Preventing Food Poisoning

SENEca college |

Preventing Food Poisoning |

PNH 100 Healing Practices 1 |

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By Stanley Henry |

5/27/2012 |

This essay contains information on the nature of food poisoning, causes of food poisoning, treatment, prevention and a Nursing Care Plan. |

Preventing Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is ingestion of food that has been contaminated with certain micro-organisms or their toxins, resulting primarily in a condition called gastroenteritis. Food poisoning, also called foodborne illness, is a common, distressing, and sometimes life-threatening problem that is preventable. CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases. Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Some of the symptoms are nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal discomfort or stomach pain, diarrhea, headache, muscle aches, shivering and feeling exhausted. The onset may be slow but more often it is abrupt and violent with rapid loss of fluid and electrolytes, caused by persistent vomiting and diarrhea. Food poisoning is caused by over 250 pathogens, including Salmonela, Staphylococcal Aureus, E. Coli, listeria, shigella and Botulism. Campylobacter infection is the most common cause of food poisoning seen by GPs. It likes to live in milk and poultry.

Micro-organisms enter the body in one of two ways:

1. In the food - the food isn't cooked thoroughly, so the micro-organisms aren't killed off, often the case with barbecued food.

2. On the food - the person preparing the food doesn't wash their hands before handling the food, for example.

Preventing food poisoning includes the following: Avoid swallowing water when swimming. Always wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food, after going to the toilet and after handling pets. Keep kitchen work surfaces clean. Make sure food is defrosted completely before cooking. Keep pets away from food. Ensure...