“When should you go to the hospital for food poisoning?”

Whenever you have intractable nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, and especially when you cannot keep liquids down and are in danger of dehydration. If you can keep liquids down, you probably do not need to go to the emergency room. Also, if you have a fever greater than 101.5 with bloody diarrhea, you probably need to go unless you can get into see your primary care physician. In all cases, it's preferable to see your doctor first.

William Z. Cohen, M.D., FAAFP