Most salmonella infections resolve on their own within four to seven days without any specific treatment. The most important thing you can do is stay hydrated, rest, and let the illness run its course. Symptoms typically begin 6 hours to 6 days after eating contaminated food and include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.
Stay Hydrated Above All Else
Dehydration is the biggest immediate risk with salmonella. Diarrhea, vomiting, and fever all pull water and essential minerals from your body faster than usual, so replacing fluids is the single most important step you can take at home.
For most adults, drinking water, broth, diluted fruit juice, or sports drinks throughout the day is enough. If vomiting makes it hard to keep fluids down, try sipping small amounts of clear liquids rather than drinking large glasses at once. Saltine crackers can also help replace lost electrolytes. Avoid full-strength fruit juice, soft drinks, coffee, and other caffeinated beverages, as these can make diarrhea worse.
Older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and anyone experiencing severe diarrhea should use oral rehydration solutions like Pedialyte. These contain a precise balance of water, salt, and glucose designed for efficient absorption. For infants and young children with salmonella, oral rehydration solutions are the go-to, though infants should continue breastfeeding or drinking formula as usual.
What to Eat During Recovery
You don’t need to follow a special diet or fast. Once your appetite starts coming back, you can return to your normal foods even if you still have some diarrhea. Research shows that restricting your diet doesn’t help treat diarrhea or speed recovery. For children, the same principle applies: give them what they normally eat as soon as they’re ready.
That said, certain foods and drinks tend to aggravate symptoms while you’re still sick. It’s worth avoiding:
- High-fat foods like fried foods, pizza, and fast food
- Caffeinated drinks including coffee, tea, and some sodas
- Sugary beverages and concentrated fruit juices
- Dairy products, since some people have trouble digesting lactose for up to a month after a salmonella infection
Skip the Antibiotics in Most Cases
This surprises many people, but antibiotics generally don’t help with salmonella. In otherwise healthy adults, they won’t shorten the duration of diarrhea or fever. Worse, they can actually cause problems: antibiotics disrupt your gut bacteria, may lead to prolonged “carriage” of salmonella (meaning the bacteria lingers in your system longer than it otherwise would), and contribute to antibiotic resistance.
Prolonged carriage also has practical consequences. If you work in food service or another high-risk occupation, testing positive for salmonella longer than necessary could keep you out of work. And you remain capable of spreading the infection to household members during that time.
Doctors reserve antibiotics for specific situations: people with severe diarrhea, bloodstream infections, or infections that spread beyond the gut (like a urinary tract infection caused by salmonella). They’re also considered for people at higher risk of dangerous complications, including infants, adults over 50 with cardiovascular disease, and people with weakened immune systems.
Who Faces Serious Risk
Salmonella is unpleasant for everyone, but certain groups face genuinely dangerous outcomes. Children under 5 are three times more likely to be hospitalized from a salmonella infection than older kids and adults. Their immune systems are still developing, and the rapid fluid loss from diarrhea can become dangerous quickly.
Adults 65 and older are also at elevated risk. Nearly half of people in this age group with a lab-confirmed salmonella infection end up hospitalized. The immune system becomes less effective at recognizing and clearing harmful bacteria with age.
People with weakened immune systems from conditions like diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, HIV, lupus, or from treatments like chemotherapy or radiation therapy are also more vulnerable. If you or someone you’re caring for falls into any of these groups, closer medical attention is warranted even if symptoms seem manageable at first.
When Symptoms Need Medical Attention
Most people can manage salmonella at home, but watch for signs that your body isn’t keeping up. Seek medical care if you notice signs of dehydration: very dark urine, dizziness, dry mouth, or producing little to no urine. A high fever (above 102°F), bloody stool, or diarrhea lasting more than three days without improvement are also reasons to call a doctor.
For infants and young children, the threshold should be lower. Any signs of dehydration in a baby, including fewer wet diapers, no tears when crying, or unusual drowsiness, warrant prompt medical evaluation.
Preventing Spread at Home
Salmonella passes easily between household members, especially through contaminated hands and surfaces. Handwashing is the single most effective precaution. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after using the bathroom, before preparing food, and after caring for someone who’s sick. If you’re the one infected, avoid preparing food for others until at least 24 hours after your diarrhea has completely stopped.
Clean bathroom surfaces regularly while someone in the household is sick. Salmonella can survive on surfaces, so wiping down toilet handles, faucets, and doorknobs with a disinfectant helps reduce the risk of transmission.
Returning to Work and School
The general rule is to stay home until at least 24 hours after diarrhea has resolved, without using anti-diarrheal medications to mask symptoms. After that point, if you’re feeling well and no longer having loose stools, you can typically return to your normal routine. Follow-up stool tests aren’t usually required.
There are exceptions. If you handle food as part of your job, you must not prepare food until at least 24 hours after diarrhea stops, and some jurisdictions require clearance from a public health agency. Children in diapers or anyone with hygiene challenges may need two consecutive negative stool samples, collected 24 hours apart and at least 48 hours after finishing any antibiotics, before returning to daycare or a group care setting.
Possible Complications After Recovery
Most people recover from salmonella completely, but a small percentage develop a condition called reactive arthritis weeks after the initial infection. This causes joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, often in the knees, ankles, or feet. It can also involve inflammation in the eyes or urinary tract.
Symptoms of reactive arthritis typically last 3 to 12 months and resolve on their own. Some people experience mild, lingering joint symptoms for up to a year, and roughly half of those affected will have a flare-up at some point in the future. In rare cases, reactive arthritis becomes chronic and leads to joint damage, heel spurs, or inflammation of the spine. If you develop new joint pain in the weeks following a salmonella infection, it’s worth bringing up with a doctor so treatment can begin early.