Experiencing food poisoning is always an unfortunate situation. It isn’t fair when a fun night out with friends or a delicious meal at home with your partner turns into a painful and frustrating illness.

While it is certainly not a fun experience, food poisoning infections like salmonella are mostly just a nuisance for a few days and you will start to recover on your own.

Our AFC Urgent Care Knoxville team explains more about what to expect from a salmonella infection below, so read on to be informed.

Where Do You Commonly Catch Salmonella?

It’s about to get a little unpleasant for a second, so bear with us. Salmonella bacteria is most commonly found in animal feces, which can be consumed and then cause you to feel really sick. This obviously happens in an unintentional way, like not cooking meat all the way through or not washing your fruits and vegetables before eating them.

This means that it is also possible for your pets to get you sick! If your dog or neighborhood pet is infected with the salmonella bacteria, you can contract it from them as well. This is why it is so important to wash your hands after petting your dog and certainly before preparing food for your family to eat.

Top 5 Symptoms of Salmonella

• Diarrhea
• Stomach cramps
• Fever
• Nausea
• Headache

When Is a Doctor Necessary for Salmonella Infections?

That’s where the good news comes in! Most salmonella infections will resolve on their own without requiring medical intervention. If your symptoms remain mild to moderate, you will start to feel better in a few days once your body overcomes the infection. In the meantime, focus your recovery efforts on getting adequate rest and drink water to avoid dehydration.

Certain populations, like those over the age of 65 and people with chronic medical conditions, need to keep a watchful eye on their symptoms. Even though it is likely that you will experience the same symptoms as everyone else, there is always the slight chance that your infection becomes more severe and causes extreme dehydration, which can be dangerous.

Recognizing a Severe Salmonella Infection

• Symptoms lasting more than a few days
• Bloody stools
• A high-grade fever of 102 degrees or higher that won’t go away
• Severe dehydration

Stomach issues can be really frustrating. Come see us at AFC Urgent Care Knoxville for a diagnosis.