The custom of celebrating the Spring Festival in northern China is to prepare a lot of food before the festival and eat it until many days after the festival.
Although many households now have refrigerators, there are still many processed or semi-processed foods that are left outside the refrigerator, causing mildew and making them prone to food poisoning.
What is "food poisoning"?
Food poisoning, medically known as a "foodborne illness," is an infection or irritation of the gastrointestinal tract caused by foods or drinks that contain harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, or chemicals. Everyone can suffer from foodborne illness, with infants and children, pregnant women and their fetuses, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems being more susceptible.
Most foodborne illnesses are acute, meaning they occur suddenly and last for a short period of time, most often without needing to be spontaneous, but a few can lead to serious complications.
Most foodborne illnesses are caused by harmful bacteria and viruses. In addition, parasites and chemical toxins can also cause foodborne illness.
Common bacteria that can cause foodborne illness include:
Salmonella, mainly in undercooked meat, dairy products, seafood and eggs;
Campylobacter jejuni, which is common in chickens and unpasteurized milk;
Shigella, a human-to-human bacteria that is found in the feces of infected people, and water contaminated with the feces of infected people can also contaminate agricultural products in the fields;
E. coli, which includes several different strains, only a few of which cause disease in humans, such as E. coli O157:H7, which is the bacterium that causes the most severe disease;
Listeria monocytogenes, commonly found in undercooked meat and unpasteurized milk and cheese;
Vibrio, commonly found in fish or shellfish;
Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium botulinum are found in anaerobic environments such as canned food and sealed pickled foods.
Common foodborne viruses include norovirus, hepatitis A virus, and are mainly found in the feces or vomit of infected people.
Bacteria are the most common cause of foodborne illness. Bacteria can contaminate food at any point during growth, harvesting, or slaughter, processing, storage, and transportation, posing a potential health hazard. Food can also be contaminated with bacteria when preparing food in restaurants or home kitchens.
The ambient temperature range suitable for bacteria to multiply is between 4 and 60, so cold food should be kept below 4 and hot food should be kept above 60. Bacteria multiply slower at low temperatures, but they don't die easily, and when the food returns to room temperature, the bacteria in the refrigerated or frozen food become active again, and killing the bacteria still depends on cooking the food thoroughly.
Parasites are another broad group of foodborne disease pathogens that require concern. Parasites that tend to appear in food include Cryptosporidium and Giardia enterica, which are spread through water contaminated with the feces of infected people or animals. There is also a parasite called Trichinella, which is mainly infected through undercooked pork or game.
Harmful chemical toxins are mainly found in certain types of wild mushrooms, unwashed fruits and vegetables that contain high concentrations of pesticides, and some fish or shellfish, which may contain toxins in their bodies because they feed on certain toxin-producing algae.
What are the symptoms of "food poisoning"?
Common symptoms of foodborne illness include vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and chills, which range from mild to severe and can last from a few hours to a few days.
Foodborne illness can also lead to dehydration, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and other complications, and can also lead to chronic or long-term health problems.
The only** method needed for most foodborne illnesses is to replace lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration. Severe dehydration, if left unchecked**, can lead to serious health problems, including organ damage, shock, or coma. Infants, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to become dehydrated.
Signs of dehydration include excessive thirst, low and dark urination, drowsiness, and dizziness. Symptoms of dehydration in infants and young children also include no tears when crying, high fever, irritability or fatigue, sunken eyes or face, and poor elasticity. Severe dehydration requires fluids and hospitalization**.
Before being taken to the hospital, the patient or family member needs to take steps to relieve symptoms of foodborne illness and prevent dehydration, including drinking as many fluids as possible, including fruit juices, sports drinks, caffeine-free soft drinks, and soups, to replace the body's lost fluids and electrolytes; If you keep vomiting, you can drink a small amount of water or ice cubes.
When should a person with food poisoning seek medical attention immediately?
Patients with any of the following symptoms should seek immediate medical attention: signs of dehydration; prolonged vomiting; **Diarrhea for more than 2 days or diarrhea for more than 24 hours in children; Severe pain in the abdomen or **; Fever above 385℃；bloody or pus-filled stools; black and tar-like stools; neurological symptoms; Signs of hemolytic uremic syndrome.
Your doctor will make a judgment based on symptoms, diet, and medical history, and perform the necessary physical examinations and tests to confirm the diagnosis**.
Diagnostic tests for foodborne illness include a stool culture, which can also be done if vomit or a sample of suspicious food is present to determine the type of infection. Your doctor may also order other tests to rule out other conditions that are causing symptoms similar to those of foodborne illness. If the symptoms are mild and short-lived, doctors may not have to do these diagnostic tests.
*For foodborne illness, in addition to replacing lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration, there are targeted medication regimens: Over-the-counter medications such as loperamide and bismuth salicylate may help relieve diarrhea.
However, it is not recommended for patients and families to use drugs without permission because it is difficult for patients and families to judge the indications for these drugs, such as those in patients with bloody diarrhea (a sign of bacterial or parasitic infection), which can be prolonged if the diarrhea is caused by bacteria or parasites.
In addition, medications for diarrhea are dangerous for infants and children and should only be given under the guidance of a doctor. Hospitalization** may be necessary for life-threatening complications, such as confusion, severe dehydration, and haemolytic uremic syndrome.
During the foodborne illness** phase, you can gradually return to your normal diet, starting with easily digestible foods such as rice, potatoes, bread, cereals, lean meats, apples and bananas, and avoiding fatty foods, sugary foods, dairy products, caffeine and alcohol until you have fully recovered.
**: Popular Science China
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