ok iām now just on the very end of the worst sickness i have ever had in my life. hereās what learned in the midst of it:
a guide to surviving food poisoning
tw: emetophobia, mentions of sickness, general TMIs
first, some context: i started feeling like garbo around 9pm. i was burping like crazy and it did provide some relief but not much. at 2am, i started vomiting. it wasnāt just like getting sick, it was like explosive. both ends every time. by 10am, i had thrown up TEN times. couldnāt keep even water down. i stopped counting the frequency of the diarrhea around 35-40 times. itās now 7pm the next day. i now still have some stomach tightness / cramping and some moderate dehydration symptoms. my eyes are sunken, i canāt really pee, and iāve consumed more than 40oz of water.
symptoms:
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- severe stomach cramping
- mild fever
- dizziness
- full body aches
- confusion (at one point thought the āorangeā part of the powerade label said āDR A NGEā and that it was the doctor that invented it lol)
for throwing up:
- let it happen. i have somewhat recovered emetophobia and i absolutely hate getting sick, but the hot flashes and dizziness and nausea is so bad that youāve just got to get that shit out if you can.
- in your bathroom garbage, place a full sized kitchen garbage bag. inside the garbage bag, place a grocery bag to act as a second liner. then, you can just tie off the grocery bag and place another on top of it. this will help avoid leaks (and attempting to wash out a horrendously smelling garbage when you already feel like shit)
- swish with water and spit. then sip on water. it will help with the throat ache. donāt brush the acid into your teeth, wait a while. a tongue scraper is good for the burning too.
- take two q-tips and wet both sides (barely) of one of them. gently put them in your ears if you have burning there (from the vomiting, just like how it can get in your nose). then, gently place in the dry ones to clean out any excess water. this helps with the pain.
- trust your body. you somehow will just intuitively know when youāre going to get sick. i found it helpful to practice gratitude in the moments of sickness that my body tells me before it just happens all over the floor or something. additionally, youāll know when youāre able to eat too. i suggest applesauce (eaten very slowly) or a drinkable broth. crackers are good, but can kind of hurt the tummy / throat and youāve probably already got a dry mouth.
for diarrhea:
- although itās uncomfortable and my butthole was screaming, the diarrhea gave me the most relief. the cramping in my stomach eased every time. sometimes when i was laying on the floor or in the bath and felt weak, i didnāt want to get up to poop. get up. it helps tremendously.
- because if my butthole being on fire, i kept a separate water bottle next to the toiled to wet some toilet paper and gently hold it on my [redacted] to ease the burning.
for aches:
- TAKE SEVERAL BATHS. this saved me. warm showers are good, but the water hitting your body can be painful when youāre achy. i would run a warm bath and relax in it. once it got cold, i would set a timer for one hour and sleep on the floor of the bathroom with a heated blanket and a pillow. after an hour, iād hop in the bathroom again and repeat.
- pro tip: parts of my body were unable to be submerged fully in the water (knees/thighs, tummy, chest) so i brought with me a small hand towel to drape over me. it kept me super warm AND covered me for when my sweet brother brought me medicine or ice chips.
- in the bath and on the floor i kept with me ice chips, powerade, water and a pitcher for refills, and applesauce.
- i took two extra strength tylenol every few hours (following the label).
for hydration:
- i found it was very hard to not gulp water when youāre SO thirsty. i tried sipping but it hurt my stomach anyways. i found that sucking on or crunching on ice chips is a Godsend. literally the best part.
- i had some orange powerade, water, and ice chips. i attempted both canada dry ginger ale and emergen-c immune support drink, but the ginger ale hurt to throw back up and the emergen-c made me sick almost immediately
- pay attention to your symptoms. if youāve found you canāt keep water down even after hours of sickness, consider seeing an urgent care doctor or taking a trip to the ER. the IV will rehydrate you and youāll perk back to life almost instantly.
for the general shittiness:
- find something you can trust in. for me, i found praying and practicing gratitude in the midst of it helped a lot. i felt so very sick and i think practicing mindfulness kept me from excess dizziness or confusion. i was grateful for the experience as it will help me empathize better with people around me that are sick. i also now know some great tips for the inevitable next time i get a bug like this one. it can also help to repeat song lyrics that you find hopeful / comforting, especially if youāre panicking. breathing deeply is great, particularly during the vomiting itself.
- reach out to some people. vent about how shitty it is.
- for me, it lasted about 12 hours (but the vomiting only lasted 8). it can help to rest / sleep frequently to help pass this time.
- as soon as you wake up, youāll probably have to vomit or shit. donāt hesitate (even if youāre groggy). just stand up and get it over with. youāll feel better after and you can lay back down right away.
- clean with bleach after! hopefully the things this garbage experience taught me were able to help some of you š
they banned me from all northeastern pokemon tcg competitions because I kept telling everyone about my "very special cards" and bringing these bad boys out
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