Foodborne toxic infections. Lecture on syndromic pathology. Food poisoning in children and adults Food poisoning causes clinic prevention first aid

Food poisoning infection (FTI) is a disease caused by infection not with bacteria itself, but with toxins that are formed as a result of the activity of bacteria outside the human body - mainly in food. There are a large number of bacteria that can produce toxins. Many toxins can persist for a long time in contaminated foods, and some can withstand various types of processing, including boiling for several minutes. A characteristic feature of foodborne illnesses is outbreaks of disease, when a large number of people fall ill in a short period of time. This is usually associated with the joint consumption of an infected product. In this case, absolutely all people who have eaten the contaminated product become infected.

The main pathogens of food poisoning

The main bacteria whose toxins can cause foodborne illnesses are:

Staphylococcus aureus - Staphylococcus aureus - is capable of producing a toxin that affects the intestines. Staphylococcus aureus is widespread in the environment and is perfectly preserved and multiplies in food products, which provide a breeding ground for it. If dishes are left at room temperature after cooking (especially salads with mayonnaise, cream cakes, etc.), then the most favorable conditions are created for the proliferation of staphylococci and the production of toxin.
Bacillus cereus – the disease is usually associated with eating rice dishes (raw rice is often contaminated with Bacillus cereus). The pathogen multiplies in dishes left after cooking at room temperature. Bacillus cereus toxin is heat stable, and repeated boiling of the dish does not destroy it.
Clostridium perfringens. This foodborne toxic infection is associated with the consumption of undercooked meat, poultry and legumes. The disease usually lasts no more than a day and goes away without treatment.

Symptoms of food poisoning

It takes several hours, sometimes minutes, for the toxin to enter the bloodstream. Therefore, the incubation period (the time from the onset of infection to the first manifestations of the disease) is extremely short - no more than 16 hours.

Food toxic infections are characterized by an increase in body temperature to 38-39 ° C, accompanied by chills, weakness, and headache. However, such severe intoxication does not always occur - sometimes the temperature rises slightly or remains normal.

The most typical manifestations of food poisoning are vomiting and diarrhea. These symptoms may appear separately from each other or simultaneously. Vomiting is usually accompanied by nausea and is usually a relief. Profuse, watery diarrhea - up to 10-15 times a day, accompanied by cramping pain in the umbilical area.

Then signs of dehydration join the overall picture of the disease. The initial sign of fluid loss is dry mouth; with a more severe course of the disease, the pulse quickens, blood pressure decreases, hoarseness, and cramps of the hands and feet appear. If convulsions occur, you must immediately call an emergency medical team.

Prevention of food poisoning

Prevention lies in observing the rules of personal hygiene: we must not forget about the “golden” rule - washing your hands before eating. It is not recommended to eat food that has expired, even if it has been stored in the refrigerator, since many toxins can survive at low temperatures. Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly. You should be especially careful when traveling to developing countries, where acute intestinal infections (including foodborne illnesses) are extremely common. On such trips, it is recommended to eat only freshly prepared hot meals, avoid raw vegetables, salads, unpeeled fruits, drink only boiled or disinfected water, and do not drink drinks with ice.

Desmol (bismuth subsalicylate) is an effective remedy for the prevention of traveler's diarrhea. The drug is taken orally at 524 mg (2 tablets) 4 times a day. It is safe to take for 3 weeks.

Dehydration due to food poisoning

Perhaps the most dangerous consequence of IPT is dehydration, which occurs as a result of significant fluid loss due to diarrhea and vomiting.

There are 4 degrees of dehydration.

Grade 1: fluid loss is 1-3% of body weight.

One feels only a dry mouth, the skin and mucous membranes have normal humidity. Hospitalization is usually not required. However, we must not forget about the need to replenish lost volume by drinking plenty of fluids. If you have severe nausea and vomiting, you should drink a tablespoon of liquid every 2-3 minutes.

Grade 2: fluid loss is 4-6% of body weight.

With degree 2 dehydration, the following symptoms are observed:

Intense thirst;
The mucous membranes of the mouth and nose are dry;
There may be some blueness of the lips and fingertips;
Hoarseness of voice;
Convulsive twitching of hands and feet.

The appearance of cramps is caused by the loss of electrolytes - substances that play an important role in many processes in the body, including the process of muscle contraction and relaxation.

There is also a slight decrease in turgor.

Turgor – This is the degree of elasticity of the skin, it depends on the amount of fluid in the tissues. Turgor is determined as follows: two fingers form a skin fold - most often on the back of the hand, the front surface of the abdomen or on the back surface of the shoulder; then they release it and watch the time of expansion. Normally and with the first degree of dehydration, the fold straightens instantly. With degree 2 dehydration, the fold can straighten out in 1-2 seconds.

The volume of urine excreted decreases slightly.

You can replenish lost fluid with degree 2 dehydration through the mouth. However, if seizures occur, you should immediately seek medical help.

Grade 3: fluid loss – 7-9% of body weight.

The patient's condition is serious.
Turgor is significantly reduced - the fold straightens out in 3-5 seconds.
The skin is wrinkled.
Convulsive contractions of the muscles of the arms and legs.
The amount of urine excreted is significantly reduced.

Dehydration of the 3rd degree requires immediate hospitalization.

Grade 4: loss of 10% or more fluid. In fact, it is a terminal state. It occurs very rarely - mainly in cholera.

At food poisoning Grade 3 and 4 dehydration does not occur.

Dysbacteriosis due to food toxic infection

Abundant loose stools for several days can lead to a disruption in the quantitative and qualitative composition of bacteria living in the intestines - dysbacteriosis. Most often, dysbiosis manifests itself as chronic diarrhea and requires special treatment.

Diet for food poisoning

An important component of treatment is diet. If diarrhea persists, therapeutic diet No. 4 is recommended, which is characterized by a low content of fats and carbohydrates with a normal protein content and a sharp limitation of any irritants of the gastrointestinal tract. Also excluded are foods that can cause flatulence (increased formation of gases in the intestines).

wheat crackers, thinly sliced and not very toasted;
soups with low-fat meat or fish broth with the addition of cereals: rice, semolina or egg flakes; as well as finely pureed boiled meat;
lean soft meat, poultry or boiled fish;
low-fat freshly prepared cottage cheese;
eggs no more than 2 per day in the form of soft-boiled or steamed omelet;
porridge with water: oatmeal, buckwheat, rice;
vegetables only boiled when added to soup.

Products to exclude:

bakery and flour products;
soups with vegetables, in a strong fatty broth;
fatty meat, pieces of meat, sausages;
fatty, salted fish, canned food;
whole milk and other dairy products;
hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs;
millet, barley, pearl barley porridge; pasta;
legumes;
raw vegetables, fruits, berries; as well as compotes, jam, honey and other sweets;
coffee and cocoa with milk, carbonated and cold drinks.

After stool normalization, you can switch to therapeutic diet No. 2. It is somewhat milder than diet No. 4. In this case, the following is added to the diet:

day-old or dried bread. Non-food bakery products, cookies;
meat and fish can be cooked in pieces;
fermented milk products, including cheese;
eggs, other than hard-boiled eggs;
vegetables: potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, beets, pumpkin;
ripe fruits and pureed berries;
creamy caramel, marmalade, marshmallows, marshmallows, jam, honey>.

Treatment of food poisoning

Treatment mainly consists of replacing lost fluid. It is necessary to understand that with diarrhea and vomiting, not only water is lost, but also essential microelements, so it is wrong to replenish fluid with water. The drug “Regidron” is suitable for this - a powder containing all the necessary substances. The contents of the package are dissolved in 1 liter of boiled water; you must start drinking the solution as early as possible.

At 1 degree of dehydration, the volume of administered fluid is 30-50 ml/kg body weight. At grade 2 – 40-80 ml/kg body weight. The rate of fluid replenishment should be at least 1-1.5 liters per hour; You need to drink slowly in small sips.

If you are vomiting, you should try to drink a tablespoon every 2-3 minutes. If uncontrollable vomiting prevents you from drinking fluids, you need to call a doctor.

In addition to liquids, sorbent preparations are used - substances that bind toxic toxins and remove them from the body. Activated carbon, Smecta, Enterosgel, Polyphepam, etc. are suitable for this. Sorbents are taken 3 times a day.

NB! Antibiotics are not prescribed for food poisoning, since the cause is not a bacterium, but a toxin.

It is very important to remember that if you have a foodborne illness, you should not take Imodium (loperamide). This drug causes a significant slowdown in the elimination of intestinal contents, which can lead to greater toxicity and worsening of the disease.

Foodborne toxic infections (PTI), or food bacteriotoxicosis, belong to a group of acute infectious diseases caused by food poisoning in which opportunistic pathogenic flora producing exotoxins have multiplied. The course of PTI is accompanied by the following general symptoms:

intoxication,
dehydration,
acute gastroenteritis.

The prevalence of food bacteriotoxicosis is second only to ARVI, it is so ubiquitous. The danger of PTI is determined by:

frequency of mass outbreaks,
the likelihood of dehydration and/or infectious toxicological shock,
fatal outcomes, especially often among children and the elderly,
difficulties in detecting the source of toxins.

Causes of food poisoning

PTI – infections can be caused by many bacteria. Most often health problems arise due to:

Proteus vulgaris,
Staphylococcus aureus,
Clostridium perfringens,
Bacillus cereus,
representatives of the genera Klebsiella,
Clostridium difficile,
Citrobacter,
Enterobacter,
Enterococcus,

These and other pathogens are very common in nature, have strong resistance and can multiply outside the human body. Moreover, all of them, in a certain concentration, are part of the healthy intestinal microflora of both animals and humans. This is the difficulty of diagnosing and treating food poisoning, because sometimes it is difficult to isolate the causative agent of the disease. In addition, opportunistic microorganisms mutate under the influence of external factors, developing resistance to medications.

Sources of food poisoning

Sources of infection are sick animals and people. Among the latter, those suffering from purulent diseases (furunculosis, tonsillitis, etc.) are especially dangerous. If we talk about animals, the carriers of pathogenic bacteria are sheep, cows, and patients with mastitis.

In most specified cases, patients secrete a pathogen, most often staphylococcus, which gets onto food when they are touched. There the bacteria multiply and the toxin accumulates.

Not only sick people are dangerous, but also carriers of infections. These are people who have recently recovered from the above-mentioned diseases. The period of contagiousness can be clearly established and one can be careful, but regarding the period of time when a person is simply a carrier, experts disagree.

There are a number of foodborne pathogens that animals and people excrete in their feces. They can be contracted through soil, water and anything else that may be accidentally contaminated with feces.

How do PTIs become infected?

The transmission mechanism of PTI is fecal-oral; bacteria enter the body through saliva, food or drink. For food bacteriotoxicosis to occur, a large concentration of pathogens must be “accepted” or sufficient time has passed for them to multiply in food or water. Most often, PTI occurs due to contamination (contamination) of the following products:

milk and dairy products,
canned fish in oil,
vegetable, fish, meat dishes,
confectionery products containing cream.

Any type of meat is a favorable environment for the proliferation of clostridia. Moreover, some options for preparing meat products and dishes - repeated heating, slow cooling - create comfortable conditions for the reproduction of vegetative forms and the germination of spores.

You can become infected with foodborne pathogens through any environmental objects:

household items,
patient care products,
water,
soil,
plants.

Products contaminated with staphylococci and other toxins taste and smell no different from safe, benign food.

Most of all, food bacteriotoxicosis “loves” the warm season, because then favorable conditions are created for pathogens for rapid reproduction and accumulation of toxins. Diseases have the nature of individual cases and outbreaks.

Human susceptibility to diseases

This figure is quite high. If people ate contaminated food, in all cases they will definitely get poisoned. Those in whose bodies there are additional factors contributing to intoxication, such as certain chronic diseases, weakened immunity and others, will especially suffer. Symptoms of food poisoning in children, people after surgery or who have been taking antibiotics for a long time are more pronounced, and poisoning is very severe.

The prevalence of disease from opportunistic bacteria depends on how many people have eaten the contaminated food. Therefore, outbreaks are familial in nature, and when food is contaminated in catering establishments, the diseases spread throughout the population.

Quite often this problem has a “group” character when the following are poisoned:

ship passengers,
tourists,
hotel residents,
team members.

PTI flares can be compared to an explosion; they manifest themselves quickly and spare no one. There was no particular connection to age or gender in this regard. The only thing that correlates with age is the type of food product contaminated with bacteria.

In addition to domestic reasons, there are also hospital cases that contribute to outbreaks of IPT. Due to long-term use of antibiotics in the gastrointestinal tract, favorable conditions are created for the abnormal reproduction of C. Difficile.

Beaches also pose some danger, since in warm weather many bacteria multiply well in the water. People who drink such water after a while suffer from an acute intestinal infection.

Mechanism of development of food toxic infections

When contaminated food enters the body, it contains not only pathogens, but also exotoxins that they managed to produce. Therefore, their incubation period is quite short; a person can feel the symptoms of poisoning after 30 minutes, but most often this happens after 2-6 hours.

How the disease manifests itself depends on what toxins predominate in the body and their “dose” contained in the food consumed.

Enterotoxin

It can be heat-stable and heat-labile, binds to epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract, affects the fermentation systems of epithelial cells. Enterotoxin activates the production of the enzymes guanyl cyclase and adenyl cyclase, which change the cells of the mucous membrane. The formation of intestinal hormones, histamine, and prostaglandins is also accelerated. As a result of all this, the secretion of salts and fluid into the lumen of the intestines and stomach increases, diarrhea and vomiting develop.

Cytotoxin

It disrupts the protein synthetic processes of cells and damages their membranes. Thus, the permeability of the intestinal wall and various toxic substances (enzymes, lipopolysaccharides) of bacterial origin increase, and sometimes the bacteria themselves easily pass through it. Intoxication begins, microcirculation of the mucous membrane is disrupted, and inflammation occurs.

We conclude: the manifestations of PTI, provoked by bacteria that produce only enterotoxin, are not so severe. Most often, this disease is not accompanied by serious inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa. But if you are unlucky enough to eat foods with enterotoxins and exotoxins, the disease is much more severe. It is accompanied by fever and inflammatory changes in the gastrointestinal mucosa.

Usually, IPT treatment quickly produces positive results. When the bacteria are removed, the effect of their toxins stops literally immediately. Additionally, medications are taken to inactivate unbound toxin molecules.

However, under certain conditions, food poisoning can torment the patient for quite a long time. This happens if, due to some current or experienced disease, the antibacterial protection of the small intestine does not work well in the body. It is also especially difficult:

who have undergone gastrectomy,
patients with malnutrition,
suffering from blind loop syndrome.

Symptoms of food bacteriotoxicosis

Poor health makes itself felt after different periods of time - from half an hour to 6 hours. The symptoms of PTI, which are caused by different bacteria, are similar, so we will summarize them in one section.

It all starts with

nausea,
vomiting,
diarrhea,
severe abdominal pain.

Most often, vomiting cannot be stopped; it is long-lasting and debilitating. Diarrhea often appears simultaneously with vomiting, the stool is very watery, to the point that a person runs to the toilet up to 15 times a day.

increase in body temperature,
short-term redness of the skin,
headache,
malaise, weakness.

After 12-24 hours, the body temperature returns to normal, and the skin turns pale and even has a bluish tint. The tongue becomes covered with a gray-white coating.

There are disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system:

bradycardia or tachycardia,
lowering blood pressure,
systolic murmur at the apex of the heart,
Heart sounds are muffled.

In some cases, the patient may lose consciousness. Repeated vomiting and diarrhea cause dehydration, acidosis and demineralization. Sometimes observed:

leg and arm cramps,
decreased diuresis (urine output),
decreased skin turgor.

If timely and competent assistance is provided, these phenomena quickly stop. In general, such symptoms in an aggravated form are observed for up to 3 days.

Complications can be caused by dehydration - shock occurs. Acute heart failure also sometimes occurs. Other complications depend on the individual characteristics of the victim’s body.

The prognosis is often favorable; deaths are very rare and occur not from the poisoning itself, but from complications caused by it.

For the diagnosis of PTI, the following clinical and epidemiological factors are essential:

acute onset, the presence of dominant signs of gastroenteritis, gastritis,
short-term nature or absence of hyperemia (redness of the skin),
short duration of the disease,
the group nature of the disease, its connection with eating the same food,
explosive nature of the disease.

For laboratory diagnosis of food toxic infections, the bacteriological method is important, which includes the study of the toxigenic properties of detected bacteria. For study, vomit, feces of the patient, as well as leftover food, which served as a source of bacteria, are used.

Treatment and prevention of PTI

The first stage of treatment of toxic infection is expressed in the following actions:

Carefully, repeatedly, until clean rinsing water comes out. To do this, use special solutions or even ordinary water.
Then you need to give the victim sorbents.
If there is no stool, you need to do a high (siphon) enema.
If diarrhea is severe, it must be treated with special medications.

You should definitely call an ambulance, because only in a hospital will they be able to determine the type of bacteria that a person has become infected with and provide him with further qualified treatment.

If grade 1-2 dehydration occurs and there is no uncontrollable vomiting, oral rehydration with special solutions is prescribed.
For grade 3-4 dehydration, polyionic solutions are administered intravenously.
A diet and vitamin complex are selected.

Uncomplicated IPT cannot be treated with antibiotics or other chemotherapy drugs.

Preventing IPT outbreaks is primarily the responsibility of the state, which must:

Require food industry enterprises to introduce modern food processing technologies.
Encourage the development and application of new methods of storage and canning of perishable products.
Strengthen requirements for food quality.
To improve the work of sanitary services at food industry, trade and catering enterprises.

A very effective preventive measure is to exclude those who have pustular inflammations on the skin, sore throats, stomatitis and other similar diseases from working with products. And the veterinary service needs to carefully monitor the health of dairy cattle.

Food poisoning is an acute gastrointestinal disease that occurs after eating foods containing microorganism toxins. Infection with the bacteria themselves may not occur in this pathology, so doctors are not always able to determine which infection caused vomiting and diarrhea.

It is very typical for foodborne toxic infections to develop pathological manifestations in several people at once, for example, after festive feasts or visits to catering establishments. However, the severity of symptoms may differ among people who eat the same food. It all depends on how many toxins were “eaten”, as well as on the state of the patients’ digestive tract.

Causes of food poisoning

We recommend reading:

There are quite a few bacteria that can produce toxins outside the human body. These substances can withstand temperature changes and persist for a long time in a nutrient medium, which is usually dairy, meat products, dishes with mayonnaise, as well as cream confectionery.

Microorganisms whose toxins cause the development of foodborne diseases include:

Most of these microorganisms are widespread in nature and live in the intestines of people and animals, so it is not difficult for potentially dangerous bacteria to get into food, for example, if a person cooking forgets about hygiene and sanitary rules. In addition, improper storage of food plays a certain role in the contamination of food with microorganisms and their active development (when ready-made dishes are stored together with raw foods or the temperature regime is not maintained). It is worth noting that the taste of food containing toxins, as a rule, does not change, that is, it is not always possible to recognize the danger by taste.

After entering the gastrointestinal tract, bacterial toxins begin to act on the epithelium of the mucous membrane of the digestive organs. Moreover, the features of this action are determined by the properties of the toxins: they can be enterotoxic and cytotoxic (the latter cause more severe forms of the disease). Thus, due to the influence of enterotoxins on the intestinal mucosa, the secretion of salts and fluid into the intestinal lumen increases, which causes vomiting, profuse and dehydration. After the intake of toxic substances into the body ceases and the initially affected epithelium is peeled off, the stool returns to normal.

But the mechanism of action of cytotoxins on the intestinal epithelium is somewhat different. These substances not only cause the secretion of water into the intestinal lumen, but also increase the permeability of the intestinal wall, due to which they are actively absorbed into the blood, penetrate into other organs and provoke more severe intoxication. In addition, cytotoxins damage the microvasculature of the intestinal wall and thereby lead to inflammatory changes in the mucous membrane. Recovery of the digestive tract after such a lesion usually takes longer.

The first symptoms of food poisoning appear within a few hours after eating contaminated food (rarely the incubation period increases to a day). The patient appears:

Hyperthermia (increased body temperature).
Nausea that brings relief.
(can be up to 10-15 times a day with cramping pain).
Severe weakness and headache.

In addition, with excessive vomiting and diarrhea, signs of dehydration develop:

Thirst.
Hoarseness of voice.
Dry skin.
Reduced blood pressure.
Rare urination (the urine is very concentrated).
In small children, the crown of the head sinks.
Cramps.

Treatment of food poisoning

The main goals of treating food poisoning are the rapid removal of toxins from the body and restoration of loss of fluid and salts. To achieve this, the following activities are carried out:

Rinsing the stomach with boiled water at room temperature or a weak soda solution.
Sorbents are prescribed - Sorbex, Smecta, and others.
Rehydration products are used - Regidron, Gastrolit, Orsol and others. You can prepare a rehydration solution yourself from 1 liter of boiled warm water, 3 g of ordinary rock salt and 18 g of granulated sugar.

Antibiotics and intestinal antiseptics are usually not used for poisoning with microbial toxins.

It is also important to remember that drugs that stop diarrhea (for example, Loperamide) are strictly contraindicated for foodborne illnesses. Toxic substances are gradually eliminated from the body with feces, so delaying bowel movements can provoke even greater intoxication of the body.

In severe cases, patients with food poisoning are hospitalized, and already in a medical institution they are given parenteral rehydration and detoxification, as well as other symptomatic treatment depending on the clinical picture.

Diet

Following a diet for foodborne illnesses is no less important than drug treatment. With proper nutrition, you can provide the best conditions for restoring the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract and normalizing digestive processes.

We recommend reading:

In the first days of illness, food should be as gentle as possible, both mechanically, chemically and thermally. That is, ready-made dishes should be made as homogeneous as possible, not spicy, not sour, at medium temperature (warm). As for the composition of the diet, protein foods should predominate in it, while fats and carbohydrates should be kept to a minimum. Thus, the best dishes for patients with foodborne toxic infection are low-fat soups with pureed meat and cereals, low-fat cottage cheese, slimy porridges, boiled low-fat minced fish, and steamed omelettes.

To avoid becoming a victim of food poisoning, you must:

Wash your hands always and everywhere (especially before eating). If this is not possible, be sure to have wet wipes with you.
Do not eat expired foods, even if they look edible.
Do not snack on “stall” food. And generally avoid various roadside catering establishments.
Purchase dairy products and sausages in hermetically sealed, labeled packages.
Do not buy ready-made salads in stores.
Do not feast on cakes and pastries in unverified cafes and pastry shops, especially do not buy such products secondhand.
Store food at the correct temperature.
Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating.

In addition, it is worth remembering that even the freshest milk, cottage cheese or sour cream from the market are potentially dangerous products that must be heat treated before consumption. And sausages, cutlets, sandwiches prepared at home in compliance with all the rules, on the beach or on a picnic in the hot season can very quickly become an excellent environment for the development of bacteria and the release of toxins by them, if you do not take care of a portable refrigerator.

Food poisoning infection (FTI)- a group of diseases of infectious origin that are caused by toxins. Such toxins can accumulate in poor quality food products. The disease has a rapid course and a favorable outcome.

The causative agents of PTI are representatives of opportunistic bacterial flora. Their number is in the dozens. Among the most common are known:

Proteus;
streptococcus;
enterobacteria;
vibrios;
pseudomonas.

After undergoing IPT, immune reactions are weakly expressed, so it is inappropriate to talk about the formation of immunity. In addition, cross-immunity is not formed in the case of foodborne toxic infection, so cases of recurrent illness are possible due to toxins from another microbial agent entering the human body.

An important difference between PTI is that the clinical picture of the disease develops under the influence of a toxin (exo- or endo), and not the microbial agent itself. The microbial toxin can accumulate in contaminated food. The amount of toxic substance entering the human body determines the severity of the disease.

All pathogens of foodborne toxic infections are resistant to environmental factors (low and high temperatures, ultraviolet radiation, insolation, humidity), so it is inappropriate to talk about the destruction of these microbial agents.

Transmission routes

The predominant route of transmission of foodborne pathogens is food (in accordance with the name). The water route of transmission is rarely confirmed, only in the case of mass infection of a large number of people, for example, when mixing tap water and sewage due to an accident.

Contact transmission is less significant than food transmission. However, if an outbreak of food poisoning develops in an organized group, insufficiently thorough cleaning of dishes and kitchen utensils can play a significant role in the spread of the disease.

Among food products that are potential factors for the transmission of foodborne illnesses, the greatest danger is represented by those that are not heat-treated before direct consumption. These include:

confectionery products (pastries, cakes, mousses, creams);
dairy products (whole milk, fermented baked milk, yogurt, kefir, yogurt);
any salads (fruit and vegetable, especially dressed with mayonnaise);
meat jelly, poorly fried meat, pate;
eggs and any dishes made from them with insufficient heat treatment.

Toxins and other waste products of microorganisms can accumulate in food even at low temperatures, that is, storing food in the refrigerator does not prevent the development of the disease. In some cases, the color, smell and appearance of food are not affected by the microbial toxin, which increases the risk of developing the disease.

In the human body, as a result of the ingestion of a microbial toxin and the microorganism itself, inflammatory changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract and the development of general intoxication. Inflammatory changes in the digestive canal lead to impaired absorption and digestion of nutrients, resulting in diarrhea and others. Changes in other organ systems are functional in nature, that is, there is no disruption of tissue structure.

Symptoms

Clinical manifestations of food poisoning are similar to many other diseases of infectious and non-infectious nature. Therefore, you should not engage in self-medication and self-diagnosis - only a specialist can distinguish PTI from one that requires immediate surgical intervention.

The following manifestations indicate food toxicity:

acute onset of the disease, literally half an hour to an hour after eating poor quality food;
increased temperature (sometimes up to 39-40 ° C) combined with chills;
sharp sudden weakness;
repeated episodes of vomiting recently eaten food in combination with painful nausea;
diffuse pain in the abdomen of a spastic nature - a person feels either constant pain or periodic spasms;
loose stools without pathological impurities (mucus, streaks of blood, pus).

With food poisoning, everyone who has eaten poor quality food gets sick at the same time. This disease is characterized by mass distribution - members of the same family, children eating in the school canteen, and people who have visited a certain public catering establishment are affected.

Possible complications

Only in persons with chronic pathology and young children (the first 3 years of life) in some cases a severe course of the disease is observed.

Repeated episodes of vomiting and diarrhea lead to the development of severe dehydration, the extreme degree of which is hypovolemic shock. As a result, severe disturbances in the functioning of the heart and kidneys are observed, including acute cardiac and/or renal failure and death of the patient.

Diagnostics

Treats foodborne illnesses infectious disease doctor. If necessary, emergency care is provided by a family doctor or pediatrician. Treatment begins in a hospital and ends at home. In cases of moderate to mild food poisoning (and the possibility of careful patient care), treatment can occur at home.

Diagnosis of PTI is based on clinical and epidemiological data. Due to the transience of the disease and the favorable outcome, microbiological diagnosis is rarely used, since it is not necessary.

Laboratory confirmation of food poisoning is necessary in cases of epidemiological investigation or forensic examination. To do this, a pathogen is searched for in suspicious products and biological fluids of the patient (vomit, feces) using a bacteriological diagnostic method. Confirmation of the diagnosis is the identification of the same microbe in food and in the patient’s body.

The prognosis of the disease in the vast majority of patients is favorable. Within 4-7 days the health condition is completely restored. For a doctor, treating food poisoning does not seem to be a difficult task.

An integrated approach to treatment is practiced, which includes medications, diet and protective regimen.

Urgent Care

Before the doctor arrives, the patient (or his relatives) can independently perform some actions that will alleviate the patient’s condition. These include:

bed rest;
refusal to eat;
drink plenty of small portions (boiled water or still mineral water).

You cannot take antipyretics, painkillers, or antispasmodics without a doctor’s prescription. Taking medications makes it difficult to make a preliminary diagnosis and, accordingly, adequate treatment for a particular patient.

Regime and diet

In the first 1-2 days from the onset of food poisoning, a complete refusal to eat and bed rest is required. As soon as the condition improves somewhat, expansion of the physical regime and dietary nutrition are allowed. For a damaged digestive canal, the following are useful:

porridge with water (rice, buckwheat, semolina);
pureed vegetable soups (not broth);
fermented milk products with low fat content;
boiled vegetables (potatoes or salad vinaigrette);
crackers;
weak tea with lemon, herbal infusions.

Dietary nutrition is gradually expanding: on days 3-4 you can eat lean meat, fish, etc.; after 7-8 days, the patient with PTI returns to his usual diet.

Drug treatment

Antibiotics are not indicated for IPT, since the main disorders in the body are caused by a microbial toxin. It is advisable to use intestinal antiseptics, which act only in the intestinal lumen and do not have a systemic effect.

> Food poisoning

This information cannot be used for self-medication!
Consultation with a specialist is required!

Pathogens of PTI and ways of its spread

Foodborne illness (FTI) is a type of food poisoning. The main etiological factor is opportunistic microorganisms, which in the external environment, when they come into contact with food, are capable of releasing toxic substances. Poisoning is caused by eating foods contaminated with microorganisms and their toxins. The causative agents of this pathology can be Escherichia coli, Proteus, staphylococcus, enterococcus, vibrio and many other microorganisms.

People who eat foods that are not fresh or those foods that have not been stored according to the rules are at risk of contracting PTI. Milk and dairy products, fish and poultry meat, dishes with potatoes, and canned food are extremely dangerous in this regard. Particularly dangerous is visiting public catering establishments (cafes, restaurants, canteens). Although sanitary and epidemiological surveillance carries out its function of identifying producers of poor-quality food products, the risk of contracting PTI in these establishments is much higher than when eating home-made food.

How does the clinical picture of the disease develop?

The clinical picture of foodborne toxic infection is manifested by acute gastroenteritis and general intoxication. The incubation period usually ranges from 1–3 hours to a day. But usually, within a few hours after eating contaminated food, the patient begins to experience nausea, vomiting, and “discomfort” in the stomach area. There may be pain in the abdomen, changes in stool - it becomes thinner and more frequent. Symptoms of general intoxication are sure to occur: increased body temperature, general weakness, lethargy, dizziness, headache. In severe cases, loss of consciousness may occur.

Possible complications and prognosis

The most dangerous complication of IPT is dehydration (dehydration), which can lead to acute cardiovascular failure, manifested by a sharp drop in blood pressure and deterioration of blood circulation through the capillaries. In this case, the patient must be hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

This pathology is especially dangerous in children, since the compensatory capabilities of the child’s body are quickly depleted, and the resulting dehydration and intoxication can lead to death. The prognosis for toxic infection is quite favorable - with a mild degree, cure occurs within 1–2 days. In severe cases, these periods increase slightly, but with proper treatment, in almost 100% of cases the prognosis is favorable.

How does a doctor diagnose PTI?

Infectious diseases doctors identify and treat them. First of all, if a toxic infection is suspected, the doctor checks the medical history for the consumption of potentially dangerous foods. After this, a general examination is carried out, the presence or absence of pain when palpating the abdomen, and increased peristalsis (active intestinal contractions) are determined. Clinical and biochemical blood tests and bacteriological analysis of vomit are performed.

Basic principles of treatment and prevention

It is preferable to treat IPT in an infectious diseases hospital, where it is possible to monitor the patient’s condition over time. Primary measures are aimed at removing toxins from the body, for which, in the first hours after the onset of the disease, the stomach is washed with clean lavage water. Next, adsorbents are prescribed - drugs that neutralize the remaining toxins in the intestines. In case of severe dehydration, infusion therapy is mandatory, in which saline solutions and glucose solution are injected into the vein. These procedures are aimed at correcting water and electrolyte balance. The patient is advised to drink more fluids. Antibiotics are not used in the treatment of IPT.

Prevention consists of preventing the consumption of potentially dangerous products, especially those that were stored in violation of the conditions specified on their packaging.