Food poisoning in adults: symptoms and treatment. First aid for food poisoning

Poisoning is a large group of pathological conditions, the key factor in the development of which is exposure to toxins on the body. These can be a variety of substances - from industrial to household. The most common types of poisoning are considered to be food poisoning - this is the consumption of poor-quality food contaminated with pathogenic microbes or their toxins. Usually this condition is not severe and disappears within a couple of days as the body rids itself of toxic substances. But there may be more serious cases that require hospitalization and active treatment.

In most cases of food poisoning, food is contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, such as salmonella or E. coli, staph, or a virus such as norovirus. Symptoms of food poisoning appear within 1 to 2 days after eating contaminated food, although they can begin anywhere from a few hours to several weeks later.

In most cases, all signs disappear after a few days, and the person fully recovers. Diet and plenty of fluids are often sufficient to treat these conditions. If symptoms of poisoning are severe or persistent, or the person is more vulnerable to serious infection (for example, because they are older or have certain medical conditions), further treatment may be needed. In this case, tests may be done on stool samples to find out what is causing the symptoms, and antibiotics may be prescribed if the results indicate it is a bacterial infection.

Medicines to stop nausea and vomiting (antiemetics) may also be prescribed if the condition threatens dehydration and complications. In some cases, hospitalization may be required for several days so that the person's condition can be monitored by doctors and fluids administered directly into a vein (intravenously). For most poisonings, it is necessary to take oral solutions for rehydration (combat dehydration), use enzyme preparations and sorbents, and medications to restore microflora. Only doctors can select the best anti-poisoning pills for adults, although there are a number of drugs that can be used at home.

What Causes Food Poisoning

Most often, the causes of the pathological condition are bacteria that penetrate the gastrointestinal tract. Microorganisms can enter in one of the following ways:

• with unwashed food products (vegetables, fruits, from packaging);
• through contaminated water;
• in case of non-compliance with hygiene rules;
• after improper storage of products;
• with poor heat treatment of food;
• consumption of inedible plants (herbs, berries) or mushrooms;
• ingress of chemical compounds and other toxic substances.

Food poisoning is often confused with an acute intestinal infection. The symptoms are approximately the same, but in infectious diseases, pathogens develop in the body, and in case of poisoning they arrive ready-made, the disease begins abruptly and acutely.

Pay attention to the fact that most often you can “earn” food poisoning by consuming dairy products, cakes with natural cream, store-bought salads dressed with sour cream or mayonnaise sauces.

The main causes of food poisoning:

• toxic infections – staphylococcal toxicosis and botulism, mycotoxicosis, mixed toxic infections, etc.; • toxic organic and inorganic substances; • violation of food production technology and improper storage, non-compliance with temperature conditions; • contamination, contamination of food with bacteria; • products that have become toxic under the influence of various factors and pesticides, nitrates, herbicides, fungicides accumulated in the peel and core of vegetables, berries and fruits; • unwashed vegetables and fruits, poor food hygiene.

An excellent environment for the growth of bacteria are multi-component salads, brawn and aspic, meat dishes, desserts with a cream base, canned mushrooms and dried fish. If you have even the slightest doubt about the suitability of foods intended for human consumption, it is better to refuse them.

Symptoms of poisoning

Once in the stomach, food can be processed by gastric juice, which neutralizes most of the bacteria. However, if the acidity of gastric juice is reduced, then the toxins released by microorganisms end up in the intestines, from where they penetrate through the mucous membrane into the bloodstream. 2-6 hours after eating a low-quality product, a person will feel the first symptoms of food poisoning . The most common of them include:

• loose stools, nausea and vomiting;
• asthenic syndrome (lethargy, fatigue);
• pale skin;
• blood pressure decreases;
• the pulse becomes rapid, breathing becomes shallow;
• possible increase in body temperature to 38 degrees and above;
• Abdominal cramps and pain occur.

Sometimes, when the body is intoxicated, visual disturbances develop, hallucinations and confusion occur. If help is not provided in time, death occurs.

food poisoning

“Household” intoxication or “reality poisoning”?

It is not for nothing that household poisoning is called the “epidemic of the century”, because quite often the means that are supposed to make our life easier become the cause of acute intoxication. Bleach, pesticides, detergents and cleaners, car windshield wipers - the list of potentially dangerous culprits of severe poisoning is quite extensive.

The number of poisonings due to the erroneous use of household chemicals, especially by children, has increased significantly in recent years. Cases where children's curiosity ends tragically are not so rare in everyday life: either a two-year-old girl swallows a “Mole” for cleaning pipes, or an older boy decides to try a powerful detergent advertised on TV.

After intoxication with household chemicals, acute renal and liver failure occurs. Stopping the work of these vital organs that remove toxins from the body can, in some cases, even lead to the death of a person.

How to provide first aid for food poisoning

In case of food poisoning, it is extremely important to provide first aid as soon as possible to avoid complications. The procedure will be as follows:

1. Gastric lavage. This is necessary to remove toxins and prevent them from entering the intestines. To rinse, you need to drink 500 ml of a warm, weak solution of magnesium permanganate. If the drug is not available, you can replace it with soda at home. After this, vomiting is induced. The procedure is repeated until clean wash water comes out.
2. Taking enterosorbents. These are drugs that can absorb toxins and remove them from the body. These include Polysorb, Smecta, Enterosgel, activated carbon.
3. Taking enveloping drugs. When they enter the gastrointestinal tract, they envelop the mucous membrane, protecting it from damage and preventing further absorption of harmful substances into the blood. Such drugs are Almagel, Maalox, Gastal, Omez.
4. Drink plenty of fluids. It is necessary to drink a sufficient amount of warm, clean water, unsweetened tea, chamomile infusion, and rose hips to remove remaining toxins along with urine.
5. Bed rest. For a quick recovery, the patient needs rest and sleep.

On the first day after stabilization of the condition, it is advisable to refrain from eating; only drinking is allowed.

how to help with poisoning

Classification of intoxications

There are two broad groups of intoxications. Exogenous involves the entry of toxins into the body from the outside. The treatment of such conditions is carried out by toxicologists, and less often by infectious disease specialists in cases where the disease is caused by pathogens that produce exotoxins (for example, tetanus). Symptoms of intoxication in this case are specific. Therapy involves the mandatory use of toxoids or antidotes. Exogenous intoxication, caused by external factors, develops when natural or synthetic toxins enter the body. Exogenous intoxication includes the following types:

• food poisoning;
• alcohol poisoning;
• drug intoxication;
• poisoning with nitrites, heavy metals, etc.

With endogenous intoxication, toxins are produced directly in the patient’s body. In this case, the syndromes vary in severity. Intoxication occurs as a result of the accumulation of toxic substances in the body. There are several types of such substances:

• products of normal metabolism that accumulate in excessively high concentrations: ketone bodies, lactic acid, urea, etc.;
• products of metabolic disorders: alcohols, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, etc.;
• substances formed as a result of cellular decay from pathological foci (tumor necrosis factor) or from the gastrointestinal tract (lipase, cationic proteins, etc.);
• biologically active substances: serotonin, interferons, etc.

The causes of intoxication by one’s own products and substances include violations of the body’s adaptation mechanisms: weakening of defenses, gas exchange, etc. In this case, the balance of tissue reactions is lost. This disrupts metabolic processes and homeostasis (constancy of the internal environment). In this case, the substances become endotoxins, although they are not such under normal human health conditions.

Intoxications are classified according to the severity of symptoms, as well as how long ago the syndrome developed. The following types are distinguished:

• Acute

  . This is a condition that occurs as a result of a single, short-term exposure to toxins. Symptoms of acute intoxication are pronounced and increase quickly. Exogenous (external) intoxication includes: food poisoning, consumption of large amounts of alcohol, medications, ingestion of plant poisons, etc. It is important to get medical help as quickly as possible. Delayed treatment can have fatal consequences.

• Chronic

  . This condition is caused by prolonged exposure to toxins in the body, usually in small doses and intermittently. Such intoxication may be the result of the intake of toxic substances from the external environment. For example, when smoking, working with pesticides, and also while taking medications. Toxins are often produced in the body due to illness or metabolic disorders. Poisoning can occur with hidden symptoms or manifest itself in a pronounced form.

Intoxication syndrome is classified according to severity into mild, moderate, severe and fatal.

When to see a doctor

If you feel slightly unwell, you can get by with sorbents, plenty of fluids and bed rest. If signs of poisoning increase, you should immediately consult a doctor.

You need to call an ambulance in the following cases:

• feverish state lasting more than three days;
• repeated loose stools (up to 10 times a day) or bloody stools;
• frequent excessive vomiting, which can lead to dehydration;
• increased intoxication symptoms.

Pregnant women and children, especially children under 5 years old, cannot wait for symptoms to intensify. They should consult a doctor at the first sign of poisoning.

How to relieve alcohol intoxication?

Unfortunately, the morning after a festive “alcoholic evening” is not always good. My head is pounding, my mouth feels like the Sahara Desert, my heart is pounding somewhere in my throat, it’s cloudy and stormy, a cat is loudly stomping around the apartment - a nightmare, in a word!

Mild alcohol intoxication, or, more simply, a hangover, is usually treated at home.

What needs to be done: get enough sleep, take Enterosgel sorbent on an empty stomach, be sure to have breakfast and drink clean water throughout the day.

A drip for alcohol intoxication at home can be prescribed if you need to immediately “get back on track.”

Treatment

The consequences of food poisoning should be treated comprehensively. Immediately, as soon as a person feels unwell due to eating poor quality food, the necessary measures must be taken.

Medications

Medicines used for treatment:

• activated carbon – removes general intoxication of the body;
• Enterosgel – absorbs harmful formations and promotes their removal naturally;
• Regidron is a powder for preparing a suspension that maintains water balance and prevents fluid loss;
• Linex, Bifiform, Baktosept improve intestinal function and restore microflora.

In the most severe cases, when treatment does not bring the expected result, antibacterial drugs are prescribed. This group of medications is prescribed by a specialist after undergoing tests that help determine the type of bacteria. Thoughtless use of antibiotics and self-medication can only worsen the situation.

Folk remedies

You can resort to traditional medicine recipes to restore the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, relieve spasms, prevent nausea and diarrhea, and bloating. For this purpose, infusions and decoctions of herbs are used:

• dill (fennel);
• wormwood;
• marshmallow roots;
• yarrow herbs;
• cinnamon;
• ginger

When using folk remedies, you should be careful, since many of the herbs listed can cause allergies.

Diet

Until complete recovery, you should adhere to dietary nutrition. On the first day of illness, it is better not to eat food at all, limiting yourself to warm drinks. This is necessary for complete release and cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract.

Gradually, from the second day of illness, low-fat broths, light vegetable soups, slimy porridges with water, and crackers are introduced into the diet. On the 4th day, you can include lean meat (beef, rabbit, turkey), fish.

It is better to replace milk with fermented milk products (kefir, yogurt). Completely exclude salted, smoked, fried, canned foods, mushrooms, sauces, carbonated and alcoholic drinks, coffee. If the symptoms no longer bother you, then after a week you can return to your normal diet.

Poisoning with ethanol and its surrogates

According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 thousand people die annually from intoxication with alcohol and its substitutes.

According to the international classification (ICD10), the toxic effects of alcohol are coded as T51.

One of the largest cases of poisoning with surrogate alcohol occurred in the Estonian city of Pärnu in 2001: workers at one of the plants stole 20 canisters of methyl alcohol. As a result, 68 people died from poisoning, and 43 became disabled after intoxication.

Methyl alcohol is a potent poison of the vascular and nervous system. It is quickly absorbed and very slowly eliminated from the body.

Typical results of methanol poisoning are blindness, cerebral edema, and cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Prevention of poisoning

As doctors rightly believe, it is easier to prevent any disease than to treat its consequences. In most cases, food poisoning occurs due to failure to follow basic rules:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly after returning from the street and public places, and before any food intake.
2. Subject products to hygienic and heat treatment, observe the storage conditions for prepared dishes.
3. When purchasing products, be sure to pay attention to the expiration date, as well as the general appearance, color and smell.
4. Avoid buying ready-made food in unverified places (on the street, in unequipped stalls).
5. Keep your kitchen clean and disinfect it periodically.

It is important to instill these rules in children so that compliance with hygiene standards becomes their natural behavior.

Features of the treatment of acute and chronic intoxication

It is important to correctly determine the type of intoxication, assess the severity of poisoning, identify concomitant diseases and general health. Most chronic intoxications can be treated at home by changing your diet and giving up bad habits. Workers in hazardous industries should think about changing their place of work. The first stage is cleansing the body. The second stage is the restoration of the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, which can be considered as a single factory responsible for our health. Hepatoprotectors are prescribed as drug therapy to enhance the detoxification function of the liver and protect it from negative effects; alginates for binding and removing chemical elements and toxic compounds, liquid chlorophyll, sorbents and other detoxification agents.

First aid: normalize water balance

“For the first three days after poisoning, we recommend maintenance therapy: it is important to prevent dehydration and ensure sufficient calorie intake,” says Alexey Golovenko.

With vomiting and diarrhea, we lose a large amount of fluid that needs to be replenished. When losses are not very abundant, just drinking water is enough.

Drink small sips, but often - this will help cope with nausea without provoking the gag reflex. If you can't drink, you can start by sucking ice cubes.

With excessive fluid loss, signs of dehydration begin to appear: dry mouth and dry skin, weakness, dizziness, decreased amount of urine or its darkening, increased heart rate or breathing rate. In this case, you will need to replace the glucose and electrolytes that have left the body - potassium and sodium necessary to maintain the water-salt balance.

“You can prepare a solution according to a simple recipe: dilute half a teaspoon of salt and 6 teaspoons of sugar in one liter of water and drink a glass. If you don’t have anything suitable on hand, sweet sodas or sports drinks with electrolytes, but without caffeine, will do,” the expert adds.

The most reliable solution would be to buy rehydrating preparations at the pharmacy - powders that contain all the necessary microelements in a balanced composition. You can purchase any ORS (oral rehydration salt preparations), or ORS, oral rehydration solution, if you are abroad.

For children, special solutions are sometimes replaced with apple juice diluted twice - with this treatment it will be easier for the child to drink more liquid.

“We advise you to follow a simple principle: as much liquid comes out, so much should return. Therefore, you should drink a glass of water after each episode of loose stools or vomiting. If the malaise continues for more than a day, it is better to replenish fluid in a larger volume. It is especially important to pay attention to the child’s well-being: children become dehydrated faster and it is more difficult to force them to drink, so if the condition worsens, medical intervention and perfusion therapy may be required,” comments Alexey Olegovich.

A few words about poisons

According to scientists, any substance that enters the body can cause poisoning - after all, much depends not only on the concentration of the poison, but also on its quantity. Substances that are common and necessary for normal functioning of the body can become toxic in excessive quantities.

Under certain circumstances, even ordinary water can become dangerous: if you drink about 7 liters per day, you can get acute poisoning and even die from intoxication. Symptoms of water poisoning are associated with disruption of water and electrolyte metabolism in the body: swelling, cramps, vomiting, interruptions in heart function, diarrhea.

Toxic substances can enter the human body in all possible ways: through the mouth, skin, respiratory organs, by injection into the rectum, vein or ear canal. The severity of poisoning, symptoms and treatment, emergency measures to remove poison from the body depend on the type and amount of the toxic substance, and, of course, on the routes of its penetration.

The first symptoms of poisoning may appear immediately after the poison enters the body or within several hours or even days. First of all, the brain, liver, kidneys, and intestines are affected by toxic substances. These organs “give signals” - symptoms of poisoning that cannot be ignored!

Development mechanism

Ate something wrong

Any manifestations begin after the entry of harmful bacteria into the body or their metabolic products. Each of the hazardous substances affects individual organs and disrupts their functioning. Timely assistance immediately when poisoning occurs will help avoid many complications in the future.

Symptoms of the disease are divided into three groups, regardless of the cause of the pathology:

• signs of intoxication of the body;

• dehydration;

• manifestations of gastroenterocolitis or inflammatory process of the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.

What are the dangers of pathology?

Intoxication of the body is divided into acute, subacute, moderate, severe and fatal. The routes through which infection enters the body influence how long it takes for poisoning to appear.