Food poisoning can be harmful particularly food poisoning after eating. How to treat food poisoning can be answered by taking the required precautions.
Food poisoning is a common occurrence in several countries and many die on account of it. Both adults and children do face this health issue. Food poisoning after eating is of much concern to healthcare providers.
Food poisoning can be very unpleasant as well even for a fit as well as a healthy person. In fact, it can sometimes cause serious illness and also death.
Most people are of the view that food poisoning occurs in restaurants, cafes, and fast food outlets but it can also occur while eating home food. Stale food should be avoided as well as uncovered food.
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How to treat food poisoning?
Wash the hands
Wash the hands thoroughly with soap as well as hot water, and dry them before handling food, as well as after handling raw foods which include meat, fish, eggs as well as vegetables. Also, touching the bin, going to the toilet, blowing one’s nose, or touching animals, including pets.
Wash worktops
Wash worktops before as well as after preparing food, particularly after they have been touched by raw meat, including poultry, raw eggs, fish as well as vegetables. There is no need to use antibacterial sprays: hot, soapy water is fine.
Wash dishcloths
Wash dishcloths as well as tea towels regularly and let them dry before making use of them again. Dirty, damp clothes happen to be the perfect place for germs to breed.
Use separate chopping boards
Use separate chopping boards for raw food as well as ready-to-eat food. Raw foods can contain harmful bacteria that spreads very easily to anything that they touch, including other foods, worktops, chopping boards as well as knives.
Keep raw meat separate
It is especially important to keep raw meat away from ready-to-eat foods, such as salad, fruit as well as bread. This is so as these foods will not be cooked before one eats them. This way any bacteria that get onto the foods will not be killed.
Store raw meat on the bottom shelf
Always cover raw meat and store it on the bottom shelf of the fridge, where it cannot touch other foods or drip onto them. This way it is possible to control food poisoning after eating.
Cook food thoroughly
Cook food thoroughly and check that it is steaming hot all the way through. Make sure poultry, pork, burgers, sausages, and kebabs are well cooked until steaming hot, with no pink meat inside. Do not wash raw meat including chicken and turkey before cooking, as this risks spreading bacteria around the kitchen.
Freezing raw chicken does reduce levels of Campylobacter but does not eliminate it. The safest way to kill all traces of Campylobacter is by cooking the chicken thoroughly.
Keep the fridge below 5C
Keep the fridge temperature below 5C. By keeping food cold, it is possible to stop food poisoning bugs from growing.
Cool leftovers quickly
In case of cooked food not being eaten right away, cool it as quickly as possible (within 90 minutes) and then store it in the fridge or freezer. Make use of any leftovers from the fridge within two days.
Respect ‘use by’ dates
Avoid eating food that is past its ‘use by’ date even if it looks and smells okay. ‘Use by’ the dates are based on scientific tests that do show how quickly harmful bugs can develop in the packaged food.
Conclusion
It is important to ensure that healthy and well-cooked food is consumed to avoid food poisoning. This answers the question How to treat food poisoning?