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FOOD POISONING ;-

 DEFINITION;-

Food poisoning is defined as any disease of an infectious or toxic nature caused by the consumption of food or drink. The term is most often used to describe the illness, usually diarrhoea and/or vomiting caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites. Very occasionally poisonings from chemicals may be the cause.

Symptoms

Food poisoning symptoms vary with the source of contamination. Most types of food poisoning cause one or more of the following signs and symptoms:

·         Nausea

·         Vomiting

·         Watery or bloody diarrhea

·         Abdominal pain and cramps

·         Fever

Signs and symptoms may start within hours after eating the contaminated food, or they may begin days or even weeks later. Sickness caused by food poisoning generally lasts from a few hours to several days.

Causes;-

Contamination of food can happen at any point of production: growing, harvesting, processing, storing, shipping or preparing. Cross-contamination — the transfer of harmful organisms from one surface to another — is often the cause. This is especially troublesome for raw, ready-to-eat foods, such as salads or other produce. Because these foods aren't cooked, harmful organisms aren't destroyed before eating and can cause food poisoning.

Many bacterial, viral or parasitic agents cause food poisoning. The following table shows some of the possible contaminants, when you might start to feel symptoms and common ways the organism is spread.

TREATMENT;-

Most food specimen for analysis, in order to discover which particular bacterium is responsible.

Dehydration caused by diarrhoea and vomiting should be treated immediately with oral rehydration solutions available over the counter at chemists. If these preparations are not available, you can make your own using a generous pinch of salt (1.5gram) and a teaspoon of sugar stirred into a glass of fruit juice or water (250ml).

This is particularly important for infants and young children. If the illness lasts more than a few days or there is blood in the stools, medical advice should be sought urgently.

Borne infections resolve without medical attention. Depending on the type of bacterial infection antibiotics may be prescribed in some cases. Before doing this, the doctor will usually require a stool .

ANTIBIOTICS;-

Antibiotics. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics if you have certain kinds of bacterial food poisoning and your symptoms are severe. Food poisoning caused by listeria needs to be treated with intravenous antibiotics during hospitalization. The sooner treatment begins, the better. During pregnancy, prompt antibiotic treatment may help keep the infection from affecting the baby.

Antibiotics will not help food poisoning caused by viruses. Antibiotics may actually worsen symptoms in certain kinds of viral or bacterial food poisoning.

In cause of emergency may be used some antibiotics as per  i/v or oral,

1. Ciproflaxacine infusion

2. Metronidazol

3. ORS

4.3^rd generation antibiotics 

PREVENTION IZ BETTER THN MEDICINES.