Food poisoning treatment at home in Dubai

Food poisoning and stomach bugs are frequent in Dubai, especially among visitors and during the summer heat: restaurant meals, buffets, brunches and long days outdoors all play a part. The illness itself usually passes in one to three days; the real risk is dehydration, which comes fast when you cannot keep fluids down and are losing them at both ends.

When you are vomiting, getting to a clinic is the last thing you want. A doctor at home can give an anti-nausea injection so that oral rehydration works again, start an IV drip of fluids and electrolytes if you are already dehydrated, and check for the signs that mean it is something other than simple food poisoning, such as appendicitis, a severe bacterial infection or a bowel obstruction.

When to book

• Vomiting and diarrhoea that started within hours of a meal
• Unable to keep water down for more than 6 hours
• Dizziness when standing, dry mouth, little or dark urine
• A child or elderly relative with repeated vomiting
• Stomach cramps with fever

What the clinician does at home

• Abdominal examination, hydration assessment, temperature, pulse and blood pressure
• Anti-nausea and anti-spasm medication, by injection if you cannot keep tablets down
• IV fluids with electrolytes at home when dehydration is moderate
• Oral rehydration plan, diet advice and a printed prescription
• Stool test or blood test arranged at home if the illness lasts more than 48 hours or there is blood in the stool

Frequently asked

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