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Food
Poisoning
This is an illness
caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria, toxins or chemicals.
What to look for
Usually, food poisoning
causes some combination of nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea that may or may
not be bloody, sometimes with other symptoms.
If you eat food
contaminated by viral, bacterial, or chemical agents you may come down with food
poisoning. It can give you mild to very painful discomfort.
Causes
Food contaminated with
bacteria, toxins or chemicals can cause food poisoning. Bacterial food poisoning occurs
when a germ is contained in the food (salmonella) you have eaten. Harmful bacteria grow in
cooked and raw meat and fish, dairy products, and prepared foods left at room temperature
too long. People who are ill or infected can transmit bacteria to food they are preparing
it.
Badly canned or bottled
products can contain a bacterium that needs no oxygen to multiply and is not destroyed by
cooking. This bacterium causes botulism, a rare but potentially fatal food poisoning.
If your symptoms are mild,
you probably don't need a doctor. However, if you are worried or your symptoms last longer
than two days visit your doctor.
Traditional Treatment
Vomiting and diarrhoea are
the body's way of flushing poison out of your system, so it is advisable not to take
anything which stops this natural process from occurring.
Because repeated vomiting
or diarrhoea can remove large amounts of water from your system, drink plenty of filtered
water to replenish your system.
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Alternative/Natural
Treatments
Try one or more of these
alternative remedies while the body rids itself of the poison.
Herbal Therapies
- Ginger (Zingiber officinale) can be an
effective remedy for nausea. Ginger
(Zingiber officinale) can be an
effective remedy for nausea.
An infusion of meadowsweet
(Filipendula ulmaria), catnip (Nepeta cataria), or slippery elm (Ulmus fulva) may help soothe stomach
and intestinal membranes.
Also try some chamomile tea as this will soothe your stomach.
Homoeopathy -
You could try any of the following over-the-counter remedies - Arsenicum Album, Veratrum Album, Nux Vomica, or Podophyllum. You could try any of the following over-the-counter remedies - Arsenicum Album, Veratrum Album, Nux Vomica, or Podophyllum.
Dietary Considerations
After symptoms subside,
restore strength slowly by eating foods like white rice, bland vegetables, and bananas. To
restore essential bacteria to your digestive tract, eat plain acidophilus yogurt, or take
acidophilus capsules. Avoid unfermented milk products, which may be difficult to digest.
Prevention
Practice good hygiene and
wash your hands before cooking and preparing any meals, and after you have been to the
toilet.
Don't thaw frozen meat at
room temperature. Let it thaw gradually in a refrigerator, or in a microwave oven and cook
immediately.
Avoid uncooked marinated
food and raw meat, fish, or eggs; cook all such food thoroughly.
Don't eat any food that
looks or smells rotten, or any food from bulging cans or cracked jars.
Never eat cooked meat or
dairy products that have been out of a refrigerator more than two hours.
When to seek further
professional advice
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