Many times it's hard to tell the difference between stomach flu and the case of food poisoning as the symptoms are often hard to tell apart. These are two completely different ailments though with completely different roots. The aim of this article is to provide you with a little bit of information to help you tell the difference.
Lots of times when people get food poisoning they make the comment that they probably just caught the flu virus or something because they show symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. It often happens the other way too where people get the flu and they think they have food poisoning.
What normally causes stomach flu is a viral infection in the digestive tract. In order to not get the flu, you need to avoid contact with the virus. This is often a lot easier said than done.
The cause of food poisoning is normally a toxin that is produced by a bacteria that grows on you food from not being properly handled or stored. It doesn't take very long for bacteria to develop on food, especially things like meat, dairy products, and sauces, which are not kept at temperatures below 40 degrees F. Keeping food like this in temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees F is asking for sickness.
There are some indicators that will help you to truly suspect whether it is food poisoning or not.
If people who have shared the same food develop the same type of symptoms, or if you develop these symptoms after eating food that hasn't been refrigerated, it is probably poisoning. The symptoms may develop in as little as 1 to 2 hours, and as much past 48 hours after you consume the bad food. The results of the standard type of food poisoning are as follows. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea which can last for a period of around 12 to 48 hours.
One type of food poisoning that is rare but often times fatal is called botulism. Most of the times this is caused by a bacteria that is formed when foods are improperly canned. The foods that most commonly develop this are foods that are low in acid content like beans and corn. What happens is a bacteria that doesn't get killed in the canning process develops and grows inside the jar which produces a toxin. When someone mistakenly eats the food they become ill. Some of the symptoms that occur from this are double vision or blurred vision, and often difficulty in breathing and swallowing. If you have any of these symptoms after eating food that was processed in this manner, then you need to contact your medical facility immediately.
How to Prevent Food Poisoning
You need to do the following things to prevent being poisoned by food:
- Make sure that you keep all of your hot foods hot and your cold food cold.
- Be sure that you don't eat any meat, dressings, or salads, or any other food for that matter that has been left out for more than two hours between the temperatures of 40 degrees F and 140degrees F. This is called the 20-40-140 rule.
- Make sure that the temperature in your refrigerator stays between 34 and 40 Degrees F. You can be assured of this by using a thermometer.
- Don't leave meat out on the counter to defrost, as it should be defrosted in either the refrigerator or in the microwave.
- Cleanliness is a virtue. Make sure that you keep all of your kitchen utensils clean, and wash your cutting boards and countertops very frequently. This is especially true after you have handled meat and especially
- Make sure that you cook your hamburger until it is cooked all the way through, and always cook your chicken until the juices inside of it run out clear.
- Never eat an egg that is raw, or any sauces that have raw eggs in them.
- If you have any cans or jars that have bulging lids or leaks in them, you need to throw them away.
- Before you do any home canning or freezing you need to make sure that you understand how to do it properly. If you have any questions on these types of procedures then a good place to contact is your local extension office.
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