Symptoms of Food Poisoning
Food poisoning is a common problem. Every year in America, five thousand people die by food infection. If food poisoning is not controlled on proper time, then it can lead to serious complications to the patient.
Bacteria, viruses, and toxins released by them spoil the food material. Food infection is caused by unhygienic conditions, handling food material by infected hands, uncooked food material from source of animals and dairy products. Children show frequent infection of different bacteria than adults.
The appearance of symptoms of food poisoning depends on the type of infection. The patient shows symptoms according to source of infection. Every bacterial infection show common symptoms like fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pains. Uncontrolled food poisoning can lead to problems in the nervous system and paralysis. Food poisoning can affect infants, pregnant women, and old persons seriously.
Viruses
Viruses make food toxic. Some specific viruses causing food poisoning are as follows,
- Noroviruses
Noroviruses do not cause severe illness. Norovirus infected patient shows symptoms like vomiting, nausea. Intensity of abdominal pain ranges from mild to acute. Abdominal pains depend upon quantity and type of infection.
After food poisoning, organs present in the abdomen start paining. Physician can identify the cause of abdominal pain by understanding the location of abdominal pain
Fecal infected water, fruits, and vegetables transfer viruses to a healthy person. Viral infection spreads in crowded areas, schools, colleges, and nursing homes.
- Rotavirus
Rotavirus infection causes severe effect on the body. The patient starts vomiting immediately after infection and afterwards followed by fever and watery diarrhea. Rotavirus infection is common in children and infants. It is transferred by fecal contaminated food and water.
- Hepatitis A virus
Jaundice is a common disease caused by food infection. Hepatitis A virus is a causative agent of jaundice. The patient shows symptoms like tiredness, yellow coloured eyes and skin and fever. This disease is transferred from one person to another through fecal contaminated food material and water.
- Bacteria
Bacteria cause food poisoning in two ways.
- Bacterial infection leads to swelling of intestine, problems in absorption of digested food result in diarrhea.
- Bacteria secrete chemical substances called as toxins, which are harmful to the digestive system.
- Salmonella
Salmonella causes food infection. Salmonella infected patient shows symptoms like vomiting, headache, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain etc. Patient with weak immune system (AIDS patient, patients with kidney problem, cancer) shows harmful effect on the body. A person gets salmonella infection through uncooked food products from animal source and dairy products.
- Campylobacter
It transfers through un-boiled milk, uncooked food from animal source and fecal contaminated water and food. Campylobacter infected patient shows symptoms like diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and headache
- E.coli
Symptoms shown by E.coli infected patient are diarrhea and severe infection causes kidney failure. E.coli transfers through fecal contaminated water fruits and vegetables.
- Bacillus cereus
Bacillus cereus infected patient shows symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps in abdomen
Toxic chemicals
Toxic chemicals released by the bacteria, viruses, and fungus cause food poisoning.
- Mushroom
Some species of mushrooms are highly poisonous and cause serious effects on the body. After eating poisonous mushroom, a person shows symptoms like vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea.
