Food poisoning: Symptoms, causes, treatment and prevention 

Nowadays just scroll over your internet pages and it is common to come across news of people getting affected by food poisoning on consuming food at some social gatherings.  

Millions of people in different age groups are affected every year by food poisoning. Any food that has lost its freshness is ideally unfit for human consumption. The quality of the food may be compensated at or during any stages: preparation, processing, packaging or dispatch at home or even while cooking or preserving at home.  

It is really important to take food safety as a priority as there are a lot illness that are related to the consumption of contaminated foods. Such diseases are termed as food-borne diseases in medical terms.

Our digestive tract is such an organized system that it immediately responds whenever we consume something stale or contaminated. 

The contamination of the food may result from the environmental or hygienic factors or the presence of microorganisms in the food.  The alimentary or digestive tract gets stimulated and makes effort to expel out the products consumed through vomitus and feces. 

Let us learn about food poisoning exactly:

Learning points

We are going to learn:

1. What is food poisoning?
2. What are the symptoms of food poisoning?
3. What are the causes of food poisoning?
4. What groups are at high-risk for food poisoning?
5. How to prevent yourself from food poisoning?
6. What treatment measures are taken for food poisoning?

What is food poisoning?

Food poisoning refers to the state of sudden feeling of sickness with development of symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. on consuming contaminated food and/or food products.  It can be caused by infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses or parasites and/or their toxins. 

The ingestion of such contaminated foods result into entry of the germs in the stomach and produces gastroenteritis symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal discomfort, etc. 

In most of the food poisoning cases the symptoms usually resolve within few hours or a day or two on implementing some home remedies or taking over-the-counter medications for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 

It may create complications in some persons who would need immediate medical attention, especially the kids, who are at high-risk. 

What are the symptoms of food poisoning?

Food poisoning symptoms are more or less similar to symptoms of a stomach infection.  

It may take upto few hours to days to show the first symptoms of food poisoning after eating contaminated food. 

Again that depends on the causative agent responsible for food poisoning They are as below:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Feeling of abdominal discomfort
• Bloating or gassy feeling.
• Abdominal pain/cramps
• Diarrhea
• Fever in some cases where the infection is more.

What are the causes of food poisoning?

Food poisoning is caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or the toxins secreted by these microorganisms. 

There are different species of bacteria and viruses responsible for causing food poisoning such as:

Bacteria:  Bacteria such as Salmonella, Shigella, E.Coli, Staphlococcus aureus, Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens and many more can contaminate the foods causing food poisoning in humans.

Viruses:  Viruses such as rotavirus(commonly in children), Norovirus, Corona virus, hepatovirus, etc. may cause food poisoning.

Parasites: Parasites such as Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Toxoplasma gondii, etc are known for food poisoning.

The other causes/risk factors responsible for food poisoning are:

• Improper/unhygienic food preparation, processing or storage. 
• Preparation of food without washing/rinsing the food items such as fruits, vegetables, cereals and pulses.
• Using unclean or unwashed utensils for food preparation.
• Consuming stale food products stored in fridge.
• Consuming spoilt mill or raw milk
• Having raw meat or raw vegetables without washing.
• Consuming food containing allergens: Some people are allergic to certain ingredients. It is important to exclude the possibility and then only consume such foods. 

What groups are at high-risk for food poisoning?

The high-risk groups of people include:

• Children especially under five
• People with weak immune systems
• People with comorbid gastrointestinal conditions or compromised or poor digestion.
• Elderly people.
• Pregnant women.

How to prevent yourself from food poisoning? Preventive measures:

The first and foremost prevention is to have a healthy and fresh diet. It is the main measure to keep all such food-borne diseases on bay. 

The other preventive measures are:

• Hygiene: Always wash your hands before preparing food.
• Always wash the fruits and vegetables under running water before consumption.
• Always keep the cooking utensils clean and dry.
• Caution: Never consume a food product that has over gone its expiry date. Simply throw it away.
• Always boil the milk before having. It kills any sort of bacteria present in it.
• Never store milk or milk products for more than 24 hours.
• Always eat the food fresh, avoid habit of storing or keeping in fridge for hours before eating.
• Check out the food items you purchase for the packet instructions for allergens. Most of the products have a caution note for allergen. Do not consume if you are allergic to the one.
• Avoid having habit of eating raw/improperly cooked meat or fish.
• Do not overeat. especially if you already have prior gastric conditions, it is always a best option to skip over to only healthy foods than oily/processed foods.
• East less of packaged foods and try to make fresh food at home.
• Check for the smell of the stored food and its contents before consuming.

What treatment measures are taken for food poisoning?

The person affected with food poisoning may or may not need treatment depending on the cause responsible for the same and the severity of the symptoms. 

Mild symptoms generally do not require treatments; however the cases with sudden and severe onset of symptoms may need an immediate rush to hospital to prevent any further complications such as dehydration and other severe symptoms affecting the nervous system such as sudden confusion or blurring of vision, etc. 

Excess diarrhea and continuous vomiting may lead to dehydration which needs to be treated with prompt medical treatment using intravenous fluids.

Antibacterial and antiviral medications may be prescribed along with symptomatic treatment and fluid replacement. 

 Antispasmodics may be ordered to treat the abdominal cramps and pains. 

In the end, it is all about the food safety that we take into consideration when it is on our work-front.  

We all need to be aware of the precautions and safety measures to keep ourselves away from food poisoning. 

Note:  This information is for educational purpose only. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment.