Food Poisoning!

My first case of food poisoning last night (and stretching into today) has prompted me to add a quick informational post about the subject. If you have never been poisoned before, you are lucky. Food poisoning occurs when you eat something that contains bacteria, viruses, and/or parasites usually due to improper cooking. 

The Mayo Clinic online defines the symptoms of food poisoning as:
Nausea
Vomiting
Watery diarrhea
Abdominal pain
Stomach cramps
Loss of appetite
Fatigue
Fever

Symptoms most often appear very soon after eating the contaminated food. I can also tell you from experience, these symptoms feel even worse than they sound. There's not too much you can do for food poisoning besides sitting around and waiting it out. It generally takes about 24 hours for you to start feeling better. Make sure to drink plenty of water or gatorade (or smartwater...my favorite) and stay hydrated! You should also contact the health department and inform them about your contamination so they can make sure it was an isolated incident...as embarrassing as this might be, one website claims, "It's your civic responsibility!". How can you argue with that?