3 Reasons Your Stomach May Hurt After Eating Chicken and What to Do About It

Across the United States, chicken is very often what's for dinner. But if that everyday protein greets you with an upset stomach, vomiting, or abdominal cramps, you could be dealing with food poisoning or, very rarely, an intolerance to chicken or an outright allergy.

Here's more about why you might have stomach pain and other symptoms after eating chicken and how to treat the discomfort.

1. You May Have Food Poisoning

• Contamination Poultry and other foods can be contaminated by bacteria or parasites, which lead to feeling sick after eating chicken.
• Problems During Processing The chicken could have been mishandled during processing or shipping to the store.
• Not Following Food Safety Guidelines The meat on your plate may not have been cooked correctly. Chicken can never be served raw or rare — it needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

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   "You can also get sick if the juice from raw meat has gotten onto surfaces or other foods," Dr. Oller says. (That's why you shouldn't use the same knife or cutting board to chop up veggies and raw chicken.)

The bacteria generally associated with food poisoning from chicken are campylobacter, salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens, Oller says.

• Refrigerate chicken at 40 degrees F or below, and eat it within two days. If you freeze chicken, it'll keep there indefinitely as long as it's continuously frozen. That said, as time goes on, the quality of the chicken may be lower.
• Thaw chicken safely (that means never leaving it on the kitchen counter). The easiest way to defrost frozen chicken is to leave it in the refrigerator the night before. If you need to defrost chicken quickly, place it in a leak-proof bag, submerge the bag in a container of cold tap water, and replace the water every 30 minutes. This method will thaw a pound of chicken in around an hour; for a larger amount of chicken, up to around 4 pounds, it'll take about three hours.
• Prepared chicken (like rotisserie chicken) should be eaten within four days if refrigerated or four months if frozen.

2. You Could Have a Food Allergy

If you have a food allergy, the most effective treatment is to avoid the food that triggers your symptoms entirely. That said, gastrointestinal problems will often clear up on their own or with over-the-counter remedies.

"And if anyone has symptoms of anaphylaxis, such as trouble breathing, swelling of the mouth or throat, or a fast heartbeat, they need to be seen in the ER immediately," Oller says.

3. You May Have a Food Intolerance

But unlike an allergy, there’s no risk of anaphylaxis with a food intolerance, so it isn't life threatening.

For gastrointestinal symptoms that can accompany a chicken intolerance, your best bet is to try over-the-counter treatments for diarrhea and gas, such as bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) and loperamide (Imodium). And while it's possible to still enjoy chicken when you have an intolerance, some people may need to stop eating this meat altogether to fix these digestive problems.

When to See a Doctor

• Frequent vomiting and an inability to keep down even water
• Diarrhea that lasts more than three days or bloody diarrhea
• Fever higher than 102 degrees F
• Dehydration warning sighs like extreme thirst, little or no urination, or dizziness

For symptoms that are potentially due to an allergy, make an appointment to see an allergist.

The Takeaway

• The most likely cause of diarrhea after eating chicken is food poisoning, which can be caused by contamination, problems during processing, and not following safety guidelines while defrosting, prepping, cooking, or storing the meat.
• A chicken allergy or intolerance, although not that common, can also cause gastrointestinal distress.
• If you experience frequent or severe diarrhea after eating chicken, talk to your doctor, who can help determine the cause and get you the appropriate treatment.