Food-borne Illnesses Prevention and Treatment
Food-borne Illnesses Prevention
When it comes to food-borne pathogens, it is better to be proactive than reactive! Some simple and inexpensive techniques can help prevent such illnesses and keep you safe!
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Some basic ways to protect yourself:
Some simple kitchen methods:
Food-borne Illnesses Treatment
Medical attention is necessary to diagnose if a food-borne infection is caused by bacteria, viruses, protists or fungi. Obtaining stool samples is the most common way to diagnose such diseases. In the majority of the cases, the ill person does not seek medical attention and the illness is undiagnosed.
There are many different kinds of food-borne diseases and they may require different treatments. Most illnesses include similar symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. These symptoms can lead to dehydration, which is more important to treat than the actual cause of the disease. Dehydration occurs when a person loses more body fluids and salts (electrolytes) than taken in. If fluid loss is severe, then solutions such as Pedialyte or Oralyte may be used to rehydrate. As well, anti-diarrheal medications may be taken.
If the symptoms include bloody stools, fever, prolonged vomiting, or last longer than three days, then medical attention should be obtained. The doctor will only prescribe antibiotics if tests determine bacteria to be the cause of the illness. In most cases, diarrhea is caused by viruses (which are not treated with antibiotics) and will improve in 2 to 3 days without treatment.