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Tuesday, March 5. 2019

What is food poisoning?

We've all had it.  It only lasts about 24 hours, but it is miserable and not treatable.


It's not treatable because the Staph bacterium (Staphlococcus aureus) produces a toxin which causes the physical reaction. The toxin is the problem, not the Staph. Staph is everywhere.


Food poisoning is avoidable by proper food management.  Specifically, don't leave susceptible foods out of refrigeration for more than 2-3 hours. Yes, I know, we all do sometimes but it's not "best practices."


My last food poisoning incident was from a shrimp dish. 



Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss in Medical at 14:29 | Comments (9) | Trackbacks (0)

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My last food poisoning was a sandwich at Disneyland. I was sick as a dog for 36 hours. I suspect someone there didn't wash their hands after #2.

Many years ago on a visit to Mexico I got food poisoning. Feeling pretty bad one of the other guests at the hotel informed me that food poisoning was so common in Mexico that most visitors began a tetracycline prescription before they left home. He also told me that in Mexico you can just walk into a pharmacy and ask for it no prescription needed. Which I did and got better in 24 hours.

Two pieces of advice:
1. Don't ever eat gas station or 7/11 prepared food.
2. If you go to a picnic or other long event eat food less likely to cause problems and don't eat anything after the food has been served. That is don't go back and snack 3 hours later.
#1 OneGuy on 2019-03-05 15:41 (Reply)
We have a rule that we follow when attending picnics, fundraisers, etc. If you can't identify it--don't put it on your plate!
#1.1 faculty wife on 2019-03-05 17:13 (Reply)
Home cookin' helps avoid a lot of that. But careful food management, and obsessive washing need be a habit. Take my wife's suggestion and get a good gentle hand soap, then use the heck out it.
#2 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2019-03-05 15:44 (Reply)
Here is a great example of the
possible effects




https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-04/buddy-thought-he-had-flu-but-ended-up-losing-both-hands-and-feet/10820758
#3 faculty wife on 2019-03-05 16:11 (Reply)
I got it once from deep fried clams. I thought I was going to die. I wanted to die. Haven't looked at a clam since.
#4 Arty on 2019-03-05 19:45 (Reply)
Since there are hundreds of bugs that cause food poisoning symptoms, some of which cause illness in hours and others in weeks, it's difficult to impossible to nail it down to a specific dish.
#5 Bruce Anderson on 2019-03-06 06:45 (Reply)
I go with my gut, so to speak. When I eat something that immediately makes me question it, I chase it with a shot or so of vodka or other purifying spirit. Can't say I've ever actually had food poisoning. Just incidents that feel like I might and abatement after medicinal use of alcohol.

But I wasn't sure of the mechanism. I see, that killing the bugs before they excrete toxins, and multiply, is the right strategy.
#6 JK Brown on 2019-03-06 09:59 (Reply)
How Amazon's Algorithms Curated a Dystopian Bookstore

QUOTE:
Among the best-selling books in Amazon’s Epidemiology category are several anti-vaccine tomes. One has a confident-looking doctor on the cover, but the author doesn’t have an MD—a quick Google search reveals that he’s a medical journalist with the “ThinkTwice Global Vaccine Institute.” Scrolling through a simple keyword search for “vaccine” in Amazon’s top-level Books section reveals anti-vax literature prominently marked as “#1 Best Seller” in categories ranging from Emergency Pediatrics to History of Medicine to Chemistry. The first pro-vaccine book appears 12th in the list. Bluntly named “Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism,” it’s the only pro-vaccine book on the first page of search results. Its author, the pediatrician Peter Hotez, a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at the Baylor College of Medicine , has tweeted numerous times about the amount of abuse and Amazon review brigading that he’s had to fight since it was released.

https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-and-the-spread-of-health-misinformation/
#7 feeblemind on 2019-03-06 13:29 (Reply)
I'm 67. I don't think I've ever had food poisoning.
#8 Randy on 2019-03-10 11:43 (Reply)

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