Food poisoning is a common illness that is caused by eating contaminated food, it is not a serious illness because people tend to feel better within a few days even without any treatment. Food poisoning is caused by eating food that is contaminated by bacteria. It is important to note that there exist food poisoning treatments.
Most times, food poisoning can last 12 to 48 hours. This is the duration it takes for a healthy body to let the infection out. This may last longer for people who have a weakened immune system, or if there’s a parasite that needs to be treated with some antibiotics.
Classification of food poisoning
Food poisoning is classified depending on the type of toxin that causes it which can be either bacterial, natural, chemical, or fungal.
They say prevention is better than care so it is very important to keep your house clean especially the kitchen and its utensils to avoid germs and bacteria.
There are several major types of food poisoning but I’ll be staying with a just few of them below
1. Campylobacter enteritis
This Is a common bacteria that causes infection it produces several gastrointestinal upsets that can last for more than two weeks, it’s not deadly among healthy people.
2. Cholera
Cholera is another major cause of food poisoning, well literature might have misconceptions about it but cholera is the main factor behind diarrhea. That is why it’s very important to wash your food thoroughly before cooking and eating.
3. Staphylococcus
This food poisoning is mostly gotten fr eat outs, where people come together not minding the source of the food or snack, so they end up getting infected.
4. Salmonella
This food poisoning is caused by bacteria that live among poultry and poultry farmers, and it hangs around the building, that is why sanitizers are very important.
5. Listeria
This is a deadly food poisoning and it occurs from eating or drinking any dairy product, it is very important to check out for sources and expiry date of milk products.
There are more types of food poisoning
what causes food poisoning??
There are several causes of Food poisoning which include
1. Harmful chemicals
Certain microbes spread to food when the food is grown, harvested, reared, processed, stored, or prepared. Other causes of food poisoning include bacteria, viruses, and parasites
2. lack of good hygiene
This is especially in the kitchen, bad hygiene attracts germs and bacteria which can result in food poisoning
3. Carelessness
In the sense that people buy food without checking the expiry date
4. Inappropriate storage of food
Symptoms of food poisoning
For food poisoning treatment, there are several symptoms of food poisoning but the main symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach ache you may also experience headache, fever, muscle aches, and blood in your stool. Other rare symptoms include dry throats and less excretion of urine and dizziness caused by dehydration.
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Tips to prevent food poisoning
Here are some tips that will ensure food safety and avoid food contamination
- Properly store raw meat, seafood, poultry, and eggs separate from other foods.
- Make sure you refrigerate foods that can spoil or are perishable
- Always wash your hands with soap and water before and after touching food
- Always wash your fruits and vegetables before cutting, eating, or cooking
- Always make sure you cook too tough to kill harmful microbes
- Cleaning utensils thoroughly before using them
- Cutting raw meats on a clean surface and storing them separately
- Cooking food carefully and thoroughly
- Check out for expiry dates before using food ingredients
- Store food properly before traveling.
Treatment for food poisoning
Food poisoning is mostly resolved without any medication. Treatment is usually aimed at subsiding and preventing further complications, especially dehydration which is dangerous to the health.
The main treatment for food poisoning is resting or relaxing to replace lost fluids by doing the following:
1. Taking a high amount of liquids and adding oral rehydration salts to the liquid so it can replace lost electrolytes.
2. Continuous fluid intake even if vomiting persists
3. Gradually forcing yourself to eat
4. Ginger tea also helps in treating food poisoning
Reactions that require visiting a doctor
It is not necessary to see a doctor when experiencing food poisoning but here are some reactions that require medical attention which include
1. If you keep experiencing fever and it’s not subsiding.
2. If you see blood in your stool.
3. When you see blood in your vomit
4. When Your diarrhea doesn’t stop or if it lasts for more than four days.
5. When You keep experiencing severe pain.
6. When You experience some symptoms like cold limbs or blurry vision.
7. When You experience serious severe dehydration
When you keep experiencing the above symptoms then you should visit your doctor with immediate effect.
Medical treatments for food poisoning
Here are Some medications for food Poisoning recommended by a doctor.
1. The Antidiarrheal agents
These are drugs that are used to subside diarrhea. There are two types of antidiarrheal drugs and each of them has various functions. The first is loperamide which reduces the amount of water that comes out from the intestines and subsides intestinal contractions.
The second is the Bismuth subsalicylate which is popularly known as Kaopectate, it reduces the amount of water that enters the bowel.
This drug has several side effects which are stated on the cover of the drug, it is advisable to read them before taking the drugs.
2. Oral rehydration therapy
One of the deadly risks that food poisoning result in is dehydration. Diarrhea and vomiting expel a lot of body fluids and it is very critical to replace the body’s fluids. Oral rehydration therapy is the act of taking fluids with salts and sugars so it will replace lost electrolytes. Gatorade is also known and very useful for oral rehydration therapy.
3. Antibiotics
The main function of antibiotics is for treating bacterial infections but cannot kill viruses. Antibiotics are not effective in treating food poisoning. Antibiotics just serve as first-aid treatments for food poisoning especially ones caused by bacterial infection. Examples of these antibiotics are Zithromax and Levaquin. These drugs contain side effects such as headaches, dizziness, vomiting, stomachache, and abdominal pain.
In conclusion, it is very important to take her hygiene seriously, keep her house clean, develop the habit of good food storage and always seek medical attention if you feel unwell.
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