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Food poisoning is due to consumption of stale or contaminated food. Many of us are used to eating in places away from home.
The cleanliness and hygiene of these places are usually unknown. Flies and other insects often contaminate food. And thus
food poisoning takes place.
The first symptom of food poisoning is usually diarrhea. You may also feel sick to your stomach (nausea), vomit, and have
stomach cramps. The time it takes for symptoms to appear, how severe the symptoms are, and how long the symptoms last depend
on the infecting organism and your overall health.
Most of the time, food poisoning is mild and passes in a few days. However, some types of food poisoning may be more severe.
Some of the most common bacteria are:
* Salmonella
* Listeria
* Campylobacter
* E. coli
The main symptom is dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea. To overcome this, rehydration of the body is absolutely
essential. Oral rehydration supplements are easily available in the market. Feed the patient constantly sip by sip till the
symptoms abate.
· Keep the patient in bed and give nothing by mouth as long as the nausea and vomiting persist.
· As the vomiting subsides, give sips of some warm drink, such as tea, barley or rice water.
· Gentle heat may be applied to the stomach to relieve spasm or pain and also the tendency to vomit.
· Wash your hands before preparing food to avoid passing on bacteria such as staphylococcus (commonly found on the skin
and in the throat) or shigella (passed from fecal matter). Wash again after handling raw meat and eggs.
· Don't eat raw protein food like fish, fowl, meat, milk, or eggs. Avoid sushi, oysters on the half shell, Caesar salad
made with raw eggs, and unpasteurized eggnog. Don't use cracked eggs.
· Don't taste test the raw pork sausage stew, the fish chowder, or even the cookie batter before it's done.
· Don't leave food at room temperature for more than two hours, and avoid eating anything that you suspect may have been
unrefrigerated for that long.
· Don't taste any food that doesn't smell or look right.
· Drink fluids as much you can to combat the loss of fluids.
· Scrub counters with warm, soapy water and bleach to combat countertop bacteria.
· Use a plastic cutting board instead of a wooden one. Be sure to thoroughly clean the cutting board after you've finished
using it.
· Avoid foods that are fried, smoked or salty as well as raw vegetables, pastries, preserves, candies, alcohol and spices
and condiments.
· Mix a tablespoon of lemon juice or cider vinegar in a cup of hot water before a meal to prevent acid indigestion.
· Add three drops of garlic oil to half a cup of Soya oil and rub onto the stomach after food.
· Drink a herbal tea of mint, raspberry, chamomile and blackberry.
· Drink one cup of ginger tea after meals to promote a good digestion and for heartburn, nausea, etc.
· Cooking utensils and plates, as well as sponges and dishcloths that were used in the food preparation process, should
also be cleaned appropriately.
· Grind a lemon along with seeds and make a paste. Add some salt. Take 1 tsp of this paste 2-3 times.
· Drink 1/2 tsp of dry ginger (saunth powder in 1 cup buttermilk (chhachh) 3 - 4 times a day.
· Chew a few pieces of the inner lining of pomegranate with salt, and/or drink pomegranate juice.
· Prepare a mixture by ading 1 Tbsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp edible gum, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 1/2 tsp nutmeg (jaiphal) powder,
and2 tbs sugar, and grind to a powder. Take this powder every 2 hours.
· Prepare a mixture by adding 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp ginger juice, and 1/4 tsp pepper powder and drink it.
· Mix 5-6 chopped basil (tulsi) leaves, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and some black pepper in 3 Tbsp of curd, and eat it. Repeat
this 4 times a day for one week.
· Roast 1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds and 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (dana methi). Mix and powder it, add to 4 tsp of yogurt
(curd). Take thrice a day.
· Grate one raw papaya. Add 3 cups water, boil for 10 mins, strain and finish the water in one day.
. Boil the rind of pomegranate along with a few pieces of amla (indian gooseberry) or amla powder. Add a pinch of
salt. Reduce the mixture and drink it while hot.
. Make a porridge of arrowroot powder in milk and eat it atleast 3-4 times a day. This will stop loose motions almost
immediately.
. Eating of apples, pomegranate also provides with electrolytes and help stop diarrhea.
. Tender coconut water helps to replenish the lost electolytes in the body.
. Mint tea helps to arrest stomach cramps.
Deep breathing, meditation - relaxation technique can help relieve stomach cramp and calm the irritated bowel, reducing
the frequency of bowel motions by lessening stress.
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