Is It Food Poisoning or Stomach Flu Here's How to Tell - Article Health

You're racked by nausea, your stomach is doing flip-flops, and your toilet has become your new best friend. As you make yet another dash to the bathroom and anxiously ponder what the hell is going on, two possibilities pop into your head. You've come down with the stomach flu, or you've contracted food poisoning.

But how do you tell the difference? That's where things get tricky.

“The stomach flu and food-borne illness are easy to confuse because the symptoms are almost identical,” Niket Sonpal, MD, assistant clinical professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City and St. George's University School of Medicine specializing in gastroenterology and internal medicine, tells Health. Those symptoms, as you well know, include severe nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Do you have other symptoms besides GI issues?
Again, ongoing diarrhea attacks and a vomit-thon are the main signs. But stomach-flu sufferers can also have "additional extra-intestinal symptoms, or things that happen outside of your GI tract,” says Dr. Sonpal. “These can be signs of dehydration like headache, lightheadedness and dry mouth.”

How long did it take for the symptoms to show up?
In general, if you've picked up norovirus, the first signs of the illness will appear within 12-48 hours, according to the CDC.

What to do when you’re sick with either
When it comes to treating the stomach flu, sadly, there’s no magic pill that will make you stop puking your guts out. Instead, you’ve got to wait until your body fully flushes norovirus from your system. The good news? Norovirus “is very self-limited and lasts 3 to 4 days for most people,” says Dr. Pham.

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