Food Poisoning: What Is It?

In all of your lifetime you must have heard about the term food poisoning. Ever wanted to know what exactly it is? Here is all you need to know about food poisoning. It is a condition or illness caused by the consumption of contaminated food especially in the rainy season. It can be caused by pathogens that include bacteria, virus, and protozoa. It is not a serious condition and the person gets well after few days. The most common pathogens that cause food poisoning are E. coli, salmonella or norovirus.

Let us discuss the symptoms first. The observable symptoms occur after a day or two of consuming the infected good. The person may experience nausea, vomiting, stomachache, diarrhea, dehydration, anorexia (loss of appetite), fever or even lack of energy and weakness. The person may not feel well for some days and gets normal after few days but proper precautions should be taken or otherwise it may get serious.

How to treat food poisoning?

Maximum people recover within five days but the symptoms live diarrhea and dehydration can cause serious problems if not treated. The person should get proper bed rest. Loss of fluid demands more fluid intake and to maintain the balance of electrolytes too, the ORS is given which can be bought and prepared at home as well. Just take one liter of water and then add 20 g glucose, 3.5 g NaCl, 2.5 g NaHCO3, and 1.5 g KCl. This should be given to the patient regularly after short intervals.

Apart from this, food in the form of liquid or semi-fluid should be given as it is easy to intake and replenishes the water loss too. If the symptoms get severe and home remedies aren’t working immediately go to the doctor.

How is food poisoning caused? It is because of food contamination which can be prevented by adopting proper hygiene conditions. You can take of of the following things before making food or buying it

·Always keep food in refrigerator. Don’t leave the food out for a long time especially during rainy and summer season.

·Don’t buy expired food products and always check the date.

·Maintain proper hygiene while cooking meat and poultry as they are known to cause infections if hygiene is not maintained

·Always take care of kitchens hygiene. It is the place where food can get contaminated. Don’t eat too much raw foods.