There are few things worse than getting sick on a cruise ship. You may be far from any port, stranded in the middle of the sea. You have nothing but a small room and the onboard doctor to help you. When it turns out that you have serious food poisoning, you feel like it’s ruined your entire vacation. If you have food allergies as well, you may even be in danger.
These things do happen, and the key to seeking medical treatment is to recognize the symptoms as early as possible. Here are a handful of common symptoms of food poisoning that you may experience on the ship:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal cramps
- Loss of appetite
- General weakness
- Mild fever
- Headaches
- Nausea
While these symptoms may pass with time, as the food moves through your system, you must know that some cases of food poisoning can become life-threatening. More serious symptoms to watch out for include:
- Diarrhea and related problems that last for longer than three days
- Trouble speaking
- Difficulty seeing
- A fever that exceeds 101.5°F
- Blood in your urine
You could also suffer from severe dehydration, which has its own symptoms. These include failing to pass urine, an inability to retain fluids and dry mouth.
A case of food poisoning not only ruins your vacation, but it can land you in the medical center on the ship, and it may even mean they have to rush you to a hospital at the next chance that they get. All of this comes with high medical bills and many other costs, and you need to know if you have a right to financial compensation.