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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffFood poisoning is often diagnosed based on a detailed history, including how long you've been sick, characteristics of your symptoms and specific foods you've eaten. Your doctor will also perform a physical exam, looking for signs of dehydration.
Depending on your symptoms and health history, your doctor may conduct diagnostic tests, such as a blood test, stool culture or examination for parasites, to identify the cause and confirm the diagnosis. For a stool culture, your doctor will ask for a stool sample and send it to a laboratory, where a technician will try to grow and identify the infectious organism. In some cases, the cause of the food poisoning cannot be identified.
- Diagnosis and management of foodborne illnesses: A primer for physicians and other health care professionals. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?ss=15&doc_id=5266&nbr=3593. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Bacteria and foodborne illness. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). http://www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/bacteria/index.htm. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Foodborne illness. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodborneinfections_g.htm. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Basics for handling food safely. United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Basics_for_Safe_Food_Handling.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Diagnosis and management of foodborne illnesses: A primer for physicians and other health care professionals. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2004;53:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5304a1.htm. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Avoid foodborne illness: Fight BAC! American Medical Association. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/upload/mm/36/foodborne_patient.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Listeriosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases. http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/listeriosis_gi.html. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Conlon CP. Food-borne and water-borne infections. In: Cohen J, et al. Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: Mosby; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/132803244-4/0/1209/288.html?tocnode=49354199&fromURL=288.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02407-6..50095-7_3004. Accessed April 21, 2009.
