What causes food poisoning?

Food poisoning is most often caused by stale products contaminated with pathogenic bacteria or their toxins, as well as viruses or parasites. The source of the disease is most often food: cakes, pastries, desserts and ice cream (containing eggs), followed by meat and meat products. Annually in Poland, more than 20,000 acute food poisoning and intestinal infections are recorded, causing several thousand hospital admissions. With diarrhea and vomiting, the most important thing is to prevent dehydration, but it is worth using an intestinal sorbent such as Atoxil, which binds harmful microorganisms and toxins, facilitating their removal from the gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms of food poisoning

Poisoning usually causes vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, and sometimes fever, weakness and general malaise. Depending on the substance that caused the poisoning, other characteristic symptoms may join the typical symptoms. These include double vision, impaired speech and muscle weakness (in the very dangerous botulism) or hives, itching, swelling and accelerated heart rate (in poisoning with non-fresh fish containing histamine). As in any case, with diarrhea and vomiting comes the danger of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This risk is greatest in infants and children, but also in the elderly, sick or debilitated.

How to prevent food poisoning?

The greatest risk of food poisoning comes from eating raw or undercooked fish, meat, eggs or milk. You can also be poisoned by contaminated water or raw fruits and vegetables that have not been washed thoroughly. To avoid food poisoning, it is a good idea to follow some basic food hygiene rules:

• Wash hands before preparing and eating food
• Eat products such as eggs, meat, milk and fish only after thorough heat treatment,
• Use separate cutting boards for raw meat and fish,
• Do not allow contact between raw products and those already ready to eat,
• Get rid of stale, spoiled or moldy products as soon as possible,
• thoroughly wash or steam fruits and vegetables intended to be eaten raw with boiling water,
• drink only clean water from a reliable source.

What for food poisoning?

With food poisoning in an infant, young child, elderly or debilitated person, it is important to see a doctor as soon as possible and always follow his instructions. A doctor’s visit is also necessary if the poisoning is accompanied by alarming symptoms, such as blood in the stool, high fever, a rash on the skin, impaired consciousness, breathing, vision, etc. In any case, care should be taken to hydrate. Over-the-counter intestinal sorbents also work well in alleviating the symptoms of poisoning. These include the latest IV generation sorbents, such as Atoxil. Atoxil does not require large portions (1-2 g), has no taste or color, and does not cause electrolyte absorption, so it is safe. It can be used by children as young as 3 years old and adults.