(Children and Food Poisoning by Colin Thomas, pediatric registered nurse practitioner at Keystone Pediatrics, first appeared in a July 2014 edition of the Public Opinion Newspaper. Click here to read it at www.publicopiniononline.com.)
In the U.S., about 76 million people get sick each year from food-borne illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although food-related illness is often short and mild, it can sometimes be life-threatening. Learn about food poisoning from Colin Thomas, Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Keystone Pediatrics in Chambersburg to make sure you stay healthy this picnic season.
What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning is a non-medical term, but it typically means bacteria in food made you sick. It can affect one person or a group of people who all ate the same food. It is more common after eating at picnics, large social functions or restaurants. There are common organisms and toxins that can cause food poisoning including Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria.
Prevention
Foods at risk for food borne illness include raw seafood and eggs, undercooked meat, lunch meat, and poultry. Be wary of foods that have been sitting out. Wash your hands properly when preparing food and before consuming food and clean utensils properly. Watch out for frozen or refrigerated foods that are not stored at the proper temperature or are not reheated properly.
Is it food poisoning?
Symptoms of food poisoning can vary, but typically include vomiting, diarrhea, headache, abdominal pain and sometimes fever and chills. The severity of symptoms, as well as the symptoms themselves, varies from person to person. The symptoms can be similar to a stomach virus. Most people fully recover from the most common types of food poisoning within 12 to 48 hours.
Treatment
Complications of food poisoning are dehydration due to excessive vomiting, diarrhea or both. Most of the time, people will get better in a couple of days. The best treatment is to keep hydrated. Frequent sips of water, clear soups, clear sodas, juice or Pedialyte. Avoid sports drinks. If the episode is mild, you can self treat and wait for symptoms to pass.
Call your health care provider
If you have diarrhea, vomiting, and any of the following, call a health care provider: are unable to drink fluids, a fever above 102°F, child with fever above 101.5°F, thirsty, dizzy or light-headed, recently traveled internationally, no improvement or getting worse, child vomiting for more than 12 hours (newborns under 3 months call at first sign of illness).
