People get infected by many diseases through the foods they take. Apart from acting as the carrier of diseases, food poisoning itself can wreck havoc with a person’s health. It is usually a mild illness which if ignored can have fatal consequences. The cases of Food poisoning happen because many people do not follow adequate food hygiene.
The food poisoning cases often lead to gastroenteritis in some patients and the instances of this phenomenon are on the rise. When the foods that people eat get contaminated with germs or micro organisms consuming them lead to the development of gastroenteritis.
Causes of Food Poisoning
The food becomes toxic and poisonous when it gets contaminated with germs or micro organisms. It can happen in two ways. If the food is not cooked properly, for example at the required temperature, the germs can remain in the food. This is something that happens with baked and steamed preparations like barbecued items. On the other hand, if the persons cooking the hand do not wash their hands properly and follow poor hygienic habits, the germs can pass from their hands to the food.
The dairy and poultry foods can lead to Campylobacter infection if they are not prepared following proper ways of cooking. Other most commonly seen micro organisms causing food poisoning include shigella, listeria, clostridia and salmonella. While some of these bacteria cause instant infection, others take some time to start working in the affected person’s body.
Food Poisoning Symptoms
The most prevalent symptoms of Food poisoning include vomiting, nausea and severe pain in the abdominal region of the body. The person may also suffer from sudden attacks of diarrhea after he has taken a contaminated drink of food item.
The other symptoms that follow the infection are chills and fever, dehydration and damage to the nervous system. But the appearance of the symptoms actually depends on the degree of infection. If the symptoms appear in a number of people who consumed the infected food, the incident is called an outbreak.
Treating Food Poisoning
The treatment for Food poisoning depends on the kind of contamination a person has suffered. The majority of the infections affect the victims for duration of 1 to 2 days. During this time, the person loses a significant amount of essential body fluids through diarrhea and repeated vomiting.
For treating such a person the doctors recommend drinking boiled water and rehydration fluids. Some of the patients of food poisoning require antibiotic treatment but this actually depends on the type of micro organism causing the contamination.
Advice
Food poisoning can be avoided if people adhere to certain health eating habits and follow the required level of hygiene. It is always better to wash the hands with an anti bacterial soap before having food. Sometimes the germs can come from the fur of the pets; therefore it is advisable to wash hands properly after playing with the pets. The area where food is prepared needs to be kept clean. Many people store meat, poultry and vegetables in the refrigerator for days and cook them later.
It is imperative to defrost these foods properly before cooking to eliminate the chances of contamination. Special care should be taken in cooking boiled and steamed meats and it should be seen that the meat does not contain any uncooked pink area. If raw food needs to be stored it should be wrapped up properly.
The otherwise healthy looking vegetables and fruits can contain germs so it would be advisable to clean them under running tap before chopping and cooking. While buying pre cooked food from stores, a person should always check the expiry date of the product. The smell and look of the food items also need to be checked.
It is also important for the chefs and cooks to adhere to adequate hygiene habits while preparing food. In case they contract any contamination they should stay away from cooking.
