Food poisoning is generally not fatal, but you still shouldn’t consider it a trivial condition. In some cases, food poisoning can cause serious health disorders.
Food poisoning can occur when a person consumes food that is contaminated with viruses, parasites, or bacteria. Food poisoning can be experienced by everyone, but children and infants are more susceptible to harmful impacts due to this condition.
Food Poison Symptoms
The food poison symptoms and effects can arise some time after you consume contaminated food, but it can also be a few days or even a few weeks later.
Here are common food poison symptoms that you need to know:
Stomach Pain and cramps
One of the common food poison symptoms is stomach pain and cramps. When experiencing food poisoning, harmful organisms can produce toxins that can cause irritation in the stomach and intestines.
This irritation can lead to inflammation in the stomach and cause pain in the stomach. Abdominal cramps can also be felt because the abdominal muscles contract to accelerate the natural bowel movements to get rid of harmful organisms as quickly as possible.
Fart
Abdominal cramps and accompanied by excessive farting can be one indication of food poisoning. On the sidelines of the symptoms often coupled with frequent going to the toilet.
It can be a sign of the active bacteria in your stomach.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is one of common food poison symptoms. The characteristic of diarrhea is the feces that are more watery during bowel movements and occurs more than three times a day.
Diarrhea occurs because inflammation makes the digestive system less effective in absorbing water and other fluids secreted during the digestive process.
For first aid to diarrhea caused by food poisoning, older persons can take Immodium medication. As for children and older persons who suffer from diarrhea for days should be taken to the hospital to receive fluid through infusion in order to prevent dehydration.
Vomiting and nausea
Nausea and vomiting are also common symptoms of food poisoning. Just like diarrhea, nausea and vomiting are actually natural reflexes of the body to remove the germ causing disease.
Infections trigger the digestive organs producing more fluid that makes the stomach feel uncomfortable. As a result, you feel nauseous and may end up vomiting.
Headaches
Headaches are very common, the cause varies from stress, fatigue, depression, and so on. However, if this condition is accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea may be a sign of food poisoning.
Although the cause of headaches cannot be known when the pain arises, it is known that in the condition of brain dehydration will be severely affected by lack of fluid. This is what can cause pain in the head.
Fever
Some people with food poisoning sometimes have a mild fever.
Fever is essentially the effect of inflammation in the body, which occurs when the immune system is actively fighting infections.
On the other hand, fever can also be a way of the body to raise its core temperature due to the symptoms of food poisoning that is in the form of vomiting and diarrhea. Vomiting and diarrhea cause the body to lose a lot of fluids (dehydration).
If dehydration continues, a lot of body fluid losses can lower the body’s core temperature. If not fever, drastic decrease in body temperature can precisely cause you to experience hypothermia.
High fever is generally the main characteristic you are experiencing severe dehydration due to food poisoning.
Sweating
Contrary to some common rumors, food poisoning is not necessarily characterized by often going to the toilet. One of the early symptoms was sweating.
Do you sweat very much because it is caused by fever? If you don’t try to recall whether you’ve eaten something suspicious for the past few days.
Because food poisoning is often likened to the early symptoms of the flu.
Pain, fatigue and lack of appetite
When a person poisoning food, the body’s natural mechanisms will respond and fight against the cause of infection. One form of this response is to release a chemical compound called cytokine.
Cytokines have several different roles in the body, one of which is regulating the immune response to infections. This compound will guide the immune system towards the infected area and how to heal it.
In addition, cytokines will also send signals to the brain whose effect will cause pain, fatigue and loss of appetite. Indirectly, this kind of condition makes one person have to rest and reduce excess food intake as a form of natural recovery.
Limp body
The process of infection in the body and all sorts of symptoms that we feel during food poisoning can make the body limps.
This is likely caused by the body’s electrolyte levels, which are drained completely carried away by liquid feces and vomiting fluids.
In more severe cases, symptoms may be severe diarrhea and vomiting, fever of more than 39 degrees Celsius, difficult to speak, and there is blood in the urine (hematuria).
Read also: Food Poisoning Vs Stomach Flu: Definition, Ways To Distinguish, and How To Handle It + Video
First aid that needs to be done when food poisoning
When food poisoning occurs, there are two things that you have to do, that you control nausea and vomiting, and keep the body from dehydration.
How to control nausea and vomiting
To control nausea and vomiting, here are some steps you can take.
- Do not consume solid food until vomiting stops. When the vomiting is still frequent, you should eat fresh snacks such as bread, banana, or rice.
- Try to keep drinking, to help relieve vomiting.
- Do not eat fried, fatty, spicy or sweet foods.
- Do not directly take anti nausea medication or diarrhea medication without consulting the doctor. Because, some types of drugs can make diarrhea worse.
How to prevent dehydration during food poisoning
When experiencing food poisoning, you are at high risk of dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea occurring. Therefore, to prevent it, the consumption of plain water slowly. Drink a small amount first, then increase the amount of consumption slowly.
If vomiting and diarrhea still occur after 24 hours, consume the drink and replacement of lost body fluids.
Read also: Benefits and How To Use Apple Cider Vinegar For Acid Reflux
Thank you very much for reading Food Poison Symptoms and First Aid, hopefully useful.
