Food Poisoning, Indigestion, or the Stomach Flu? How to Tell the Difference
Sep 24, 2025
Sometimes the cause of gastric distress is pretty clear. For example, if everyone in your household has been experiencing digestive issues and you find yourself running to the bathroom, you probably already know you have a stomach bug. At other times, it’s more confusing and could be caused by food poisoning, simple indigestion, or stomach flu.
As primary care providers, Dr. Scott Parrotta and Dr. Ritchie Parrotta have treated patients with a wide range of abdominal pain. At Wyananskill Family Medicine, our staff is familiar with the difficulties of identifying precisely what is causing stomach upset. Here are a few things to look for to better understand what’s causing your distress.
To determine if you have indigestion, consider two key factors: what you ate and when you ate it. If you recently enjoyed a big meal and feel abdominal discomfort a little while later, indigestion is a good guess.
Symptoms associated with indigestion include:
If your symptoms clear up within a few hours, it’s another indication that you’re dealing with indigestion. But if it’s something that happens frequently, you should discuss it with one of our providers.
Indigestion is usually pretty clear, but determining whether you have a stomach flu or food poisoning can be a bit more challenging. In fact, you can get a form of stomach flu, called viral gastroenteritis, from contaminated food.
Some of the similarities in the two conditions include:
One difference is that food poisoning tends to develop more quickly and also resolve more rapidly than stomach flu. In most cases, you become aware of food poisoning within six hours. While indigestion also occurs quickly, the symptoms of food poisoning are more severe.
Stomach flu usually takes at least 48 hours to cause symptoms. So, if you were around someone who had the stomach flu, it could be two or three days before you know if you’re infected or not.
The good news is that with either stomach flu or food poisoning, you should feel better within a couple of days.
While your symptoms are active, focus primarily on two key things: getting rest and staying hydrated. Staying hydrated can be challenging, but you need to replace the fluids and electrolytes you’re losing.
When you eat, start with bland foods like plain crackers, rice, plain toast, oatmeal, or boiled potatoes. Avoid anything fatty, rich, or containing caffeine. If you have a fever and can take an over-the-counter fever reducer, you may want to do that.
If you’re sick for longer than a few days, you may have some other issue. Our team is here to help. Schedule your appointment at Wynantskill Family Medicine to receive the treatment you need.