Food Poisoning
Food Poisoning
23 Controlling Methods
What a grand-slam picnic! You could hardly wait for the softball game to end so you could dig into the feast seductively arrayed on the picnic table in the summer sun—the tangy barbecued chicken, the buttery steamed clams, the potato salad, and the topper, that luscious cream pie.
It's now a few hours later, though, and you feel as if you've been hit in the gut by a fastball. You're dizzy and queasy. You vomit. You have diarrhea. You're definitely benched for the rest of the day.
What has happened? Chances are, the food you ate was tainted with toxic bacteria of one kind or another, giving you what is commonly known as food poisoning. Perhaps the potato salad was prepared by unclean hands that transferred staphylococcus bacteria onto your food. Or maybe the chicken was not barbecued long enough to kill contaminating salmonella organisms. And that great-tasting cream pie left sitting in the sun? It might have served as a perfect petri dish for multiplying bacteria.
MEDICAL ALERT
Some People Need Special Care With a normal case of food poisoning, the symptoms—cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness—will disappear in a day or two, says Lynne Mofenson, M.D. "But for the very young, the elderly, or someone suffering a chronic condition or immune disorder, food poisoning can be very serious. These people should contact a doctor at the first signs of food poisoning." Even if you don't fall into this category, call a doctor immediately if your symptoms are also accompanied by: - Difficulty swallowing, speaking, or breathing; changes in vision, muscle weakness, or paralysis, particularly if this occurs after eating mushrooms, canned food, or shellfish.
- Fever over 100°F.
- Severe vomiting—meaning you can't even hold down any liquids.
- Severe diarrhea for more than a day or two.
- Persistent, localized abdominal pain.
- Dehydration—you have extreme thirst, a dry mouth, or decreased urination, and when you pinch the back of your hand, the skin stays pinched.
- Bloody diarrhea.
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In any case, once inside you, these bad bugs attack your intestines—and, for a day or so, you feel wretched as your body tries to battle back. Here's what the experts say you can do to help your body fight a case of food flu.
Fill up on fluids. The bacteria irritate your intestinal tract and trigger a great deal of fluid loss, possibly from both ends. You'll need to drink lots of fluids to prevent becoming dehydrated. Water is the best replacement fluid, followed by other clear liquids like apple juice, broth, or bouillon. Soft drinks are okay, too, provided you drink them flat, says Vincent F. Garagusi, M.D., professor of medicine and microbiology and director of the Infectious Disease Service at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Otherwise the carbonation can further irritate the stomach. And defizzed Coca-Cola, for reasons yet to be determined, has an added bonus—it works to settle the stomach.
Dr. Garagusi says you can get the bubbles out of soft drinks quickly by pouring the soda back and forth between two glasses.
Don't Let It Happen Again! You can't always blame the diner across town for your tummy troubles. The truth is, says Daniel Rodrigue, M.D., "many cases of food poisoning probably come from carelessness in your own home." Follow these common-sense rules and you'll significantly decrease your chances of getting food poisoning. - Wash your hands before preparing food to avoid passing on bacteria such as staphylococcus (commonly found on the skin and in the throat) or shigella (passed from fecal matter). Wash again after handling raw meat and eggs.
- Don't eat raw protein food like fish, fowl, meat, milk, or eggs. Avoid sushi, oysters on the half shell, Caesar salad made with raw eggs, and unpasteurized eggnog. Don't use cracked eggs. Raw food can harbor bacteria.
- Heat or chill raw food. Bacteria can't multiply above 150° or below 40°F.
- Cook meat until the pink disappears, poultry until there are no red joints, and fish until it flakes. Complete cooking is the only way to ensure that all potentially harmful bacteria have been killed.
- Use a meat thermometer, especially when microwaving large meat and fowl. This also ensures that they are cooked thoroughly.
- Don't taste test the raw pork sausage stew, the fish chowder, or even the cookie batter before it's done.
- Don't let raw meat juice drip onto other food. It can taint otherwise harmless food.
- Use a separate chopping board and utensils when handling raw meat and sanitize them with soapy water or bleach after use. It'll help prevent cross contamination.
- Scrub can openers and countertops and always clean out crevices. It will prevent bacteria from hiding there.
- Replace sponges often and use paper towels to wipe off counters.
- Don't leave food at room temperature for more than two hours, and avoid eating anything that you suspect may have been unrefrigerated for that long. Bacteria thrive in warm protein food made with meat or eggs, cream-filled pastries, dips, potato salad, and so forth.
- Thaw meat in the refrigerator. Bacteria can multiply on food surfaces while the center is still frozen.
- Immediately refrigerate leftovers, even if they are still hot. Cool down large stews by refrigerating in smaller portions.
- Never pick and eat wild mushrooms. Some carry toxins that attach the nervous system and can be deadly. Picking wild mushrooms should be left for the experts.
- Never taste home-canned food before boiling for 20 minutes. If not properly canned, food contains bacteria that can produce a dangerous toxin.
- Don't taste any food that doesn't smell or look right. Avoid cracked jars or swollen, dented cans of lids, clear liquids that have turned milky, or cans or jars that spurt or have an "off" odor when opened. They could contain dangerous bacteria. Make sure you discard them carefully so that household pets cannot come in contact with them.
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Sip a little, slowly. Trying to gulp down too much at once may trigger more vomiting, says Dr. Garagusi.
Try a food flu cocktail. Vomiting and diarrhea can flush out important electolytes—potassium, sodium, and glucose. You can replace them by sipping commercially prepared electrolyte products like Gatorade, suggests Lynne Mofenson, M.D., associate branch chief for clinical research at the National Institutes of Health. Or try this rehydration recipe: Mix fruit juice (for potassium) with 1/2 teaspoon of honey or corn syrup (for glucose) and a pinch of table salt (sodium chloride).
Save the antacids for heartburn. They can reduce the acids in your stomach and weaken your defense against bacteria. "Possibly," says Dr. Mofenson, "bacteria could multiply in greater numbers and more rapidly if you take an antacid."
Don't interfere with progress. Your body is trying to flush the toxic organism out of your body, explains Daniel Rodrigue, M.D., a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. "In some cases, taking antidiarrheal products (like Imodium or Lomotil) may interfere with the body's ability to fight the infection." So stay away from them and let nature take its course. If you feel it's necessary to take something, consult your doctor first.
Don't induce vomiting. Don't let the word poisoning scare you into sticking your finger down your throat, says Bonnie Dean, assistant director of the Pittsburgh Poison Control Center of Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "There's just no need to do so."
Reintroduce bland foods. Usually within a few hours to a day after the diarrhea and vomiting have subsided, you'll be ready for some "good" food. But go easy. Your stomach has been attacked; it's weak and irritated. "Start with easily digestible foods," suggest Dr. Mofenson. Try cereal, pudding, soda crackers, or broth. Avoid high-fiber, spicy, acidic, greasy, sugary, or dairy foods that could further irritate the stomach. You should do this for a day or two; then your stomach will be ready to get back to its routine.
PANEL OF ADVISERS
Bonnie Dean is assistant director of Pittsburgh Poison Control Center of Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Vincent F. Garagusi, M.D., is a professor of medicine and microbiology and director of the Infectious Disease Service at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Lynne Mofenson, M.D., is an associate branch chief for clinical research at the National Institutes of Health. She was formerly assistant commissioner of the Division of Communicable Disease Control for the state of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Daniel Rodrigue, M.D., is a medical epidemiologist for the Enteric Disease Branch of the Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.
