Common Summer Ailments: Food Poisoning

On 11:03 AM by Anonymous
Did You Know? Food Poisoning is a Common Summer Ailment. This is because, some foods are not properly cleaned or taken care of and sit in the summer heat before being consumed.

 
 Food poisoning is a common, usually mild, but sometimes deadly illness. Typical symptoms include: 
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Abdominal
  • Cramping
  • Diarrhea
These symptoms occur suddenly (within 48 hours) after consuming a contaminated food or drink. Depending on the contaminant, fever and chills, bloody stools, dehydration, and nervous system damage may follow. These symptoms may affect one person or a group of people who ate the same thing (called an outbreak).
 
Did You Also Know? 1 in 6 people become sick from eating contaminated food. In 2001, the CDC estimated that food poisoning causes about 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and up to 3,000 deaths each year.
 
 
Salmonella remained the top cause of foodborne illness last year. The second most common cause of illness was Campylobacter (a bacterium that causes acute diarrhea), which increased 14%. Campylobacter lives on live chickens and can taint meat during slaughter; it can also be found in raw, unpasteurized milk. Chicken and ground beef top a list of "risky meat."
 
 

Exams and Tests

Your health care provider will examine you for signs of food poisoning, such as pain in the stomach and signs your body does not have as much water and fluids as it should.
Tests may be done on your stools or the food you have eaten to find out what type of germ is causing your symptoms. However, tests may not always find the cause of the diarrhea.
In more serious cases, your health care provider may order a sigmoidoscopy. A thin, hollow tube with a light on the end is placed in the anus to look for the source of bleeding or infection.
 

Treatment

You will usually get better in a couple of days. The goal is to make you feel better and make sure your body has the proper amount of fluids.
Getting enough fluids and learning what to eat will help keep you or your child comfortable. You may need to:
  • Manage the diarrhea
  • Control nausea and vomiting
  • Get plenty of rest