Advising Daughter on Food Poisoning Remedies

Older daughter (mid 20s) called and is sure she has food poisoning. Something she ate at a picnic last night. Vomited once around 4AM but mostly crampy runs, now about 6 hours. My experience is sips of Gatorade (maybe a bit diluted) to maintain hydration and electrolytes. I told her to rest, maybe small bites of banana if she feels like it, and this should run its course by the eve. She needs to get whatever this is out of her system.

Serious question: For you docs and nurses, once her insides are settled, would a small warm water enema (with a little baking soda?) help clear out any residuals? Various websites are pro or con on this. Thoughts?

The treatment for gastroenteritis is sips of clear liquids ( things you can see through--flat 7up etc) for twelve hours or so until the nausea stops. Then a BRAT diet. That is ripe bananas, rice cereal, apple sauce and dry toast. Avoid fatty or fried foods as well as milk products. I suspect that she has GE (probably viral) not food poisoning as she doesn't have protracted vomiting which is characteristic of that. Absolutely no indication for an enema as the diarrhea has cleared out everything already.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for. Our family doctor is on holiday and I did not want to bother her. Jen did,vomit twice more but her stomach seems to be settling now. I hope other members can learn from this too.

Give it 24 hours to pass. Keep hydrated with Pedialyte, Gatorade, etc.

If no improvement in 24 hours or if not completely over in 48 hours, get to the Emergency Room!

Agree with all the above. Personally, I make the T (Toast) in the BRAT recovery diet as Dark as possible. Carbonizing some of the toast surface works like charcoal to absorb the poison or irritant in my stomach. Hydration Maintenance should be first priority. Hope Jen feels better soon!

Thank you, LisaK. It's very nice of you to respond with good advice. One of Daughter's girlfriends at the picnic has been sick, too. So it's likely it was something they ate. By late this evening Jen seemed to be through the worst of it. She had never experienced anything like this before and was scared. I think some of the worst times for a mom is when our kids are sick, no matter how old they are, and we're not nearby. Thank goodness Jen has a neighbor, also a mom with grown daughters, who came to the rescue for more Gatorade, etc., and A&D ointment, one of those little but important remedies that only moms know about.

The advice already given is excellent! Definitely no enemas! If she was raised on them and has caught the klismo "bug", she should wait at least a week before indulging.

I'm late, but: there exist special products for diluting in water, in order to refill with electrolytes and not just water (that's already what you do with Gatorade, but these products are special made for diarrhea patients). We started keeping some when our children were babies. Maybe it's actually worth keeping some for adults as well...

You may also try some Imodium, but this does not solve the main issue. It just stops the diarrhea, one still has gas and cramping after that. I do a lot of business travel and I always carry Imodium (better that than try to find a pharmacy and explain, in a country whose language I don't speak or hardly speak, that I need something for diarrhea).

I'm late, but: there exist special products for diluting in water, in order to refill with electrolytes and not just water (that's already what you do with Gatorade, but these products are special made for diarrhea patients). We started keeping some when our children were babies. Maybe it's actually worth keeping some for adults as well...

I always have some of those available - works for dehydration induced by diarrhea, and also dehydration induced by excessive alcohol consumption, so they're my go-to hangover cure (I find them significantly more effective than just water).