Thursday, October 9, 2008

24 Hour Flu?

Think you might just have a 24 hour bug? Think again. Many people suffer from food poisoning and just put it off thinking it's a bug. Symptoms of food poisoning include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and diarrhea; sounds like the flu right? Food poisoning can come on quickly after eating food and last for only 24-48 hours, or can last more than a week with worsening symptoms.
Food poisoning can be caused by either infectious or toxic agents. infectious agents include parasites, bacteria and viruses. There are more than 250 diseases that are able to be transmitted through foods. Toxic agents are improperly preapared exoctic foods, poisonous mushrooms, or pesticides on fruits and vegetables. Food can become contaminted through improper cooking, handling and preparation, also from the preparer not washing their hands after using the bathroom, or having an infection themselves.
Prevention at home is easy: prepare and store foods properly! Cooks meats to proper temperatures and store all foods at correct temperatures. Prevention is a little harder when eating out. You can choose restaurants that have been recently inspected, (scores can be looked up online), and choose certain foods that are typically safe. Asking for foods to be cooked to a specific temperature is also an option.
Treatment includes keeping hydrated and eating a bland diet. If symptoms last for more than two days, consult a doctor.

http://injury.findlaw.com/food-poisoning/food-poisoning-prevention/prevention-restaurants.html
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/f/food_poisoning/prevent.htm
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/676/main.html
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/food_poisoning/article_em.htm

1 comment:

Kaity said...

That was such an interesting blog. I find a lot of people up at school saying that they have the 24 hour flu. I wonder how they came up with that name then because many people believe that it exist. I was very interested in the fact that food posioning is so common. Before reading your blog I thought that it was very hard to get food posioning, makes you think twice when eating certain foods. Great job I really enjoyed your topic.