Recently, food safety issues have been frequently reported, which has aroused great concern among everyone. Food poisoning can be caused by the presence of bacteria, viruses or parasites in the food, which can cause discomfort when these germs continue to grow in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, food poisoning may also be related to toxins produced by bacteria. This article excerpts the analysis of common pathogens and symptoms of food poisoning for reference.
"Food poisoning" is a very broad term that encompasses a variety of different bacterial or viral infections, and most of them are caused by a small number of bacterial or viral infections at the beginning of the symptoms, because food poisoning is usually a symptom of gastroenteritis when it is mild.
Symptoms of food poisoning
The patient will have stomach cramps, want to run to the toilet, and start to have diarrhea. At this time, it is necessary to pay attention to whether your stool is purely watery, or contains blood streaks or a large amount of blood, which is related to the suspicion of the causative agent, and remember to inform the doctor of the diarrhea condition when you see a doctor. In addition, it is necessary to inform you if you have a fever or vomiting.
At the same time, we also need to pay attention to the time point of occurrence of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea symptoms, different bacteria or viruses cause symptoms at different times, some patients start vomiting and diarrhea within 30 minutes, and some take a week to develop the disease. However, it usually occurs 1~3 days after eating food containing germs.
Most of the symptoms of food poisoning are not serious, and many people will feel that they are just a little upset in their stomach, and they will pass it after a few pulls. However, it's best to see a doctor as soon as possible if:
1. Severe dehydration: The amount of urine becomes smaller, I feel dizzy, and my mouth is very dry.
2. Vomiting all the time: I can't eat anything, and I vomit as soon as I eat.
3. Persistent diarrhea: Adult diarrhea for more than 2 days, or children diarrhea for 1 consecutive day, is considered serious. If you're a newborn, it's best to see a doctor whenever you see diarrhea. If you see blood in your stool, you should also seek medical attention.
4. Stomach ache or fever.
5. The patient's consciousness has deteriorated, or the patient has double vision, yellowing of the skin, etc.
Bacteria that cause food poisoning and their characteristics
Let's take a look at a few bacteria or viruses that can easily cause food poisoning.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) Coli): The most common condition is to eat ground meat that is not fully cooked, such as a hamburger steak that is not cooked until it is fully cooked. It can also be found in contaminated vegetables (such as lettuce salad), fruits, or raw water.
Salmonella: Salmonella is found in undercooked meat and eggs, or in dairy products that have not been completely sterilized by Pasteur.
Staphylococcus aureus: Food poisoning from Staphylococcus aureus can occur without washing hands during meal preparation and without cooking food after handling, such as slicing steaks, cutting sandwiches or wrapping sandwiches.
Clostridium perfringens: Clostridium perfringens exists in nature and can form heat-tolerant spores, some of which can survive even in boiling water for long periods of time. Therefore, in addition to raw meat, eggs, and milk, C. perfringens may also be present in native vegetables and cereals. When the stewed broth and gravy are left at room temperature for a while and not refrigerated, it may cause food poisoning.
Clostridium botulinum: This is a rare but lethal form of food poisoning. Clostridium botulinum is a common bacterium found in soil and water in nature, and it cannot be stopped without killing Clostridium botulinum by boiling and cooking. There are two most common conditions that can cause food poisoning: eating pickled or canned food that is not properly preserved, especially pickled snacks at home, whether it is pickled vegetables, pickled fish, or salted meat, which may lead to the growth of Clostridium botulinum.
The route of infection is to let children less than 1 year old eat honey or corn syrup, the spores in it may contain botulinum toxin and cause food poisoning in young children, remember not to think that toddlers eat honey is very nutritious, if you eat it by mistake, it may be fatal due to botulinum infection. Botox affects neuromuscular control, and food poisoning is characterized by double vision, unclear speech, muscle weakness, and inability to swallow.
Listeria: Listeria can be found in milk and cheese that have not been pasteurized, as well as in sprouts, melons, and sausages.
Norovirus: Norovirus is highly contagious and can be contracted if it touches a table surface with norovirus and then delivers food to your mouth. Therefore, if an individual is infected with norovirus, it is easy to spread it to others by sharing food and preparing meals at the same time as others.
Prevent food poisoning
1. Wash your hands after blowing your nose, coughing, smoking, and going to the toilet.
2. If you are preparing food, wash vegetables and fruits well, and wash the surfaces and utensils used to prepare meals before preparing food.
3. Meat, eggs, etc. must be cooked well, and raw or undercooked meat or gravy should not be allowed to contaminate other foods.
4. Do not leave cooked food or raw meat at room temperature for more than 2 hours, as it is not safe to leave food in the refrigerator as soon as possible. Cook food as soon as possible after thawing and do not leave at room temperature for too long.
5. When preserving food, raw meat should be kept separate from fruits and vegetables, cooked foods, or processed foods.
6. Buy food that contains salad dressing and mayonnaise, and be sure to ice it before you finish it.
7. Please throw away food that you don't know how long it has been left. As soon as the can is opened and the smell or the lid of the can is bulging, be sure to throw it away.
8. The key to preventing food poisoning is to wash your hands frequently, preserve your food well, and prepare your meals carefully.