Food poisoning - a collective term, by which is meant the clinic of acute digestive disorders (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea), Sometimes in combination with other symptoms, resulting from the use of substandard food or liquids.
Classification of food poisoning
Food poisoning can be divided into:
- infectious (caused by microbes, viruses, or protozoa, or their metabolic products), these types of poisoning properly called foodborne (PTI).
- non-infectious or toxic poisoning (due to contact with the food in the body chemical toxins, heavy metals, toxins, grasses use, inedible plants or fungi).
Causes
Toxic food poisoning occur through consumption of food or water, as part of which contains chemicals, vegetable or animal poisons:
- inedible mushrooms or mushrooms collected along the tracks, near chemical plants and have accumulated a harmful compound,
- poisonous plants (nightshade, Wolfberry, henbane)
- chemical substances (toxins, heavy metal salts, preservatives, colorants).
Foodborne diseases are the result of eating tainted food or food contamination by harmful microbes.
These include:
- salmonellosis, listeriosis, botulism, Proteus, klostridioz,
- opportunistic flora (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli),
- viruses (rotavirus, enterovirus).
The easiest way to poison
The most dangerous foods in terms of toxic food poisoning are:
- milk products,
- eggs, especially raw,
- meat dishes,
- fish dishes, especially with raw fish,
- pastry cream with the protein,
- homemade preserves and pickles in violation of conservation technologies,
- perishable products that require storage in the cold,
- Products in violation of the integrity of the packaging and shelf life,
- catering products in violation of sanitary rules in their preparation.
How to identify dangerous products
Potentially dangerous are the dishes that were kept for some time after cooking, but can cause poisoning, and freshly prepared food.
There are a few signs:
- at the product has expired or will soon expire expiration date
- its packaging is damaged or has defects (dents, scrapes, paint blurred)
- product has uncharacteristic odor
- taste and color of the product is changed,
- consistency of heterogeneous, layered,
- with stirring or heating gas bubbles appear,
- have sediment at the bottom, if the liquid product transparency is violated.
The characteristic features of food poisoning
The peculiarity of food poisoning and toxic poisoning is a short incubation period of about 2-6 hours and rapidly developing symptoms.
In addition, these diseases are usually dangerous to others, appear in the form of outbreaks in the family or collective, in all or almost all of these products are consumed.
Even if the product in appearance and taste normal, poisoning can occur, because it could be contaminated with dangerous microbes resulting from the preparation of the individual, but the germs have not been able to multiply and spoil dish.
Symptoms of food poisoning
Early symptoms of poisoning may occur in the period from 1-2 up to 6-8 hours, gradually over the next 1-2 days they progress, and without assistance may significantly harm health.
Clinical manifestations depend on many factors - the type of microbe or toxin, the amount of ingested food, body condition and other conditions. However, the allocated number of typical symptoms of poisoning:
- temperature, from low to 39-40S at 37-37.5,
- loss of appetite, malaise,
- disorder chair, abdominal pain cramping in nature,
- bloating,
- nausea and vomiting,
- cold sweat, pressure reduction,
- signs of dehydration due to fluid loss in the stool and vomitus (mucosal dryness, decreased urine volume and its concentration, decrease in body weight).
In severe cases or when exposed to neurotoxic poisons arise:
- blurred vision, double vision,
- disorders of muscle tone,
- loss of consciousness,
- strong salivation (hypersalivation)
- disorders of the brain (hallucinations, delirium, coma) or peripheral nervous system (paresis, paralysis).
most dangerous salmonellosis, listeria and botulismEspecially for pregnant women, nursing and young children and the elderly - they may be fatal.
The first signs of salmonellosis
Salmonellosis develops an average of 12-24 hours.
Its characteristic features:
- raising the temperature to 38-39S,
- headache,
- cramping abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
Liquid stool, watery, frothy, malodorous, greenish color of from 5 to 10 times per day. 2-3-th day of the disease in some patients in the stool detected an admixture of mucus.
The first signs of listeriosis
The incubation period for Listeriosis - 2-4 weeks.
Symptoms depend on the form of the disease, the following are the most typical:
- prolonged fever,
- redness and pain in the throat,
- lymphadenopathy,
- swelling and reddening of the eyelids, purulent (in contact with eye infection through the conjunctiva),
- rashes on the body in typhoid form.
The first signs of botulism
Botulism develops over a period of several hours to 5 days. The development of symptoms is very fast!
It should seek help immediately if the following symptoms:
- absence of fever or slight fever,
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea without additives - these symptoms last for about one day,
- a characteristic early symptom of botulism - blurred vision - a fog, "flies", double objects,
- swallowing disorder - a feeling of a lump in the throat, pain when swallowing
- at the beginning of the second day there neurological symptoms: headaches, dizziness, weakness,
- one of the most dangerous botulism symptoms - respiratory disorders: feeling short of breath, shallow breathing. It respiratory failure is the cause of death in botulism.
Diagnostics
The basis of the diagnosis of food poisoning - it's a typical clinical picture, the defeat of several people and an indication of the use of the same products.
To identify the specific pathogen spend crops:
- blood
- excreta
- vomitus,
- foods that are eaten infected.
If you suspect a viral nature of the infection is carried out express analysis on the detection of the virus in the blood.
If you suspect a toxic lesion conducted a blood analysis on toxins and examination of samples of products with which they are sick.
Food Poisoning Treatment
For suspected food poisoning is necessary to call an ambulance, but before its arrival first aid.
First aid for food poisoning
These steps apply to both adult and child:
- gastric lavage soda solutions as long as the water is clear, without admixture of food,
- then the required reception enterosorbents
* If the first symptoms of poisoning as a first aid necessarily used enteral detoxification via enterosorbent enterosorbent. After receiving enterosorbent moves through the gastrointestinal tract and the porous sponge collects toxins and harmful bacteria. In contrast to other sorbents, which should be carefully diluted with water, Enterosgel is completely ready for use, and It represents a soft gel-like paste which does not injure the mucosa, and contributes to its envelops and recovery. This is important because the poisoning is often accompanied by an aggravation of gastritis, which is why the mucosa of the stomach and intestine becomes inflamed.
- if reception of a large volume of fluid occurs vomiting, sorbents dissolved in water and take sip every 5-10 minutes,
- taking the cool fluid to prevent dehydration (oral, rehydron if they do not, sweet tea with lemon alternating with brine),
- create peace for the body, temporarily refuse to accept food.
How to prepare an analogue rehydron
Dilute salt 9d (heaped tablespoon) in 1 liter of water.
Water should be either bottled or boiled - this is especially important for food poisoning. It is not recommended to draw water, passed through the household filter without boiling.
Strictly forbidden under severe food poisoning to take without a prescription:
- antibiotics,
- sulfa drugs (streptocid, Biseptol, sulfasalazine)
- Linex, biologics,
- antiemetic and antidiarrheal agents
- folk medicine as infusions and decoctions of various plants (oak bark, pomegranate rind)
- alcohol and alcohol solutions.
The hospital carried out further measures to eliminate toxins from the body and fight infection, dehydration and damage to the nervous system. With timely treatment of the early symptoms of poisoning have consequences for 3-7 days.
Read more about food poisoning after eating - in our article Diet food poisoning.
prevention
To prevent or minimize the risk of food poisoning is necessary to observe the basic rules:
- Only cook food in the kitchen environment, regularly clean the cooking area and food intake,
- strictly abide by the rules of culinary products processing, preparation technology,
- Use only good-quality products, check expiration dates,
- possible not to store perishable products, or store them in a refrigerator conditions not more than 6-12 hours,
- be wary of products with raw ingredients, especially in catering,
- always visually and smell to check the quality of products,
- not to use home-made preserves, bought in the markets,
- thoroughly wash hands and dishes,
- fight with the flies and other insects in the home, and especially in the kitchen,
- do not eat unfamiliar foods or dishes, particularly in public places,
- always boil or filtered water.
