Food Poisoning in Alanya: What to Do
Most food poisoning settles in one to three days. The thing that actually harms people is dehydration, not the infection. Keep sipping fluids, rest, and eat again as soon as you can manage it. Get medical help for blood in the stool, a fever above 38.5 °C, signs of dehydration, or symptoms lasting more than three days.
What it is
Food poisoning is an infection or a toxin picked up from contaminated food or water. On a hot coast the usual causes are buffet food left too long at room temperature, undercooked meat or eggs, unwashed salad and fruit, and shellfish.
Symptoms usually begin between one hour and two days after the meal. A very fast onset — within one to six hours, with violent vomiting — is typical of a pre-formed toxin and often settles quickly. A slower onset with fever and diarrhoea is more typical of a bacterial infection.
Symptoms
- Nausea and vomiting
- Watery diarrhoea, often with cramping abdominal pain
- Fever and generally feeling unwell
- Headache and aching muscles
- Weakness and dizziness on standing — the first sign of dehydration
Clinic hours: 09:00–19:00, seven days a week
House calls: 24/7
Treatment that works
- Fluids, in small amounts, often. A few sips every few minutes stay down when a full glass does not. Oral rehydration salts from any Turkish pharmacy are better than water alone because they replace salt as well as fluid.
- Eat when you can. Starving yourself does not help. Start with bread, rice, bananas, plain potatoes or soup and build up.
- Rest.
- Wash your hands properly after every visit to the toilet — this spreads through a family in a day.
Do not take anti-diarrhoeal medicines such as loperamide if you have a high fever or blood in the stool: holding an infection in can make it worse. Do not take antibiotics left over from a previous illness — most food poisoning is not helped by them.
Signs of dehydration to watch for
Passing much less urine than usual or dark urine, a dry mouth, sunken eyes, dizziness on standing, unusual drowsiness. In a small child: no wet nappy for six hours, no tears when crying, a sunken soft spot, floppiness. Dehydration in children develops much faster than in adults.
When to call a doctor
- Blood or mucus in the stool, or black stools
- Fever above 38.5 °C that lasts more than 48 hours
- Vomiting so persistent that no fluid stays down for more than a few hours
- Signs of dehydration — very little urine, dizziness, confusion, drowsiness
- Severe or constant abdominal pain rather than cramps that come and go
- Symptoms lasting more than three days, or getting worse after day two
- Any significant illness in a baby, an older person, a pregnant woman or someone with a weakened immune system
112 is the emergency number in Turkey — free from any phone, answered in English.
Prevention
How to avoid it
- Prefer food that is served hot and freshly cooked to food standing on a buffet
- Be careful with cold meat, seafood, mayonnaise-based salads and cream desserts in the heat
- Peel fruit yourself
- Use bottled or filtered water if your stomach is sensitive, and check that ice is made from it
- Wash hands before eating — it prevents more travel illness than anything else on this list
What we do
Getting seen in Alanya
Oguzhan Care sees this at the clinic in Oba and on house calls to hotels and apartments across Alanya, 24 hours a day. The doctor examines you, treats what can be treated on the spot, and writes the report your insurer will want.
FAQ
Food Poisoning: common questions
Usually one to three days. Toxin-type illness with sudden vomiting can be over within twelve hours. Anything still going after three days should be seen.
Usually not. Most cases are viral or toxin-related and antibiotics do nothing. They are used for specific bacterial infections, which is a decision made after an examination — not over the phone.
Yes. Intravenous rehydration is one of the most common treatments given on a house call and usually produces a dramatic improvement within an hour or two.
Rarely. Symptoms typically start six hours to two days after the meal, so the suspect meal is usually not the most recent one.
Read next
Related pages
Medical disclaimer. This page is general health information, not a diagnosis and not a substitute for a consultation. If someone is unconscious, struggling to breathe, bleeding heavily or having chest pain, call 112 — the Turkish emergency number — immediately.
Written and medically reviewed by Dr. Oğuzhan Özkan, physician, Alanya. Last reviewed: 11 August 2026.
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