food poisoning is mild and passes in a few days, most
people do not go to a health professional for a diagnosis. You can often
diagnose food poisoning yourself if others who ate the same food as you also
If you do go to your health professional, he or she
will make the diagnosis based on your symptoms, a physical exam, and your
medical history. Your health professional will ask
where you have been eating and whether anyone who ate the same food has the
Occasionally the following tests are done.
stool culture may be done if your health professional
suspects that you have eaten contaminated food, your symptoms are severe, or
the diagnosis is uncertain.
Blood tests may be done to help
determine whether the food poisoning is caused by bacteria or to rule out other
complete blood count and a
chemistry screen can help indicate whether you are
severely ill or dehydrated.
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