Here's expert advice on how to avoid, or treat, food poisoning after Tet.
Beware of increased food poisoning from excess food
With the mentality of “being hungry all year round, being full during the 3 days of Tet”, many people have the habit of storing large amounts of food during the traditional Tet holiday. Therefore, after Tet, every family’s refrigerator is always full of food.
When preparing food, improperly preserving leftovers can cause food to spoil and easily lead to food poisoning.
Food poisoning can happen to anyone, usually appearing 4-6 hours after poisoning, and 1-2 days after bacterial infection after eating contaminated food.
Sharing the signs of food poisoning, Dr. Ngo Chi Cuong - Head of Internal Medicine Department, Deputy Director of Professional Affairs, Medlatec General Hospital - said: The first signs of food poisoning include abdominal cramps, loose stools more than 3 times in 24 hours, nausea, vomiting, or other symptoms such as high fever over 39 degrees Celsius; symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dry skin, dry lips, sunken eyes...
More serious cases include rapid pulse, rapid breathing, lethargy, convulsions, etc. In young children, there may be dry lips, dry tongue, sunken eyes, and crying without tears.
3 ways to deal with food poisoning
When poisoned, if not treated promptly, the disease will progress severely and can leave dangerous complications such as sepsis, organ failure, electrolyte disturbances, and in serious cases, life-threatening.
According to Dr. Cuong, food poisoning will begin within a few hours of bacteria entering the digestive system. Depending on the stage, symptoms can be treated in the following ways:
Within 4-6 hours after eating, if symptoms of food poisoning appear, the food is still in the stomach and has not yet reached the intestines, so it is necessary to urgently expel the contaminated food from the stomach.
The usual way to induce vomiting is to tickle the throat if the patient is conscious. Or you can give the patient diluted salt water to drink (2 tablespoons of salt mixed in a cup of warm water), then tickle the throat to stimulate vomiting.
If the patient is lethargic, unconscious, or may have convulsions, do not induce vomiting to prevent choking.
People with diarrhea should drink plenty of water, not milk. Mix 1 liter of water with 1 packet of Orezol, or if you don't have an Orezol packet available, mix ½ teaspoon of salt with 4 teaspoons of sugar in 1 liter of water and give it to the patient to avoid dehydration. In addition, drinking plenty of water also helps neutralize toxins in the body.
In case of severe poisoning with signs of vomiting, repeated diarrhea, headache, numb lips, rash..., go to a medical facility immediately for timely emergency treatment.
5 principles to avoid food poisoning
To avoid health "incidents" caused by food poisoning, Dr. Cuong advises you to "pocket" the following 5 principles:
Choose fresh, clean food with clear origin.
Store food properly, raw food and cooked food must be kept separate.
Eat cooked food and drink boiled water. If processed food is stored in the refrigerator, it should be reheated before eating, but should not be reheated many times. Do not eat spoiled food. Soak and wash vegetables before eating raw.
Wash your hands thoroughly before preparing and eating.
Keep tools and processing area clean.
In addition, if you have to go out to eat, you should choose clean, reputable restaurants that ensure food hygiene and safety.
