Food poisoning in Sharm El Sheikh: symptoms, care and prevention

Food poisoning is rarely serious and usually gets better within a week, with rest and small, frequent sips of fluid. Vomiting normally stops within 1 or 2 days. See a doctor if you cannot keep fluids down, see blood, or a baby is unwell.

Symptoms of food poisoning

Food poisoning comes from food or drink contaminated with germs or their toxins. Symptoms include feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, a high temperature and feeling generally unwell.

They usually start within hours or days of the meal, but sometimes weeks later. If diarrhoea is your main problem, read our guide to traveller’s diarrhoea.

When symptoms start can give a clue

Starts after	Typical symptoms	Common sources
30 minutes to 8 hours	Nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhoea	Foods not cooked after handling, such as sliced meats, sandwiches, pastries and creamy desserts
6 to 24 hours	Diarrhoea and cramps, usually without vomiting or fever	Large batches of meat, poultry or sauce kept at unsafe temperatures
12 to 48 hours	Vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain	Norovirus, from food, unsafe water, ill people or surfaces
6 hours to 6 days	Diarrhoea (sometimes bloody), fever, cramps	Undercooked chicken, meat or eggs, and unpasteurised milk

Source: CDC. Whatever the cause, replace lost fluid first.

Fish and seafood toxins

Some fish toxins survive cooking. Scombroid poisoning causes flushing, headache, itching and diarrhoea within an hour of eating. It comes from fish such as tuna that was not kept cold.

Ciguatera comes from large tropical reef fish, such as barracuda. Vomiting and diarrhoea come first, then tingling or numbness. See a doctor if this happens after eating fish.

What helps

Sip fluids little and often. After vomiting, start with a few sips of water, then slowly drink more.

Use oral rehydration salts if you are losing a lot of fluid. They replace lost sugar, salts and minerals. Mix them with bottled water as the pack says, and ask our pharmacist which one suits you.

Choose your drinks. Fruit juice and fizzy drinks can make diarrhoea worse. Caffeine and alcohol add to dehydration.

Eat when you feel able to. It may help to avoid fatty or spicy food.

Rest somewhere cool. Sweating in the heat adds to fluid loss, so drink more and avoid the midday sun.

Ease discomfort. Paracetamol can help with pain or a high temperature. Check the leaflet before giving it to a child.

Stop it spreading. Norovirus spreads very easily, and alcohol gels do not kill it. Wash your hands with soap and water, and clean toilet seats, flush handles, taps and door handles.

Wash soiled clothes and bedding separately at 60°C. Avoid the pool and the kids’ club until 48 hours after your symptoms stop.

What not to do

• Do not make baby formula weaker than usual.
• Do not give children under 12 medicine to stop diarrhoea, or aspirin to children under 16.
• Do not take or give anti-sickness medicine without a doctor’s advice.
• Do not prepare food for other people while you are ill.

What you can buy at the pharmacy

Products that can help:

• Oral rehydration salts for adults and children.
• Paracetamol, such as Adol, for pain or a high temperature.
• A digital thermometer, to check for a high temperature.
• Hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol, for when you cannot wash. Soap and water work better against norovirus.

For diarrhoea medicines and who should not use them, see our traveller’s diarrhoea guide. Ask us what is in stock today.

How to avoid food poisoning in Sharm El Sheikh

At the buffet

• Choose food that is freshly cooked and served hot.
• Be wary of food left standing. The CDC advises not leaving perishable food out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C.
• Take care with food that is handled and not cooked again, such as sliced meats and pastries.
• Skip raw or undercooked meat, fish, shellfish and eggs.
• Be careful with salads and pre-cut fruit such as melon. Fruit you peel yourself is safer.
• Avoid unpasteurised milk, cheese and juice, including freshly squeezed juice.
• Choose freshly cooked fish. The CDC advises never eating barracuda or moray eel, and avoiding the head, liver and roe of reef fish.

Water and drinks

• Use sealed bottled water for drinking and brushing teeth, unless you are sure the tap water is safe.
• Ask for drinks without ice, unless you know it was made from safe water.
• Try not to swallow pool water. Some germs survive for days, even in well-run pools.

Children, pregnancy and older people

Babies and young children. Children under 5 are at higher risk, because food poisoning can lead to dehydration. Keep breastfeeding or bottle feeding, giving smaller feeds more often if your baby is being sick.

Make up formula with bottled or boiled water as the pack says, and use it within 2 hours. If your child has a high temperature, see our guide to a child’s fever on holiday.

Pregnancy. Pregnant women are 10 times more likely to get a listeria infection. Avoid raw or undercooked meat, raw fish and shellfish, eggs that are not well cooked, and unpasteurised dairy. Smoked fish and cold cured meats should be cooked until steaming hot.

See a doctor if you have a fever with flu-like symptoms, or vomiting and diarrhoea for more than 48 hours. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicine.

Older people and long-term conditions. People aged 65 and over are more likely to become seriously ill. So are people with a weakened immune system, for example from diabetes, liver or kidney disease. Ask our pharmacist early about rehydration, and a doctor if you cannot keep your regular medicines down.

When to get urgent help

See how to choose between a pharmacy, a doctor and a hospital in Sharm. If you are referred to a clinic or hospital, contact your travel insurer quickly.

Need help in Sharm?

Our pharmacists speak English, Russian, Ukrainian and Italian. Message us on WhatsApp or call +20 120 344 2201.

Ask for rehydration salts, paracetamol or a thermometer, with free hotel delivery on orders from $30. We have 5 pharmacies across Sharm El Sheikh, and registered medicines are sold at the official prices set in Egypt.