Symptoms can occur at different rates

Dear Dr. Gott: Recently, my daughter and her family took a trip to visit her husband’s mother and sisters. There were about eight people in the house.

So the first night they got there, they all had pizza. The next day they all had something different to eat. Approximately 24 hours later, they all got very sick. Some had vomiting, some had diarrhea and couple of them had both.

I said they contracted food poisoning. But an R.N. told them food poisoning would not take 48 hours to show up. And I said it could not be the flu of some sort. I never heard of a group of people getting the flu at the same time.

What do you think may have happened?

Dear Reader: When a group of people suddenly develops nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after having eaten the same meal, the diagnosis of food poisoning is almost inescapable, even though the symptoms don’t appear for 24 to 48 hours after the meal.

Some gastrointestinal pathogens cause vomiting and diarrhea within a couple of hours after having been ingested. Others, especially if the number of microorganisms is initially small, may cause people to develop only mild intestinal upset, or the appearance of symptoms may be delayed.

In either case, the initial treatment for food poisoning is a strict diet of clear fluids (water, ginger ale, tea, beef broth and so forth) for 24 hours, with or without Pepto-Bismol (for stomach upset) or Imodium AD (for diarrhea). Symptoms that persist after 24 to 48 hours should be medically evaluated, particularly if there is the possibility of dehydration.

Dear Dr. Gott: I read in a newspaper that people taking glucosamine sulfate will later have fingernail problems. I have taken glucosamine for several years, and it has helped my arthritis by rebuilding the cartilage. About a year ago, I began having nail problems, so I drink Knox for Nails four or five times a week. My question is does the glucosamine cause the nail problem? Is there another solution?

Dear Reader: To my knowledge, glucosamine does not cause fingernail problems. In fact, the usual combination of glucosamine and chondroitin is ordinarily free of side effects and has been reported to aid patients with arthritis.

If the Knox gelatin drink fails to bring your fingernails back to normal, see a dermatologist for further advice.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Understanding Osteoarthritis.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.