How to eliminate food poisoning

When your stomach starts moaning and crumpling, when you feel as if Arthur and Medraut are fighting their legendary battle in your stomach; the food that you ate just few hours back is striving hard to push its way out of your throat and you go restless with so many loathing activities taking place in your stomach simultaneously, then undoubtedly you are suffering from one of the most common diseases, i.e. Food Poisoning.

Food poisoning is generally caused due to presence of bacteria, toxins, algae, parasites or virus in the food that we eat. It is estimated that more than 76 million people suffer from food poisoning every year, particularly during summer when bacteria takes the utmost advantage of the temperature to grow exponentially at a staggering rate.  Generally stale/contaminated food, food stored improperly i.e. food which is not refrigerated properly, toxic food items like toxic mushrooms, poultry, eggs, unprocessed milk or meat are most likely to get soiled with the bacteria responsible for food poisoning.

In order to prevent food poisoning following things must be kept in mind:

• Make sure the utensils in which you prepare food or the ones in which you serve are sparkling clean and tidy.
• Store food at proper temperature. Don’t give any chance for the bacteria to grow. Refrigerate food properly, especially poultry and milk products.
• Wash your hands properly before and after eating the food as well as before preparing the food.
• Cook food to accurate temperatures.
• Don’t ever eat wild mushrooms, stale food and unprocessed milk/ milk products.
• At all times, refrigerate fish at right temperature.
• While travelling, make sure you eat fresh cooked food and don’t eat raw vegetables or unpeeled fruits because during travels you are most likely to end up eating stale or contaminated food.
• Also boil water before drinking if you are not sure about its purity.
• If you, by any chance, still fail to adhere to any of the above mentioned precautions and end up suffering from food poisoning, don’t worry! Simply follow the below mentioned tips that will help you eliminate food poisoning:
• Keep yourself hydrated by consuming a lot of fluids. During food poisoning you are very likely to suffer from diarrhoea or vomiting, which means your body is running short of fluids. Therefore make sure you consume ample amount of clear fluids and replace electrolytes in your body by having gatorade, pedialite, barley/rice water or electoral water. Consume these fluids slowly in every few minutes.
• Get ample amount of rest in order to catalyse your recovery treatment.
• Once you start feeling that your body can take any food, begin eating with light food like khichdi,bread, rice, bananas and crackers.
• Drink a cup of hot water mixed with 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar before having your meals, to prevent acid indigestion.
• Probiotics like Lactobacillus, acidophilus and lactobacillus bulgaricus could be consumed to cure food poisoning as they maintain a perfect balance of good and helpful bacteria in your intestine.
• Try reducing your fever by traditional methods or by consuming medicines. It will make you feel better and comfortable.
• If you notice blood in your vomit or stool, if you develop a skin rash or if the symptoms persist for more than 72 hours, seek medical help immediately.
• Do not consume dairy products, caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods or oily food as they are difficult to digest and you might end up vomiting.
• In case you have fever above 101 degree Celsius and it persists for too long, seek doctor’s help immediately.
• Also if a child under the age of 3 suffers from food poisoning, instantly seek medical help rather than practicing any home remedies.

These tips will surely help you deal better with food poisoning. Keep this in your mind the next time you get diarrhoea or nausea feeling due to food poisoning.