Do I have food poisoning?
What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning is an illness caused by eating foods that have harmful organisms in them. These harmful germs can include bacteria, parasites and viruses. They are mostly found in raw meat, chicken, fish and eggs, but they can spread to any type of food. They can also grow on food that is left on counters or outdoors or is stored too long before eating. Sometimes food poisoning happens when people do not wash their hands before touching food.
Most of the time, food poisoning is mild and disappear after a few days. All you can do is wait for your body to get rid of the germ that causes the disease. But some types of food poisoning can be more serious and you may need to see a doctor.
What are the symptoms?
The first food poisoning symptom is usually diarrhea. You may also feel sick to your stomach, vomiting, or stomach cramps. Some food poisoning can cause high fever and blood in your stool. How you feel when you have food poisoning depends mainly on how health you are and what makes you sick germ.
If you are vomiting or have diarrhea a lot, you can get dehydrated. Dehydration means your body has lost too much fluid.
How harmful germs enter the food?
The water used to irrigate or wash fruits and vegetables can carry germs can happen to your food
Germs can enter the food when:.
- meat is processed It is normal to find bacteria. the intestines of healthy animals we use for food. Sometimes the bacteria are mixed with parts of these animals we eat.
- The food is watered or washed . If the water used to irrigate or wash fresh fruits and vegetables has germs from animal manure or human sewage in it, these germs can get on fruits and vegetables.
- The food is prepared. When someone who has germs on his hands touch the food or if the food touches other food that has germs on it, germs can spread. For example, if you use the same cutting board for chopping vegetables and preparing raw meat, germs from raw meat can get on the vegetables.
How will you know if you have food poisoning?
Because most food poisoning is mild and disappear after a few days, most people do not go to the doctor. You can usually assume that you have food poisoning if others who ate the same food also fell ill.
If you think you have food poisoning, call your local health department to report it. This could help to keep others from getting sick.
Call your doctor if you think you have a serious illness. You may need to consult your doctor if your diarrhea or vomiting is very bad or if you do not start to get better after a few days.
If you go to the doctor, he or she will ask about your symptoms (diarrhea, sore feeling in the stomach or vomiting), ask about your general health, and do a physical exam . Your doctor will ask you where you ate and if someone ate the same food is also sick. Sometimes the doctor will take stool or blood samples and tested them.
How is it treated?
If in doubt, throw it out. If you are not sure if a food is safe, do not eat.
In most cases, food poisoning is of itself within 2 to 3 days. All you need to do is rest and get plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration from diarrhea. Drink a cup of water or rehydration drink (such as Pedialyte) every time you have a big, loose stools. Soda and fruit juices have too much sugar and should not be used to rehydrate. Doctors recommend trying to eat normally as soon as possible. When you can eat without vomiting, try to eat the kind of foods you normally would. But try to stay away from foods that are high in fat or sugar.
Antibiotics are generally not used to treat food poisoning. Medications that stop diarrhea (antidiarrheal) may be useful, but they should not be given to infants or young children. You should not take anti-diarrhea if you have a high fever or have blood in diarrhea, because they can make your illness worse.
If you think you are severely dehydrated, you may need to go to hospital.
How can you avoid food poisoning
you can prevent most cases of food poisoning with these simple steps:.
- Clean Wash your hands often and always before you touch food. Keep your knives, cutting boards, and counters clean. You can wash them in hot soapy water or put items in the dishwasher and use a disinfectant on your counter. Wash fruits and vegetables.
- separated. Keep germs from raw meat from getting on fruits, vegetables and other foods. Put cooked meat on a clean platter, not back on one that held the raw meat.
- Cook. Make sure meat, poultry, fish and eggs are well cooked.
- Refrigerate. Refrigerate leftovers immediately. Do not leave cut fruits and vegetables at room temperature for a long time.
- If in doubt, throw it out. If you are not sure if a food is safe, don 't eat.
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