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Do you have to go to the hospital with food poisoning?
I am a 39 year old female. I wonder if you have to go to the hospital with food poisoning?
1 Answer
Not necessarily. The body's response to most ingested substances that it identifies as toxic or potentially harmful to it are expelled as rapidly as possible. This means vomiting and often diarrhea. However, as its objective suggests, this is usually accomplished within a couple of hours, and the GI tract settles down.
Prolonged vomiting/retching is the main feature that will necessitate ER or Urgent Care visit. If, however, you become lightheaded or dizzy with position change, that can indicate that you are volume depleted and may also need to go to the ER.