Is it really food poisoning?

[Slapster]

I've read quite a few posts here in which people blame a sickness on food poisoning, and they will go so far as to name the restaurant where they ate the tainted food. I'm not trying to get flamed here, but I've got to wonder how responsible this is.

First, just because you ate something and then felt bad doesn't mean you have food poisoning. It could be many things - an allergy, a stomach virus, or something other than food that you came in contact with that was unsanitary. Second, it's a serious accusation that can adversely affect a business - especially a restaurant, which in turn can affect peoples jobs and livelihoods.

I'm not suggesting that food poisoning never happens at Disney. I just ask that folks consider the ramifications before stating as fact what is in reality just a guess.

 

[mickman1962]

anyone who truly has had real food poisoning will never get it confused with getting sick from eating something that didn't agree with you.

 

[tiggergirlinMI]

About 15 years ago we stayed at the Contemporary, there were 4 of us, one baby, one 2 year old, my ex husband and myself. Three of us had hotdogs from the Fiesta Fun Center. Within 2 hours, I became ill, then my ex, then our little boy at the time. Our baby didn't have any of the hotdog. We were all so sick and left to drive home the next morning. It was pure misery. I wrote the managers at the Contemporary and they said they try their best to handle food per health codes, but let's be honest, you can't control who washes their hands or not or how food is handled by every one of your workers. I was treated very well by management and we were invited to come back for the 3 nights on the house. We had season passes at the time, so we went back 2 months later and the manager kept his word, they gave us the room complimentary for the 3 nights. It was food poisoning and honestly it can happen anywhere and you never know how your food was handled and if someone washed their hands. You know when it is food poisoning when 3 people get sick all within an hour of each other and we all ate the same thing. But this can happen anywhere, even Disney. I don't worry about it though.

 

[Amy&Dan]

My general rule of thumb in determining food poisoning vs. stomach flu is whether anybody else gets sick. NOthing is more contagious than stomach flu so if everybody else stays well and ate something different to boot then I usually feel safe in saying its food poisoning. Also the two times I have had food poisoning there was no question in my mind that my body was truly ridding itself of something poisonious! As for it being irresponsible to post you got food poisoning from a particular restaurant I figure that WDW feeds millions of people per year so it doesn't surprise me if somebody gets sick sometimes. Also, most people who vacation at WDW don't even know about disboards let alone read all the dining reviews. I just know it can happen anywhere and would still eat at a particular place even if somebody did have that experience.

 

[Stitchfan]

anyone who truly has had real food poisoning will never get it confused with getting sick from eating something that didn't agree with you.

 

[BobsGirl]

anyone who truly has had real food poisoning will never get it confused with getting sick from eating something that didn't agree with you.

SO TRUE!!!!

 

[ElizabethB]

The CDC has said that the most common cause of a stomach virus is food contamination. Check out their website.

 

[LakeAriel]

The CDC has said that the most common cause of a stomach virus is food contamination. Check out their website.

Yes, but you may have gotten the virus from someone who had food poisoning, hence a completely different source. It is always good to report possible food poisoning because if a restaurant gets a number of calls about the same time period they can check what you ate and compare to other complaints. They can then discard the offending food, sparing others what is truly a horrible illness! If your family are the only ones sick, it is highly unlikely it is food contamination. The OP has a valid point.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

TOTALLY agree with mickman........I've only had it once in my life and I'll never forget it.

My general rule of thumb in determining food poisoning vs. stomach flu is whether anybody else gets sick. NOthing is more contagious than stomach flu so if everybody else stays well and ate something different to boot then I usually feel safe in saying its food poisoning.

This is why I know it was food poisoning. 1) I was the ONLY person out of 9 people in our party that had the fish at Crystal Palace. 2) I was the ONLY person out of 9 that got sick. 3) I thought the fish tasted funny but I thought it was the bitter taste of the peppers/stuff that was on top of the fish. (although I love the taste of peppers and think they are usually sweet tasting) 4) I got sick about 45 minutes after eating. 5) a few hours after I "purged" myself of the meal in a Hyatt Regency , I felt fine and was able to eat breakfast.

As for telling it on this board..............just because you get food poisoning from a meal at Disney or any other restaurant, doesn't mean you will get it again. If the rest. has terrible food prep. practices, then maybe, but I think on the whole, WDW has wonderful food and 99% of people probably don't ever get sick. That's a great record if you ask me.

And when I told my story on this board (a long time ago), I also stated that it would not deter me one iota from eating at CP again. I considered it a fluke so I didn't call back and complain to any manager to get any reimbursement, which I would have done if I really was upset with the restaurant. I was thankful it was our last night at WDW and didn't affect our vacation any.

 

[pinkminnie]

I agree completely with Mickman. If you have ever had food poisoning you will never forget it and you will never mistake it for a virus.

 

[shellybaxter]

TOTALLY agree with mickman........I've only had it once in my life and I'll never forget it.




This is why I know it was food poisoning. 1) I was the ONLY person out of 9 people in our party that had the fish at Crystal Palace. 2) I was the ONLY person out of 9 that got sick. 3) I thought the fish tasted funny but I thought it was the bitter taste of the peppers/stuff that was on top of the fish. (although I love the taste of peppers and think they are usually sweet tasting) 4) I got sick about 45 minutes after eating. 5) a few hours after I "purged" myself of the meal in a Hyatt Regency , I felt fine and was able to eat breakfast.

.

I don't doubt that you could have had food poisoning, but eating something and then getting immediately sick doesn't always mean food poisoning. I have some medical issues and sometimes food just simply doesn't agree with me. Sometimes I'll eat a nice meal and within 45 minutes it wants to leave my body in whatever way possible. The first few times that happened I thought I had eaten bad food but that wasn't the case. Actually peppers is one of the triggers for me. While sometimes I can eat peppers just fine, other times they make me really sick. It all has to do with what they are in, how they are prepared, etc.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I don't doubt that you could have had food poisoning, but eating something and then getting immediately sick doesn't always mean food poisoning. I have some medical issues and sometimes food just simply doesn't agree with me. Sometimes I'll eat a nice meal and within 45 minutes it wants to leave my body in whatever way possible. The first few times that happened I thought I had eaten bad food but that wasn't the case. Actually peppers is one of the triggers for me. While sometimes I can eat peppers just fine, other times they make me really sick. It all has to do with what they are in, how they are prepared, etc.

I can see what you are saying. And it's hard to prove that it was food poisoning. But I don't have any allergies, eat tons of peppers in a year and have never gotten sick. And I don't need my two hands to count how many times I have thrown up (other than preg.) and I am almost 42 years old.

But I think the strongest evidence, if you want to call it that, is that I was the only one to get sick and I was the only one who had the fish.

But you're right......just because you toss your cookies doesn't mean it was food poisoning.

 

[DeterminedOne]

I had food poisoning once ... salmonella to be exact. And like another poster said it's pretty serious. It wasn't something I could sleep off and it didn't just go away. I ended up having to go to the ER.

 

[eblack0409]

My family went to Hawaii with my dad's company....we had a luau and almost everyone at the luau got so sick within an hour of eating....I have never been so sick you know when you have food poisoning.....

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I had food poisoning once ... salmonella to be exact. And like another poster said it's pretty serious. It wasn't something I could sleep off and it didn't just go away. I ended up having to go to the ER.

I think salmonella poisoning is almost in its own league......yes, very serious.

If you were talking about me when you said sleeping it off, that certainly didn't happen to me. Not to be gross, but there was hardly an inch of our bathroom at the hotel that wasn't covered, if you know what I mean. Ofcourse, I can laugh now. But I have never been sick SO violently (both ways) in all of my life!! And it lasted for a few hours. Here's hoping that never happens again.

edited to add: I should say, "hate to be gross" cause that was way too much info, wasn't it! The things we share on a message board......

 

[jann1033]

maybe to much info but well applied...i got food posioning while visiting my sister ( at a seafood rest.) and my bil said he knew how sick i was when i was to sick to care if the bathroom door was shut( actually scammpering to the commode to fast to get the door) an experience i will never forget and sure don't want to repeat...

people also say they have food poisoning when they eat something and immediately feel sick but from what i have read( and my experience) that ain't usually the case.

i agree though to say you got it and maybe didn't isn't good although it can happen any where imo. recently a place by us that has been in business for decades had an outbreak and it isn't a gross place at all, it just happened.

 

[k5thbeatle]

anyone who truly has had real food poisoning will never get it confused with getting sick from eating something that didn't agree with you.

Very true. I will agree that although I know people can and do get food poisoning, it is often a fall back self diagnosis.

 

[JennyDrake]

OK, I'm happy to chime in as I do have THE ANSWERS!!

First of all, the fastest ANy food poisoning strikes as far as symptoms is at least 8 HOURS.

Second, BY FAR, most types of food poisoning do not affect the victim for 2-5 DAYS. By nature, every examines what they last injested, when in fact you need to be looking back for as long as five days. It takes that long for the bacteria to set up shop, mulitply, and affect teh body.

BTW, the CDC does not consider it to be a bona fide food borne illness unless at least 5 people are affected who are not related and ndo not reside within the same household.

Jenny Drake, MSPH, RS

 

[OntFamily]

It is always good to report possible food poisoning because if a restaurant gets a number of calls about the same time period they can check what you ate and compare to other complaints.

When my wife was treated at Celebration Hospital for a stomach ailment, they wanted to know which restaurants she had visited (in case others came in with similar symptoms). We found out later, my wife had a food allergy.

 

[minkydog]

OK, I'm happy to chime in as I do have THE ANSWERS!!

First of all, the fastest ANy food poisoning strikes as far as symptoms is at least 8 HOURS.

Second, BY FAR, most types of food poisoning do not affect the victim for 2-5 DAYS. By nature, every examines what they last injested, when in fact you need to be looking back for as long as five days. It takes that long for the bacteria to set up shop, mulitply, and affect teh body.

BTW, the CDC does not consider it to be a bona fide food borne illness unless at least 5 people are affected who are not related and ndo not reside within the same household.

Jenny Drake, MSPH, RS

good points. When i contracted campylobacter from handling raw chicken(in my own kitchen ) I didn't get sick until the next afternoon, but I thought I was gonna die. I have never hurt like that before or since. A friend drove me to the doctor, who was able to give me some meds and antibiotics. All I wanted to do was crawl in a hole and die.