Food poisoning?

[orion76]

Four days ago I woke up feeling fine, a few hours after waking up I made myself a 4 egg ommelette and one to two hours I became extremely nauseaus and felt so weak I had to lie down, 30 minutes later I vomited a lot. Since then I have felt very weak and fatigued comparable to that caused by a flue, also I have a lack of appetite.

I have had no stoumach cramps, no diarreah, no fever, no swolen glands, no headache or any other symptoms besides extreme fatigue and weakness.

I initially thought I had food poisoning because it came so accute after eating the eggs (which I bought about 1 month prior) but my illness seems to last a little longer than I'd expect from a food poisoning.

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to catch food poisoning with the above described symptoms from eating properly cooked eggs (or the butter they were cooked in) or is it more likely I caught something else that just coincidently accutely manifested itself immediately after eating those eggs?

Thanks

[Forum-M.D.-DT]

Thank you for visiting the Family Practice Forum,

What you describe sounds to me to be either food poisoning or possibly a viral gastroenteritis. Keeping eggs in the refrigerator for a month may be a bit long. It is possible that you have a mild case of salmonella poisoning.

Food Poisoning refers to a variety of illnesses resulting from ingestion of food contaminated with bacteria capable of causing disease.  Some bacteria responsible for food poisoning include Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter and E. Coli.  With  Staphlococcus, Clostidium and Bacillus cereus, toxins are produced by the bacteria which cause the disease. Most common etiology is Campylobacter. There are an estimated 6 million cases / year.  Symptoms which may indicate food poisoning include nausea and vomiting (begins 1-4 hours after eating a contaminated meal), fever, cramps and diarrhea. In some cases such as E. Coli food poisoning bloody diarrhea without fever may be present 2-5 days after ingestion of a contaminated meal.
Some foods/causes to consider if food poisoning is in question include:
Staphlococcus - high protein foods (egg salad, cream filled pastries, ham, poultry)
Clostridium - meats, gravies,dried foods and vegetables
Campylobacter - undercooked poultry, meat, raw dairy products
Yersinia - undercooked pork and other dairy products
E. Coli - food washed with contaminated water
Shigella - raw vegetables, egg salads, contaminated water
Salmonella - undercooked eggs, poultry, meat, dairy products

Other foods which may be contaminated with disease-producing bacteria include raw and undercooked seafood. Undercooked poultry, pork,eggs and egg salads and seafood  remain common etiologies for food poisoning.
The doctor examining the patient with suspected food poisoning may ask to do a "culture" of the food in question (if availiable). Additionally, a stool culture will show if any of the aforementioned bacteria are present. In most cases no specific therapy is instituted but if a stool culture is positive for certain bacteria (such as shigella and campylobacter)  antibiotics will be prescribed. In cases where diarrhea is severe enough to cause dehydration, hospitalization may be necessary to restore normal body fluid volume.

I hope this is helpful,

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Dean M. Tomasello, M.D.

[Julie Walsh]

this is also the time of year for Norwalk-type virus (typically manifests as the '24-hour-flu').  That's a good place to start looking for info besides food poisoning.