What Should I do?

Go to your local GP  - who should ask you to supply a stool sample. It is important to identify the type of food poisoning organism in order to determine what caused the illness.

Think back about 4-5 days and write down what and where you have eaten

If a positive result comes back your GP has a duty to inform this department of the results and in turn we will either write to you with some advice or may visit you to investigate the source of your illness. However, in many cases it is not always possible to identify the source with any confidence.

Practice good personal hygiene: -

It is particularly important to observe the strictest personal hygiene, not only to prevent the spread of infection to other persons, but also to avoid re-infection of yourself. In particular, please remember the following rules:

1. If you have more than one WC, use a separate WC to those who are not affected.
2. Wash your hands immediately and thoroughly with soap (preferably bactericidal soap from your chemist) and hot water, after using the toilet. A separate hand towel should be used by affected persons. Where the patient is a young child, then it may be necessary for a parent to supervise or assist in the proper washing of hands.
3. At regular intervals, wipe the WC seat, flush handle, taps and door knobs with disinfectant.
4. If you are able to make alternative arrangements, do not prepare food for other people. If you cannot do this, wash your hands thoroughly before preparing or cooking any food or before touching any kitchen utensils and equipment. This is especially important where the affected person is normally responsible for the preparation of meals for others.

Do you or a member of your family work in the food industry, nursing or work with pre-school children?

If so, you should notify your employer and this food safety team.

If the symptoms start at work it is the management's responsibility to ensure that toilets, handles, taps and surfaces are cleaned and disinfected after contact by anyone reporting diarrhoea and/or vomiting. If vomiting has occurred in a food handling area, consideration should be given to disposal of any exposed food. In addition, cleaning and disinfection of all contaminated surfaces, equipment and utensils, should be undertaken in consultation with the Food Safety Team.

So when would it be safe to return to work or nursery school? The general rule for this is that you must be free of all symptoms for at least 48 hours and pay particular attention to hand washing. However, there are exceptions to this rule for infections such as Salmonella typhi and paratyphi (enteric fever) and E.coli 0157 where faecal clearance specimens will need to be submitted. In these cases you are advised to contact the Food Safety Team for advice or if you are in any doubt about whether or not you should return to work.

 Young Children

Young children tend to be less strict in their personal hygiene and may therefore pass on this type of infection more readily. Babies and toddlers in nappies therefore need special attention. If possible you should use disposable nappies which, after use, should be disposed of by double bagging. (i.e. sealed in one bag and then placed in a second bag). If towelling nappies are used they should be rinsed in the normal way and should be washed using a "boil wash". Rubber gloves (separate from those used from washing up) should be used to handle soiled nappies/bed linen, etc. As an added precaution you should, if possible, set aside a separate area just for nappy changing and this should not be an area where food is prepared. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after changing the baby.

For a downloadable copy of Food Poisoning Leaflet