stomach lining can be strengthened as well. A cup of rice that contains carbs can bring you a new intake of energy which is very good for sensitive stomach. Take a bowl of applesauce to reduce the disease. It is very easy to digest and cure the disease. Grease, fiber, and diary products are not recommended as they get the disease worse.

Massage and rest help the body to relieve from stomach flu. A good rest can fight the virus off as the damage on the cellular level can be repaired. Massage, especially acupressure, can reduce some kinds of nausea. Medication is the different point of stomach flu vs food poisoning. Don’t take antibiotics as they cannot fight a virus or bacteria. Pick Tylenol or Acetaminophen as the first aid as the symptoms of stomach flu are recognized. For better result, see the doctor to get proper medication.

All About Food Poisoning

As the details of stomach flu have been elaborated, it is the turn to learn every single detail of food poisoning. It is very common and it can be a life threatening problem in the U.S and all the world. It is caused by several kinds of bacteria like Salmonella, E. Coli, botulism, Campylobacter and others. The similarity of stomach flu vs food poisoning is the symptom that includes diarrhea, dehydration, nausea, and vomiting. People who get food poisoning may be affected by bloody diarrhea.

Symptoms of Food Poisoning

The essential difference of stomach flu vs food poisoning is the time. People who get food poisoning will experience the symptoms only within some hours after consuming the contaminated food. It can take some days or weeks later. Those symptoms can last within hours or some days. People with food poisoning should see the doctors as they are in some further condition. If they keep vomiting or bloody vomiting for days, they should see the doctor. If they get diarrhea more than three days, or feel such an extreme abdominal cramping, or high oral temperature, they should also see the doctor soon.

Food Poisoning Risk Factor

The other different point of stomach flu vs food poisoning is the risk factors. Risk factors of food poisoning are classified into some categories. For older adults, food poisoning can affect the response of the immune system. For pregnant women, food poisoning may affect the pregnancy as the circulation and metabolism are different with those who are not pregnant. Then, for kids and infants, the immune system has not been developed fully. And for those with chronic disease can get the immune response reduced.

How to Prevent Stomach Flu and Food Poisoning

The symptoms and risks of stomach flu vs food poisoning can preventive with some actions. These steps can help all of us to avoid the further risk of these diseases. The most important matter is clean. Every detail about us should be clean and hygienic. It will leave no means for viruses and bacteria to get into our body. Make sure that any kind of meat (beef, chicken and pork) and seafood are well cooked. By cooking them well, the bacteria and viruses will die during the cooking process. So we can stay away from those diseases.