what is this disease that afflicts me?

[Crono]

I get the same thing from: olive garden, taco bell, baja fresh, red lobster etc.

its something in the food. something that i have a contact allergy with. i can actually put the food on my skin and it'll turn red/irritated so it must do the same to my insides.

i dont get along well with tomatoes and red bell peppers. both are from the same family of plants.

I avoid those foods and guess what? Healthier than ever. Like super healthy. Enough so that people comment on it. I figure my stomach is doing me a service.

Nightshade allergy?

For the fast food/fast-casual places it's probably a preservative they are using.

 

[OverVolt]

Nightshade allergy?

Indeed. More like everyplace feels the need to put red pepper in their spices.

 

[Ophir]

If the contaminated food really was that salad, it sounds like S. aureus (Staph) food poisoning - http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/staphylococcal/.

Basically, the food got contaminated with Staph, and was left to incubate the staph long enough for it to multiply and excrete a toxin that immediately poisoned you. The illness comes from the toxin, not primarily the Staph. Symptoms usually clear up relatively quickly, for food poisoning that is - usually w/in 24 hrs when the body clears the toxin. Just keep hydrated and focus on getting through it.

Keep in mind that food "poisoning" - by infection or toxin - can develop anywhere between 30 min to weeks after consumption of the pathogen. It can be a coincidence that symptoms develop after eating questionable food. That salad could have been totally fine, it just turns out that the silent-but-deadly club sandwich you enjoyed at the country club last weekend finally unleashed its fury. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/understanding-food-poisoning-symptoms

If symptoms persist for more than a day or two, or shit gets severe, see a doctor immediately. No one wants to go out by crapping themselves to death.

Good luck.

Edit: Looks like you recovered quickly. Indicates to me it was likely toxin-mediated. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these end up being totally idiopathic.

 

[OverVolt]

Was it olive garden?