Food poisoning in children: Things a mother should not ignore

Food poisoning occurs when bacteria (sometimes viruses or bacteria) get into a food or drink. While you cannot taste, smell, or see them, these tiny creatures can have a serious effect on the body.

Once the food poisoning bacteria get into the body, some release toxins that lead to diarrhea or vomiting.

What is the cause of food poisoning?

Food poisoning has many causes, but the most obvious one is due to the patient's ingestion of unhygienic food:

• Eating or drinking contaminated food can cause food poisoning. Usually, people are susceptible to food poisoning from animal foods - such as meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and seafood. It also includes unwashed fruits, vegetables, and other fresh foods.
• Food and fluids can become contaminated during food preparation, storage, and delivery. Example: Water used to grow food may be contaminated with animal or human feces. In addition, poultry meat can come into contact with microorganisms during processing or transport. Food can also become contaminated with bacteria if they are stored at the wrong temperature or kept for too long. In addition, food preparation or handling methods can contaminate food if the handler does not wash their hands properly or they use unclean kitchen utensils while preparing food.
• People with a medical condition (such as chronic kidney disease) or a weakened immune system are more at risk of food poisoning than people in good health.

What are the signs of food poisoning?

Food poisoning can be detected depending on the type of germ that caused it. Sometimes children will start feeling uncomfortable within an hour or two of eating contaminated food or drinking water. For other cases, symptoms may not appear for a few weeks. In most cases, symptoms will clear up within 1-10 days.

Usually, a person with food poisoning experiences the following symptoms:

• Nausea
• Abdominal pain and cramps
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Headache and fatigue.

In rare cases, food poisoning can make you feel dizzy, blurred or have a tingling sensation in your hands. In very rare cases, food poisoning will cause difficulty breathing.

Certain types of pathogenic microorganisms, including Listeria and E. coli , can potentially pose a potential danger to the heart, kidneys and bleeding problems.

Call your doctor if your child has any of the following:

• Vomiting lasts more than 12 hours
• Diarrhea accompanied by a fever higher than 38.3 ° C)
• Severe abdominal pain that doesn't go away after having a bowel movement
• Bloody stools (diarrhea or normal stools) or vomiting blood
• The bowel movements are black or dark brown with a fishy odor
• The heart beats very fast.

You should watch for signs of dehydration, which include:

• Extremely thirsty
• Little or no urination
• Dizziness
• Sunken eyes
• Mild headache or fatigue.

How should you take care of your child at home?

Food poisoning will usually go away on its own within a few days. To help your child feel better during that time, make sure your child:

• Rest much
• Drink plenty of water to fight dehydration. Drinking an electrolyte solution is also effective, except for milk or beverages containing caffeine
• Take small, slow sips to make it easier to keep the liquid down
• Avoid solid foods and dairy products until diarrhea stops
• You should not use anti-diarrhea medicine. It can prolong the symptoms of food poisoning. Once diarrhea and vomiting have stopped, offer your child light, low-fat snacks for a few days to prevent further upset stomachs.

If symptoms become severe or you notice signs of dehydration, call your doctor.

How to prevent food poisoning?

Following on from these tips can help reduce your family's risk of food poisoning:

• Teach everyone in your family to wash their hands well and often, especially after using the toilet, before touching food, and after touching raw food. Use soap and warm water and rub it off for at least 15 seconds.
• Clean all utensils, cutting boards, and surfaces that you use to prepare food with warm, soapy water.
• Do not use unpasteurized milk or food containing unpasteurized milk.
• Wash all fresh vegetables and fruits that you cannot peel.
• Keep food fresh (especially meat, poultry, seafood) away from other foods until they are cooked.
• Use perishable or perishable food as soon as possible.
• Cook all animal foods at a safe temperature. For beef and pork, at least 71 ° C). Cook the eggs until the yolks are firm. Fish is generally safe to eat when it reaches a temperature of 63 ° C).
• Store leftovers quickly in the fridge, preferably in containers with lids that can be tightly closed.
• Thaw food in the refrigerator in the microwave, or cold water. Food should never be thawed at room temperature.
• If food is past its expiration date, or smells strange, discard it.
• If you are pregnant, you should avoid all raw meats, undercooked meats or seafood, smoked seafood, raw eggs and products that may contain raw eggs, soft cheese, unpasteurized milk, water. fruit, pâté, coleslaw and sausage.
• Do not drink water from springs or untreated.

Food poisoning is a concern of many mothers when choosing food for their children. Therefore, you should be equipped with knowledge so that you can not only deal with but also prevent this problem.

Related Articles:

• 4 principles to remember to avoid food poisoning
• Preventing food poisoning in young children
• Do not let food poisoning!