Somebody with medical knowledge of any sort, please respond to this!!

[findingreason]

Ok, so I'm a little bit worried about something. On Monday, I was with some friends and had some food from a fast food place, and I ate about half of the hamburger I got, and it seemed alright on one side, but then I realized there was some pink visible in there. I got quite worried, and I went to the health center on campus, and there wasn't much they could do, and they said that if by Thursday nothing happened I would likely be alright.

Now, today is Thursday, and I've been doing well the whole day. I went out and ate with some friends and such, and it all went well. I got back to my dorm, and I ended up having diarrhea, and it was green-ish in color. Now, I don't have any severe abdominal pain, I'm feeling tired in general, but I've had a messed up sleep schedule. I just feel kinda eh right now. I felt nauseous a little bit ago, and maybe a little now, but I don't know if it's from nerves and being nervous over this, cause I've been known to do that. When I've ate out in the past, I've occasionally had diarrhea before following, of which my mom has had the same problem. Normally I would not be worried of this, but the idea of having the hamburger on Monday afternoon worried me, like with the idea of e-coli poisoning. It's been close to 80 hours since that, so I'd figure if anything were to happen it'd have happened by now. But....it just worries me that this could turn into something bad....

Views on this please....what do you think I should do??? Should I call ER, or should I wait it out to see what happens into like....tomorrow?

[Janet_Girl]

I am not a doctor I just play one on TV. ( Sorry old joke ).

I have had food poisoning before and it sounds like the grease may be at fault.  Under cooked hamburger can make you ill, but so can fully cooked hamburger.  If you get really sick then you might want to go to the hospital or clinic.  But seeing you are run down that can do it as weel as stress.

If you are worried go to the clinic.  But having raised four kids, I would just make sure you drink plenty of fluids, and maybe Imodium AD for the diarrhea.


Janet

[Flan]

I'm thinking e-coli...
but I'll +1 to what janet lynn said (get some anti-diarrhea meds, drink up and take it easy for a day or 2)

[finewine]

Ok, so I'm a little bit worried about something. On Monday, I was with some friends and had some food from a fast food place, and I ate about half of the hamburger I got, and it seemed alright on one side, but then I realized there was some pink visible in there. I got quite worried, and I went to the health center on campus, and there wasn't much they could do, and they said that if by Thursday nothing happened I would likely be alright.

Pink isn't normal in a fast food hamburger but it's not unusual - hell, steak tartare is effectively a raw hamburger.  If you went to the health center merely because you saw  a pink tinge in a hamburger, then I'd have to say that sounds a excessively panicky to me.

Now, today is Thursday, and I've been doing well the whole day. I went out and ate with some friends and such, and it all went well. I got back to my dorm, and I ended up having diarrhea, and it was green-ish in color.

Honestly, if there was anything wrong in that hamburger it would have manifested much faster than Thursday.  The body responds *extremely* quickly to toxins in food, not just because of the agent within but the digestive system itself often detects this.  The stomach cramps and vomiting are actually not the bad bugs in the food themselves, it's your body working to expel the bad food (from either end) as fast as possible.

Now, I don't have any severe abdominal pain, I'm feeling tired in general, but I've had a messed up sleep schedule. I just feel kinda eh right now. I felt nauseous a little bit ago, and maybe a little now, but I don't know if it's from nerves and being nervous over this, cause I've been known to do that. When I've ate out in the past, I've occasionally had diarrhea before following, of which my mom has had the same problem.

This sounds more like a mild food/ingredient intolerance rather than anything infectious (not helped by a degree of psychosomatic influence).

Normally I would not be worried of this, but the idea of having the hamburger on Monday afternoon worried me, like with the idea of e-coli poisoning. It's been close to 80 hours since that, so I'd figure if anything were to happen it'd have happened by now. But....it just worries me that this could turn into something bad....

Views on this please....what do you think I should do??? Should I call ER, or should I wait it out to see what happens into like....tomorrow?

Honestly, you're totally over-reacting.  You'd be absolutely flat out sick well before now if it was e-coli, salmonella etc..

If you have a pattern of mild stomach discomfort or loose motion after eating out, you may have an intolerance to certain ingredients.  If it happens regularly, keep a diary of what you're eating and see if you can find a trend.

[findingreason]

Okies, yeah....it does sounds like that possibly. And yeah, I'm feeling alright right now, haven't had anything yet since. But I do tend to over-worry about things a bit, and I have been known to make myself feel more sick by doing that. I'll give an update tomorrow or on the weekend to keep in touch if I am still doing well.

[jesse]

E coli 0157 is the bacterial agent other then run of the mill food poisoning that you are concerned about. run of the mill food poisoning basically results in hospitlization for sever dehydration do to vomiting and diareha so for that fluids and more fluids if it isnt getting worse dont worry about it. Alot of people get food poisoning very few are hospitalized for it follow janets advice. Ecoli 0157 different thing all together bacterial agent infecting food do to unwashed hands of food service agents. Ecoli 0157 attaches to the lining of the stomach and intestines and causes bloody stools this reguires specific antibiotics to cure and can be fatal if untreated. Ecoli 0157 will ususaly send someone to the hospital with 24 hrs of contracting do to extramly boody stools so if this isnt what is happening dont worry about it in any case if you feel the need to self reasure go to the clinic.
jessica

[Deanna_Renee]

The likelihood of it being e-coli is so minute that it really should not be a concern. I would guess that it is most likely just nerves or some other minor incident. If it were a food borne illness then you would have severe abdominal pains about 4 hours after consuming the tainted beef.

The incidence of actual food borne illnesses are really quite rare and more typically from unsanitary conditions within the restaurant than with the food supply. If the place is visibly dirty and has any foul or rancid smell in there, run for the hills and don't eat the food.

I personally like my beef and fish more on the rare end of the spectrum - sushi anyone?

Deanna

[Dana Lane]

If you get food poisoning you will no for sure about 4 hours later and by 8 hours you would be hugging the toilet for about 3 days. I had it once and it was horrible. You would run a fever as well.

[BrandiOK]

While fast food places are notoriously unsanitary very few people ever get sick.  Why? Because our bodies are able to cope with minor 'glitches' in the system.  That being said it's quite possible to become ill if you already are harboring a minor stomach virus or irritation (excessive worry can also trigger this).  This can result in slight fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  All fairly mild symptoms and signs in the grand scheme of things.  Now..should you have severe vomiting, severe diarrhea (especially blood in the stool) and high fever it's time to see your doctor. 

Some "pink" in a burger is nothing to worry about.  Burgers are cooked to pink by request all the time, however, unless you requested yours that way you should bring it back to the counter next time.  By default ground meat is cooked to 160 degrees plus to ensure no nasties have survived. 

I remember doing my clinicals for EMT school at an emergency room and a frantic woman came in with her child raving about how her daughter had contracted food poisoning from a local burger place where they had eaten an hour and a half earlier.  The little girl was definitely sick, she projectile barfed barely missing me and the ER doc, but otherwise seemed ok.  Her mother, on the other hand, was ready to call the CDC (exaggerating).  The ER doc finally got the moms attention and said "Ma'am your daughter does not have food poisoning..it's impossible for the signs of food poisoning to even show up that fast, what your daughter actually has is an upset stomach that was probably made worse by eating something that upset her tummy even more."  After they left he told me that it's extremely common for people to think they have food poisoning while actual food poisoning (which is kind of a generic term) is extremely rare.

Many years later I got food poisoning, as did several other people who ate the same thing as I did, and I learned the difference in an oh so unhappy way. 

So..monitor yourself.  Watch for high fevers or severe vomiting or severe diarrhea (especially with blood in the stool) and if you start showing these signs go see your doctor.  While it's not impossible to get food poisoning, it's pretty rare.  Because "food poisoning" is such a generic term the statistics make it look a lot worse than it is. 

P.S. Hope you feel better soon.