Food poisoning refers to collective concepts, which are supposed to be acute digestive disorders caused by the use of low-quality drinks or food.
Concept and statistics in Russia
Food poisoning is an uncontrollable pathological condition that occurs when consuming foods or beverages that contain toxic substances or pathogenic microorganisms.
This is a rather collective concept, which is caused by various reasons, although the mechanism of development and the clinical picture are similar in many respects.
According to the ICD, food poisoning in accordance with the etiology has the encodings A05.0-05.9.
There is also a somewhat different statistics, according to which in most cases( about 70%) falls on the children of children. Most often, intoxication occurs after eating meat and dairy products, fish and eggs. Much less often people are poisoned with vegetables( large-leaf salads, greens, etc.) and fruits.
Classification
If food poisoning is considered according to the international classification, then they are subdivided into:
- Botulism;
- Halophilic vibrio;
- Staphylococcal food poisoning;
- Necrotic enteritis;
- Cereus;
- Poisoning of unexplained etiology;
- Other bacterial toxic infections.
Picture of a halophilic vibrio, causative agent of food poisoning
Food poisoning is in fact divided into two categories: microbial and non-microbial. There are also cases when it is not possible to pinpoint the etiology of food intoxication. It is possible to provoke poisoning absolutely any product, if it has an inadequate quality.
Microbial origin
Microbial food poisoning is represented by several etiological factors and occurs in the form of staphylococcal toxicosis, mycotoxicosis, toxic infections, botulism, mixed toxic infections.
There are microbial poisonings after penetration into the body of pathogens, which include Staphylococcus and Proteus, Escherichia coli and botulinum microbes, salmonella and listeria, parasitic rods, etc.
Foodborne toxic infections are caused by pathogens such as citrobacter or enterobacter, tsereus or protea, paragemolytic vibrio or rodclostridia.
Non-microbial origin
Non-microbial food poisoning is divided into varieties according to the source of infection:
- When consuming known poisonous products like fungi, some varieties of fish, milk and caviar;
- With the use of products, during the preparation of which processing technologies were violated, and they began to release histamine;
- Products that have become toxic under the influence of any external factors. Here you can include almonds and apricot pits, potatoes( sprouted or stored in the light secrete solanine) and beans( pheasant), cherry( amygdalin), etc.;
- Food intoxication substances that are present in the kitchenware: plastic dishes, pans and pans. This includes lead, zinc and copper;
- Intoxication with nitrates or pesticides that have fallen into products from the packaging or in the process of improper transportation.
Unidentified etiology of
Rarely, but still there are food poisoning of undiagnosed etiology. Such poisonings include sigwater, Gaffian disease, Kashin-Bek pathology.
The main causes of
Toxic food poisoning develops due to the consumption of water or food, in which there are plant, chemical or animal poisons. This includes:
- Chemical compounds like toxins and metal salts, dyes or preservatives;
- Plants of a poisonous group, for example, whitened, wolfberry or nightshade;
- Mushrooms from the category of inedible or collected along the roadways, near chemical plants. In such places, fungi accumulate harmful toxic compounds.
If we talk about toxic infections, they develop due to the use of spoiled overdue foods or food, contaminated with microbes, which include E. coli and staphylococcus, proteus or listeriosis, salmonellosis or clostridiosis, botulism, enterovirus and rotavirus.
Danger is represented by dairy and meat products, eggs and root vegetables, leafy greens and confectionery products with cream, canned food or perishables.
Symptoms of food poisoning in adults and children
The main clinical manifestations of food intoxication in children develop after several hours, and in adult patients they appear 10-24 hours later.
Common symptoms of food poisoning are as follows:
- Hyperpotency;
- Intensive and increasing headaches;
- Excessive salivation;
- Misfortunes and severe weakness;
- Bloating and feeling dry in the mouth;
- Severe dizziness;
- Urinary disorders;
- Hyperthermia up to 39 ° С, and at poisoning by any mushrooms of the patient excruciates a fever with signs of hallucinations;
- Myalgia and muscle weakness;
- Hypotension;
- Poor appetite;
- Cramping like abdominal pain;
- Paling and even cyanosis of the skin;
- In children, food poisoning is often accompanied by functional disorders of renal and cardiac activity.
Such symptoms of poisoning are especially dangerous for children under the age of one, as they are fatal. If such manifestations occur, infants need emergency medical care, since it is impossible to help the baby at home alone.
In case of what symptoms do I need immediate medical attention?
- With hyperthermia 40 ° C and above;
- Nervous system disorders;
- Breathing problems;
- Strong muscle relaxation, the patient is not able to hold anything, and the babies can not hold the head;
- Bloody masses in feces and vomit;
- Convulsive contractions;
- Slow pulse;
- Hyperthermia in the limb or face area.
Such a clinic is fraught with coma, therefore it is considered critical and requires urgent medical interventions.
Acute form
In acute food poisoning, there is a typical clinical picture, which is characterized by a sudden appearance.
In the abdomen there are sharp pain and colic, disturbing nausea and vomiting and diarrhea. Rarely there are temperature rises and headaches.
The clinical picture is considered critical, accompanied by diarrhea and indomitable vomiting, rapid hyperthermia and severe dehydration.
Infectious disease with food
Such types of poisoning can not be avoided without the participation of a certain food product, as well as toxins and bacteria.
Usually this happens when consuming spoiled, poor quality and dirty food, for example:
- Meat and milk products like ryazhenka and cottage cheese, kefir and brynza, sausages;
- Mushrooms are provocators of non-microbial poisoning;
- Eggs and fish meat;
- Spoiled, unwashed and rotten vegetable and fruit crops;
- All kinds of canned food;
- Seafood like mussels and oysters, shellfish.
Staphylococcal form
A similar group of food poisoning is considered the most common and arises from the penetration into the body of poisonous golden staphylococcus aureus. This causative agent quite often becomes the cause of severe lesions.
This bacterium is the frequent cause of inflammatory lesions of the nasopharynx and skin, subcutaneous tissue, etc.
After a couple of hours, the patient has a characteristic manifestation of poisoning, which is characterized by a relatively short incubation.
Shortly after the penetration of the pathogen in the patient's body begin to worry cramp-like intense pain in the abdomen, frothy diarrhea and defecation urges, hyperthermia, nausea and vomiting syndrome, lethargy and chills, joint aches and enlarged lymph nodes.
Diagnostics
The purpose of diagnostic tests for food poisoning is to identify the etiologic factor. For this purpose, patients are analyzed for vomiting and fecal masses, urines, blood testing for the presence of bacterial pathogens, laboratory testing of the alleged source of infection( food).
In addition, there are consultations of a gastroenterologist, neurologist and surgeon. When a child suffers from food poisoning, the patient is treated by similar specialists in pediatrics.
In addition, differential diagnosis is required with acute appendicitis and cholecystitis, meningitis and gastritis, as well as pancreatitis. After receiving the results of the diagnosis, the specialist determines the necessary set of therapeutic measures.
Consequences of
Most often the effects of food poisoning are observed in the elderly and pregnant women, as well as children and patients already suffering from chronic digestive pathologies.
The consequences of software are reduced to states like:
- Dysbacteriosis;
- Chronic gastritis;
- Food allergies;
- Hypertensive disease;
- Obesity;
- Excessive nervous excitability;
- Chronic intestinal inflammatory pathologies;
- Ulcerative processes in the stomach;
- Kidney deficiency;
- Inflammatory articular lesions;
- Diabetes, etc.
Food poisoning can not be perceived as a minor gastrointestinal disorder, as the consequences can be irreversible. Therefore, a qualified specialist should be engaged in treatment.
How to provide first aid?
If there is a threat to the life of the patient or the child has suffered from poisoning, urgent hospitalization is necessary. In other cases, you need to call an ambulance and, before her arrival, help the patient on their own.
The algorithm for poisoning is as follows:
- Diarrhea and vomiting are protective mechanisms, therefore, it is impossible to take antidiarrheal and antiemetic drugs;
- The patient needs to drink plenty of plain water with a further challenge of vomiting to eliminate toxic substances from the body. Similar activities are carried out before vomiting in the form of clean water;
- For elimination of dehydration and restoration of water-electrolyte balance, the use of pharmacy drugs such as Regidron and Oralit, Gastrolit and Normogidron, Chlorazole, etc. is recommended. They should be taken during periods between taking medications and vomiting;
- Sorbents such as Polysorb or Enterosgel, Enterol or activated carbon are also needed;
- With painful symptoms, you can drink antispasmodics like No-Shpa or Drotaverina, antibiotics and analgesics before the final diagnosis can not be taken;
- In the absence of diarrhea and vomiting, a laxative should be taken to prevent further gastric absorption of toxic elements.
Treatment of
The main goal of therapy of food poisoning is the elimination of toxic substances from the body, as well as the normalization of the balance of minerals and liquids.
To do this, the stomach is washed, which helps to get rid of the remnants of contaminated food. In the absence of diarrhea, measures to cleanse the intestines through enemation are needed.
To neutralize dehydration, liquid loss is necessary by means of the use of Regidron and similar preparations. In severe clinical cases, intravenous infusion of solutions such as chlorosol, quartz or trisol is used.
Usually, such activities are enough to normalize the patient's condition, but in the presence of concomitant pathologies like cholecystitis or pancreatitis it is necessary to supplement the main course of drugs:
- The use of enterosorbents like Filtrum, white coal, Enterosgel or Polysorb.
- For the reduction of painful sensations the use of No-Shpa or Duspatalin is recommended.
- With a strong diarrhea, antiseptics are shown - Intestopan or Intetriks;
- For the protection of the gastrointestinal mucosa, it is necessary to have ovolakivayusche-astringent preparations such as bismuth subalicylate or powder Kassirsky.
- Enzymatic agents are also recommended( Mezim, Panzinorm or Festal).
- For the restoration of the intestinal microflora is shown the Bio-cocktail NK or Normase.
This is not a standard therapy of food poisoning, it is sometimes necessary to take specific drugs depending on the toxic etiology.
The medication should be prescribed by a specialist, although the complex of medications used is usually limited to the means for replenishing the liquid mineral imbalance, enterosorbents and abundant drinking. In severe cases, the doctor prescribes additional therapy.
Recovery of
After some toxic infections, the gastrointestinal tract can not normalize its activity for a long time. A similar phenomenon is observed in severe intestinal lesions and requires additional therapeutic measures and therapeutic and dietary nutrition. To eat it is necessary fractional and often, to drink abundantly.
Prevention
Preventive actions of alimentary diseases and toxic infections are associated with such rules:
- Drink only purified water;
- Wash your hands thoroughly;
- Keep food only in the refrigerator;
- Always handle food correctly when cooking;
- Discard dishes of doubtful origin;
- If worsened, consult a specialist and call an ambulance( for children's poisoning).
Investigation of
Food poisoning must be investigated. If there is an outbreak, and a lot of victims turn to a specialist, he must necessarily report the epidemiological factor to the sanitary and epidemiological station.
Also the doctor is obliged to collect for laboratory researches the remains of suspicious food, vomiting and blood of the victims.
The epidemiologist leaves the scene and begins an investigation to prevent the further spread of poisoning to eliminate the incipient outburst.
The investigation is carried out according to this algorithm:
- First a specialist from the sanitary and epidemiological station identifies the source of poisoning and seizes it. To do this, the health officer interrogates the victims, and then prohibits the sale of suspicious food.
- Then the cause and degree of harmful properties of the product are determined, as well as the location of its purchase.
- Then it is necessary to establish the diagnosis of the epidemiological outbreak. For this, the disease is differentiated with a toxicoinfection, botulism, staphylococcal intoxication.
- In the end, an act is compiled that records all the necessary data on the outbreak: the start date and duration of the course, the number of victims and the symptomatic picture, the laboratory test data and the detailed proven origin of the epidemiological outbreak.
To which doctor should I apply?
The therapist usually starts to practice the patient, and then additional specialists like toxicologists, infectious disease specialists, resuscitators and so on are connected as needed.
When an emergency situation occurs from the patient or his environment, one thing is required: immediately call an ambulance team, there is no time to determine the specialist to be contacted. And then the specialists themselves will decide which doctor to send the patient to.
Video on how to avoid food poisoning: