A discussion of food poisoning remedies is always challenging. Some people do recover from food poisoning without medical intervention, but for others, a bout of food poisoning can be much more serious and it is possible that life is risked if traditional medical treatment is ignored. This is especially the case among medically vulnerable populations like young children, the elderly, people with suppressed immune systems, and pregnant women. Even with perfectly healthy adolescents and adults, sometimes worst-case scenarios occur. It therefore must be the advice of any reputable article on food poisoning to suggest the most important remedy is doctor care, and quite frequently the use of antibiotics, antifungal or antiparisitic medications.
When people first begin to show symptoms of food poisoning they may have vomiting and/or diarrhea, and many people could have a fever. In addition to doctor care, the most important food poisoning remedies focus on restoring body fluids that are lost. This means taking in liquids, preferably those with an electrolyte balance, that will keep the body hydrated. Rest is important too, since any activity uses the body’s liquid and may cause faster depletion.
At first, food poisoning often looks like stomach flu, and it’s been stated that many cases of “stomach flu” are actually mild food poisoning, especially with salmonella or listeria bacteria. The trouble is, it’s often hard to tell whether illness is the result of virus or a known agent that results in food poisoning. Sometimes this is made easier if a lot of people get sick at the same time, or if there is a known contaminated agent that has been consumed. This scenario doesn’t always occur.
In seeking out other food poisoning remedies, understanding underlying cause of illness can be important, but since the main remedy may be doctor care and fluid intake, it’s important to observe some warning signs that illness is too extensive for home treatment. These include fever over 101 degrees F (38.33 degrees C), and inability to keep down any liquids. Signs of growing fever, confusion, delusional thinking, extreme lethargy or seizures are indications not to wait in getting doctor care.
It is especially vital that infants, young children, immunocompromised patients and the elderly see a doctor right away if vomiting won’t stop within a couple of hours and no fluids can be taken. A person with these symptoms may need food poisoning remedies in a hospital. Nausea can be treated with anti-emetic drugs, and dehydration is usually treated with intravenous fluids.
Once vomiting or diarrhea has slowed, it might still take a few days for doctors to confirm the presence of the bacterial or other agent that is requiring food poisoning remedies. For this reason, they often place patients on what are called broad-spectrum antibiotics, which treat a variety of conditions. Continued rest and fluid is needed, though this can usually take place at home, and people are advised to immediately return to a doctor if symptoms begin to worsen again.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of food poisoning remedies. People should adhere to instructions for safe food handling, cooking meat to appropriate temperatures, and using proper refrigeration. Risky foods like the potato salad that has been sitting in the sun or fruits or vegetables that haven’t been thoroughly washed or properly prepared just aren’t worth eating. Food poisoning is not simply a benign illness and it may have severe consequence for a small percentage of the population. Understanding and observing food safety is ultimately the best preventative remedy.
