What to do with food poisoning and dehydration

1. Cooked food should not be stored at room temperature for more than two hours.

Yes this is correct. Microbes multiply in favorable conditions, usually warm. With rare exceptions. Therefore, the food must be kept in the refrigerator. They, of course, will multiply in the refrigerator, but much slower. How much to keep in the refrigerator? It is hard to say. It is also important to take into account how long they were without a refrigerator – while they bought them, while they cut them, while they stood on the table … It is believed that it is advisable to consume dishes containing mayonnaise in 12 hours. Other dishes – for a day or two, but better for a day. In the warm season, these periods are reduced. That is, if you have now prepared an Olivier salad, then you need to calculate so that you can eat it right away.

2. Small children can get sick even by touching the raw meat package.

No. If a child even touches a cholera patient, he will not get sick. But if he took this piece of raw meat, on which there are microbes, and pulled it into his mouth … Children usually do this: they touch something and immediately pull it into their mouth. In this case, infection occurs either through meat (through the hands of the one who cut it, packaged it, etc.), or through the hands of a child (did not wash it after using the toilet). It is important to note that in children, the disease develops much faster due to the peculiarities of the immune system and the short intestine.

3. In order not to catch the infection, vegetables and fruits should be washed with soap.

No, this is overkill. It is enough to wash it several times under running water. Especially thoroughly rinse the places where dirt can accumulate – stalks, receptacles. With delicate berries, of course, it is more difficult, but raspberries, strawberries, strawberries need to be rinsed several times. But the most important thing is not to take with dirty hands. In fact, you need to monitor not so much the cleanliness of the raspberries, but the cleanliness of your hands.

4. First aid for poisoning – gastric lavage.

Yes, usually. Drink plenty of fluids and induce vomiting. But it helps early on. Microbes enter through the mouth, and before reaching the intestines and causing diarrhea, they first cause damage to the upper digestive tract. Therefore, initially, gastric lavage can help. This may not completely prevent disease progression, but it will reduce the dose of infected material and relieve symptoms.

5. The first sign of poisoning is diarrhea.

No, this is always not the first. The first is malaise, the feeling that something is wrong, because the toxins of the microbes are being absorbed. Then usually there are unpleasant sensations in the abdomen, starting from the upper sections and below, nausea, vomiting. And only then, when everything came to the intestines, diarrhea.

6. Food poisoning, as a rule, is accompanied by prolonged diarrhea, and it is dangerous to health.

Not always protracted. Viral intestinal infections, as a rule, end on their own in 12-24 hours – the patient does not have time to reach the pharmacy. And bacterial bacteria last from several days (often) to several weeks (rarely). Diarrhea is dangerous in young children, especially under one year old, because they become dehydrated very quickly. And it is dangerous for the elderly, primarily with diseases of the cardiovascular system (with diarrhea, salts are lost, which negatively affects the work of the heart), as well as for people with chronic and severe diseases. These are the main risk groups. It can be dangerous for others, but it all depends on which microbe has entered the body and in what doses. This is determined only in specialized laboratories. If diarrhea does not stop within two days, it is imperative to see a doctor.

7. If you have diarrhea, you should drink as much water as possible.

No. Water alone will not be enough. Indeed, in addition to water, with diarrhea, a person loses the salts necessary for the body. These losses need to be replenished. We need special substances that contain salts and are diluted in water (rehydron, hydrovit).

8. In case of poisoning, it is better not to eat anything for a day.

Not really. You don’t have to starve. The main thing is to observe moderation, because the intestines need time to normalize work. On the first day, it is better to drink plenty of fluids (still mineral water, sweet tea, special salt solutions). Carbonated drinks for the period of illness and recovery should be removed from the diet. For food – some homemade crackers (no spices). You can also eat low-fat chicken broth, rice or buckwheat porridge in the water. In the first three days, it is advisable to eat only boiled foods. Fried, smoked, fatty – exclude. In general, the recovery process takes about two weeks.

9. In case of poisoning, you need to move as much as possible – then the toxins will go away.

No. Try to move actively when you have nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea! In case of food poisoning, the patient is recommended to bed or semi-bed rest, diet, and drink plenty of fluids.

10. In case of poisoning, you need to drink strong sweet tea or milk.

Tea – yes. Because the body is dehydrated, glucose levels drop, many have low blood pressure, and sweet tea raises both glucose and blood pressure. As for milk, in case of food poisoning, milk and dishes based on it are excluded. It can itself cause diarrhea, as the amount of the enzyme that breaks down milk sugar is reduced in the intestines of many adults. In addition, milk is a rather fatty product, and its digestion increases the load on an already weakened body. But in case of poisoning with paint vapors, weak alkalis, mercury – yes, milk is used as an antidote.