Recovering from Food Poisoning

[Suzanne F]

He Who Only Eats is recovering from a bout of gastroenteritis caused, we suspect, by some poorly served coffee gelato. Our Beloved Dr. Betty (not to be confused with Beloved Aunt Bette) said for the rest of the week, no dairy, no fat, nothing irritating, etc. etc. And she gave him a few days' worth of Cipro.

This is a feeding challenge I don't feel quite up to. Beyond last night's jasmine rice in mixed beef/chicken broth with a splash of lemon juice and a bit of black pepper (strained out before serving), and tonight's upcoming Chinese rice cake (noodles) in brown veal stock, I don't know what to give him to eat that I can stand, too.

So: what do you eat when recovering from the unpleasantness of a bug kicking the shit out of you?

[KatieLoeb]

Chicken soup and many incarnations thereof, mashed potatoes, rice dishes, plain chicken (roast, grilled breasts, whatever not overly seasoned), plain fish, etc.

Not too many fruits or vegetables as the fiber is difficult to digest. This is a good time to pick up a rotisseried chicken from the market and call it a day. Serve yourself some veggies on the side and dinner is done!

Hope HWOE feels better soon. Been there and it's not fun...

[Andrew Fenton]

I've only gotten food poisoning once. (On my honeymoon. Yeah, that sucked.) All I could eat for a day or so was miso soup; then for the next couple of days I craved fruit, especially grapes. I think I was just massively dehydrated...

[Bux]

Camomile tea. Not much of a dinner I suppose, but something that seems effective between meals. I guess I'm only thinking of the patient here.

[jhlurie]

"Food poisoning" is such a loaded term (as you rightfully know, I think, from the use of quotes). As far as I'm concerned, I've only really had it twice in my life--both times from poorly run Taco Bell locations (Taco Bell sworn off forever, regardless of apparent cleanliness of ANY given location, from the time of the second occurance).

In general I was really only seriously ill for about 48 hours. In contrast, lesser "gastro" problems I've had never really lasted more than 15 or 16 hours.

Its possible that even my "two times" weren't really actual food poisoning. Then again, I've always had a cast-iron stomach in general, and its possible I recover quicker because of it.

I guess, my point is that different people probably need to be treated differently. We've all got different tolerances, different stomach linings and different pH levels, and probably also different recovery times.

Given that my recovery time was so short, and I didn't feel much like eating at all either time, I think I may have indeed abstained from anything that wasn't liquid, or close to it. I agree that "fiber" was the last thing I wanted.

At the end of the second day I was ravenous. It was like a light switch going on. Slept a lot and finally woke at one point and ate everything in sight.

Edited June 17, 2003 by jhlurie (log)

[elyse]

Poor thing, Suzzane! I hope he feels better.

I know, Suzanne. Typing too fast. Not looking.

Edited June 17, 2003 by elyse (log)

[Lady T]

Miso soup. Yogurt. Sympathy.

[macrosan]

He Who Only Eats is recovering from a bout of gastroenteritis caused, we suspect, by some poorly served coffee gelato. ... So: what do you eat when recovering ...

Well I would try a continuous stream of large coffee gelatos, on the same principle as getting people back in the saddle when they fall off a horse

... but wish him better anyway

[malachi]

Ouch.

I feel his pain. Sadly, quite literally. I'm about 48 hours in on a similar bad experience myself right now.

My usual (see below) method consists of drinking a pint of gatorade followed by a pint of water (in sips, not at once) and repeating for about the first 12 hours. I then introduce saltines. Once I can keep saltines down I start drinking mint tea and having cups of warm chicken broth (with saltines). I know I'm ready to eat real food when suddenly I find craving any and all food. I try to stay away from dairy, highly acid food, spicy foods and anything with a whole lot of fiber for a couple days.

Make sure you do the "skin pinch test" periodically to make sure he's not dehydrated (I was told that kidney problems are the big concern for food poisoning or stomach flu).

I suppose as a downside of my "adventurous" eating habits I've become all to experienced with these problems. Suffice it to say that I've become somewhat of an expert patient for most forms of "food poisoning" as well as some parasites.

[Ladybug]

Bananas.

[Jinmyo]

Seafood congee.

Chicken congee.

Beef congee.

Pork congee.

Seaweed and tofu congee.

[malachi]

Congee sounds good, but I don't think I could do seafood yet.

[hjshorter]

My pediatrician recommends the BRAT diet for the kids: bananas, rice, applesauce, toast.

No spicy food, no dairy, no fiber for a couple of days. Drink plenty of liquids - I prefer chicken boullion. After a couple of days yogurt is a good idea, and plain veggies. No fish, no seafood.

[fifi]

Our pediatrician used the BRAT method and it works ok as I have adopted it. He also added Welch's purple grape juice (the real stuff, that was in the years before they came out with that cocktail junk) once the tummy had settled a little. It seemed to help.

I always know that I am cured when I develop an irrestistable craving for a Pizza Hut pizza!

[elyse]

I always know that I am cured when I develop an irrestistable craving for a Pizza Hut pizza!

If I were you doctor, I'd say that when you problem starts!

[Suzanne F]

Thank you all for your help and support. He's doing much better; in fact, I almost couldn't get him off the computer to come sip his restorative broth tonight. Or eat any of the bananas and apples bought specially for his recovery.

Oh dear, Heather, no fish?? Why not? I was going to get something like flounder fillets for tomorrow to poach and have with the most adorable little red new potatoes (1-inch diameter) from the Greenmarket.

Malachi -- no, no, I feel YOUR pain. But, I am happy to say, NOT at the moment. I've been through it at least 3 times: once from steak tartare, twice from bad clams. And it is horrible. HWOE was lucky this time: only one end was affected. But it was very scary when the thermometer registered 102.2F (about 6:30 yesterday morning).

Now he's his old self, except for being tired, and crabbing about how horrible Gatorade is. Yes, he's forcing himself to sip sip sip. But I also made him green tea, and Cranberry Cove (Celestial Seasonings). And I have the acidophilus tablets at the ready, to put back the good little buggers that the antibiotic is knocking out along with the bad ones.

[thomasina]

oh poor you. so sorry this happened. I think a simple miso soup works wonders at times like this. Be well, peace.

[elyse]

Welcome thomasina!

[Richard Kilgore]

My sympathy. Glad he is getting back to normal. Dehydration and spiking temps are the big dangers. Once upon a time I was one of over a hundred people down with Salmonella, with some temps spiking 106. Everyone survived with no brain damage, and only three or four had to be hospitalized briefly. But not my favorite memory.

[malachi]

Glad to hear he's back on his feet.

[Pan]

Chicken soup would have been the obvious suggestion. Others have posted it already. But my father used to make a really interesting chicken soup because of all the other stuff he put in it. Parsnips, carrots, Italian parsley, tomatoes, onions, leeks if in season, wine, pasta or rice, dried (ergo concentrated) mushrooms, tarragon, and sometimes beans (leave these out for now), sometimes garlic. I'm glad HWOE is getting better, but if he still needs the chicken soup, boil a whole chicken (skinned, with all visible fat removed) in a really large saucepan like my father did and add all and sundry kinds of vegetables like that. If he's not ready for that much rougage, you can always take most of the vegetable content from his bowl and eat it, yourself. You could also puree some of the vegetables. And another thought is to add cumin as the spice for the chicken soup. Use whole cumin seeds. They're not irritating and they are delicious. But there are several different ways you can go with chicken soup, and it's easy not to get bored with an imaginatively-made version.

I frankly miss my father's approach to chicken soup and would rather like to make my own, but I've been too lazy.

[hjshorter]

Oh dear, Heather, no fish?? Why not?  I was going to get something like flounder fillets for tomorrow to poach and have with the most adorable little red new potatoes (1-inch diameter) from the Greenmarket. 

So glad he's feeling better!

Hm, flounder would probably be fine. We usually eat salmon, and I find the smell of it makes my tummy flippy-floppy until I'm over whatever it is.

[malachi]

Given that I'm lactose intollerent -- is acidophilus going to be a problem for me?

Anyone know?

[Xanthippe]

Given that I'm lactose intollerent -- is acidophilus going to be a problem for me?

Anyone know?

Acidophilus shouldn't bother you, malachi; I've lactose intolerant as well, and never have a problem with L. bifidus, L. acidophilus, and other healthy bacteria.

Er, you do know about Lactaid-Ultra, don't you??

[Pan]

Acidophilus is simply a bacterium. Lactose is a sugar. Acidophilus is not broken down and digested, but is a bacterium you need in your intenstines. Lactose needs to be broken down by an enzyme called lactase so that it can be turned into glucose and galactose and absorbed through the intestinal walls. This is a long way of saying that lactase deficiency aka lactose intolerance has nothing whatsoever to do with acidophilus.

Edited June 19, 2003 by Pan (log)