Food poisoning is a very sensitive sickness, that can cause serious harm and damage to your health and vital body organ,it can also cause dehydration and in most cases death.5 Ways to avoid food poisoning are very simple and effective. Food poisoning is the pathological condition where a person gets sick after consuming foods which are contaminated either by pathogenic bacteria or any other pathogens or viruses. It is an ailments which occurs when eating foods with bacteria, viruses, Fungi, toxins, parasites, and chemical. If precautions are taken, food poisoning is not much life threatening. However on prolonged and severe food poisoning may cause deaths. In foods poisoning the victim may suffer from, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Sometimes under severe conditions, there maybe fever and blood in feces. Body dehydration is also common due to loss of liquid from the body during diarrhea. Contamination of foods by an infectious organism or toxins occurs at production and processing. It can also occur  even cooking at home by mishandling or incorrect cooking. Some of these toxins are naturally found in the food as well as inthe environment. The onset of symptoms of food poisoning starts within a few hours of eating contaminated foods include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. 



Pathogens of food poisoning canbe classified into two types as non inflammatory and inflammatory. In non inflammatory diarrhea, the enterotoxins act on the mucous of small intestine without invasion. This leads to a large volume of watery stool without any pus, blood and abdominal pain and may result in occasional hydration. Inflammatory diarrhea is due to the cytotoxic action of the mucous leading to invasion and destruction. Here the distal and small bowel is involved. In this type, all these actions result in bloody diarrhea.

             Types of food poisoning 

Botulism 

  A bacteria that are found in untreated water and soil which is a responsible factor for the acute illness. Botulism may also lead to paralysis. 

Fish poisoning 

  Is a tapeworm present inthe fish, which may infect a person while eating such fishes as uncooked or undercooked. Some of the symptoms are abdominal cramp, diarrhea, and sometimes weight loss. 

E_coli enteritis 

    E_coli cause severe infection inthe small intestine and leads to critical food poisoning with blood inthe diarrhea. It is also known as Hamburger disease. This type of food poisoning may pose serious complications such as anemia and even kidney failure.

Salmonella enterocolitis

  Drinking water contaminated with Salmonella bacteria causes such types of food poisoning. It affects the lining of the small intestine of people below the age of 20 years.

      Causative agents of food poisoning

There are many types of contamination inthe foods responsible for causing food poisoning. Some of which are living and non living agents. The living agents includes bacteria, other pathogens and virus. The non living agents may be certain toxins secreted by the bacteria or other pathogens, Certain poisonous chemicals which sometimes are added as preservatives or certain physical agents.

Parasites 

  These are anothe types of microbes but different from bacteria. The parasites is an organism which live within another organism. Parasites that causes food contamination are, Cryptosporidium. Toxoplasmosis is the most likely cause of practical food poisoning. The cause of toxoplasmosis is eating foods or water contaminated with feces if infected cats and undercooked contaminated meats.

Viruses 

There are two common viruses which causes food poisoning, which are noroviruses and rota viruses. Rota virus is common in children, whereas noroviruses infects the people of any age. 

Bacteria 

This is usually found in untreated water and in raw meat and poultry. It is also available in poultry products in Unpasteurised milk. 

Toxins and chemicals 

    Toxins are the poison produced by the bacteria which contaminate foods as well as the bacteria itself. If the bacteria contaminated foods is reheated and or cooked again may produce toxins which leads to food poisoning. Some seafood especially oily fish canbe contaminated with toxins such as  polychlorinated bipheryls (PCBs). This toxin levels in fish are very low but still it can be a risk for unborn babies. Some of the oily fish are;fresh tuna, mackerel, sardine, trout, and salmon. 
There are some fishes with high level of Mercury, which also damage the nervous system of unborn babies. Therefore it's adviced to avoid the following fishes by pregnant women ; sharks, swordfish, and marlin. 

          Causes of food poisoning 

Food contamination by various pathogens are the main reason behind the food poisoning. Contamination of foods occurs at different stages, when the food is produced, cooking, and processing. 
  • Cooking of foods at inappropriate temperature 
  • Inadequate cooking 
  • Chilling of foods in incorrect temperatures 
  • Touching the foods with dusty hands 
  • Eating expired foods 
  • Using contaminated water for cooking 

                Risk factors of cholera

Some foods which may put you at risk are as follows;
  • Partially cooked seafood, such as shrimps and crabs
  • Canned foods that has been canned at home, including honey 
  • Any raw undercooked fish or meat 
  • Homemade salad 
  • Pasteurised milk
Some diseased people who are at risk 
  • Pregnant women 
  • People with chronic disease such as, diabetes, liver disease, and AIDs
  • Infant and children less than five years of age
  • Elderly people over 70 years of age are at greater risk
  • Cancer patients 
  • Person with autoimmune disease 

                  Symptoms of food poisoning 

The symptoms of food poisoning may vary from mild to severe depending upon the type of contamination that occur. Symptoms may begin after an hour or days after consuming the contaminated foods. Although there is no definite time limit when symptoms of food poisoning are felt by the patients after consuming a contaminated or toxic foods. It depends on the type of toxic or contaminated materials present in the food  and it's quantity. It also depends on the body defense mechanisms of the person, symptoms maybe visible within hour of eating contaminated foods or sometimes even after many days or weeks. 
  The common symptoms of food poisoning are;
  • Abdominal pain
  • Nausea and vomiting 
  • Fever 
  • Headache
  • Diarrhea 
  • Loss of appetite 
  • Aching muscles 
  • Lack of energy 
  • Extreme tiredness 
   Food poisoning may occur to one person or to the whole group who are exposed to to the contaminated foods. The above symptoms must not be neglected if it persist for a longer time. It has been reported that sometimes food poisoning may be life threatening, in fact many deaths occurs annually as a result of food poisoning. 
   Some major symptoms of food poisoning 
  • Dehydration 
  • Problems in unborn babies 
  • Bloody diarrhea 
  • Tiny blood vessels damage 
  • In most cases death 

               Treatments and medication

Treatments may vary based on the cause and level of severity, for some people without treatment get cured in few days or within a day and sometimes food poisoning may last longer. 
  • Patients with mild diarrhea lasting for 24 hours are treated with clear fluids such as, oral replacement solutions (ORS) 
  • Drink water, brother, or an electrolyte solution, which will replace the mineral that you lost with vomiting and diarrhoea 
  • Eat when you feel ready, but start with  small amounts of bland, non fatty foods such as, toast, rice, and cracker
  • Take some medication such as, ciprofloxacin, levaquin, leoperamide, a zithromax are used to treat food poisoning and additional problems like nausea. 
  • Sometimes your doctor may prescribe antibiotics, if you have bacteria food poisoning, during pregnancy the antibiotics treatment may help to keep the infection away from the people 

                  Prevention of food poisoning 

  • Wash your hands and utensil often
  • Wash your fruit and vegetables before eating them
  • Keep raw foods away from used foods 
  • Don't eat package foods that have expired 
  • Cook meat thoroughly 
  • Refrigerate your foods properly 
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