Food poisoning is an acute syndrome, occurring when eating toxic foods and drinks, which, if not handled in time, can cause serious health consequences. So how to handle food poisoning properly? We invite you to read through the information in the article below.
Causes and mechanisms of food poisoning
Currently, in Vietnam, food poisoning is quite common, especially among children and the elderly. Food poisoning is caused by eating poisonous foods, specifically classified into the following groups:
Poisoning due to eating stale, metamorphic, microbial contaminated food
Foods processed in poor hygienic conditions or after processing, stored for a long time and stored in unsafe conditions, are susceptible to bacteria, parasites, molds, yeasts, and fungi. toxins released by them, causing food to degrade, change in color and taste.
However, in some cases, these changes occur in a mild manner, leaving the user unnoticed and inadvertently ingested.
Common foods such as puffer fish, toads, carp bile, sprouted potatoes, some poisonous mushrooms, cassava... Poisoning of these foods is often due to the user's lack of skill in the preliminary processing or not. Knowledge of food identification and classification.
Food poisoning caused by chemical substances
Food contaminated with radioactive substances, residues of pesticides and plant protection chemicals, contaminated with heavy metals, etc. Toxic substances after entering can be with food, causing abnormal changes. often on the physiology of the body, manifested outwardly by very recognizable signs.
Signs of food poisoning can appear immediately or several hours after eating tainted food, depending on the amount of poison and the nature of the poison ingested.
Usually, a person is diagnosed or suspected of having food poisoning when he or she has the following symptoms:
Abdominal pain: This is one of the first symptoms encountered when having food poisoning, severe abdominal pain, spasms, abdominal tightness.
Vomiting: This is an early and typical sign of food poisoning, is a temporary response of the body to push the toxic agents out of the body and is also a manifestation when the digestive tract is stimulated by other substances. toxic substances.
There is blood in the stool or vomit.
Diarrhea.
Fever.
Headache.
Changes in vision, blurred vision, grogginess, dizziness.
Dehydration, dry mouth, dry lips, thirst, little urine.
Anorexia, fatigue.
When vomiting a lot (more than 5 times) and diarrhea many times (over 5 times), the body loses a lot of water, leading to water and electrolyte imbalance, cardiovascular collapse, easily causing septic shock with poisoning cases. due to bacteria, check for rapid pulse, rapid breathing, fatigue, weakness, little urination, dark urine.
When detecting a patient with food poisoning or suspected of having food poisoning, people around and relatives need to keep calm, depending on the situation of each patient, there are handling methods such as:
With the patient still awake, induce vomiting to expel the poison by hooking 2 fingers into the throat, or using a small spoon / cotton swab inserted into the base of the tongue to induce vomiting reflex.
Only perform vomiting when the patient is awake, when inducing vomiting, let the head lie on the side or lower the head lower than the chest, to avoid aspiration into the lungs.
Do not induce vomiting in cases where the poison is known to be gasoline, kerosene, or insecticide, because vomiting can cause the patient to inhale the poison into the lungs or have a convulsion when vomiting.
Retain vomit for testing to find the cause of poisoning, from which to have appropriate treatment.
When the patient is still awake, ask the patient about the foods and drinks recently used, when and where to eat, who eats together, to localize the range and source of toxicity, to limit poisoning. next in the people around.
After eating poisonous food, it is necessary to quickly go to a medical facility to wash the stomach, no later than 4 to 6 hours after poisoning. Do not perform gastric lavage in patients who are drowsy, not alert and in convulsion.
After gastric lavage, give the patient activated charcoal to absorb the poison and prevent the poison from entering the bloodstream. Give activated charcoal: adults (1g/1kg body weight), children (0.5g/kg body weight), repeat the dose after 3-4 hours.
Give the patient a magnesium sulfate or sorbitol bleach to remove the remaining toxins in the intestines and activated charcoal through the stool.
When diarrhea is a lot, do not take anti-diarrheal drugs, let the patient have a bowel movement, in order to eliminate all the toxic agents, pay attention to monitor and fully replenish the patient's water and electrolytes.
For patients with severe poisoning, after temporary first aid, it is necessary to quickly transfer to a medical facility for monitoring and treatment.
After the patient has passed the dangerous stage and recovers, supplement nutrition by giving soft, easy-to-eat foods, avoiding hard, indigestible foods or fishy, hot, and easy foods. cause gastrointestinal irritation.
Add plenty of water and electrolytes, avoid shock, cardiovascular collapse, by giving the patient 1 liter of water mixed with orezol.
However, in many cases where orezol is not available, it can be replaced by mixing 1 teaspoon of salt, 4 teaspoons of sugar into 1 liter of water and then giving it to the patient to drink.
With the above article, I have sent readers the most basic information about food poisoning, as well as measures to handle food poisoning in time, avoiding dangers to life.
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