Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is a gastrointestinal infection caused by eating contaminated food, which leads to a combination of symptoms, including on or more of the following:

• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Stomachache
• Bacterial Poisoning Signs

Staphylococcal poisoning – an attach of staphylococcal food poisoning occurs suddenly two to eight hours after eating the contaminated food. Generally, it lasts three to six hours, and is characterized by severe nausea and vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, sometimes headache and fever, and occasionally the appearance of blood and mucus in the stools.

Botulism poisoning – some 19 to 36 hours after ingesting the toxic food, dry mouth, double vision, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, dizziness, and headache occur. Difficulty in speaking, breathing, and swallowing will follow, and finally, if the victim is left untreated, his muscles will become very weak and the respiratory and heart muscles will eventually stop.

Clostridium porringers poisoning – mild gastroenteritis consisting of one or a combination of the following symptoms will occur; anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomachache. Occasionally, sever diarrhea and stomach pain, abdominal distension and gas, or bodily collapse may also occur.

Salmonella poisoning – twelve to 48 hours after eating food contaminated with salmonella, the victim usually suffers a mild stomachache or discomfort with minimal diarrhea lasting less than a day. Fever may accompany the other discomforts for a day.

Nonbacterial Poisoning Signs

Mushroom poisoning – the two most common offenders amount mushrooms are those producing the poisons muscarine and phalloidin. The symptoms of poisoning due to the muscarine producing mushroom begin two hours after ingestion, with tearing of the eyes, salivation, sweating, abnormal contraction of the pupils, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, vertigo, confusion, and eventually coma and sometimes convulsions. Without treatment, patients die in a few hours, while with treatment recovery is usually within 24 hours. Symptoms of poisoning by the phalloidin producing mushroom occur within 6 to 24 hours of consumption. The symptoms are the same as those of muscarine poisoning except that the victim either urinates frequently or cannot urinate at all. Jaundice occurs in half of all cases within 5 to 8 days.

Fish poisoning – ciguatera poisoning occurs as a result of eating fish such as snapper, sea bass, barracuda, and amberjack head caught off Florida or the West Indies, or from the Pacific, that have consumed certain unicellular organisms. The poisoning first reveals itself in such symptoms as stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that last 6 to 17 hours. A rash, numbness in the hands and feet, may also occur. The poisoning may render the sufferer unable to work for months. Tetradotoxin poisoning – manifests symptoms similar to ciguatera poisoning; it results from eating the puffer fish of the Pacific Ocean. Scombrid – poisoning results from eating tuna, mackerel, bonito, mahi-mahi, bluefish, or albacore, and occurs as a result of bacterial decomposition after the fish is caught. It causes an immediate reaction of facial flushing and can also produce nausea, vomiting, pain around the abdomen, and a rash within a few minutes of eating it. Symptoms last less than 24 hours.

Shellfish poisoning – from June to October (especially on the Pacific and New England coasts), mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops may ingest a poisonous unicellular organism that produces a substance toxic to human nervous system that is not destroyed by cooking. Five to 30 minutes after ingestion, the area around the mouth becomes numb. Nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps develop, followed by muscle weakness and paralysis of the arms and legs. Death from paralysis of the respiratory muscles may ultimately occur.

Contaminant poisoning – chemical poisoning may occur from eating unwashed fruit and vegetables sprayed with insecticides. Vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea are common symptoms.