Rules for the provision of first aid for food poisoning: an algorithm of actions and tips. First steps for food poisoning Help for food poisoning

When eating poor-quality food products, their improper preparation and storage, food poisoning can occur - food poisoning. Poor quality refers to products infected with various microorganisms and their toxins. In a separate group, mushroom poisoning can be distinguished.

The most dangerous are products of animal origin (meat, fish, sausages, canned food, milk and products from it - confectionery with cream, ice cream). Shredded meat is especially easily infected - pates, minced meat, jelly.

The first symptoms of food poisoning may appear 2-4 hours after ingestion (in some cases even 30 minutes), and may take 20-26 hours. This largely depends on the type and dose of the toxin and the state of the human immune system.

Typical signs of food poisoning are:

  • general malaise,
  • nausea,
  • repeated vomiting
  • cramping abdominal pain,
  • frequent loose stools
  • pallor of the skin,
  • thirst,
  • lowering blood pressure,
  • acceleration and weakening of the pulse,
  • pallor of the skin,
  • an increase in body temperature (chills may appear),
  • sometimes convulsions and fainting are possible.

Measures taken at the first sign of poisoning are aimed at maximizing the removal of toxins from the body and preventing dehydration.


These measures are usually enough to cope with the manifestations of food poisoning. But you don’t know what exactly caused the attack, and it’s impossible to cope with many toxins on your own at home.

Be sure to call an ambulance, if:

  • A child under 3 years old, a pregnant woman or an elderly person was poisoned.
  • Poisoning is accompanied by diarrhea more than 10 times a day, indomitable vomiting or increasing weakness.
  • Poisoning is accompanied by uncharacteristic symptoms.

In severe poisoning caused by pathogens such as salmonella, shigella, botulism bacilli, etc., the symptoms characteristic of ordinary poisoning may be absent.

For example, after eating food contaminated with botulism bacilli, you may experience general malaise, headache, dizziness. At the same time, the body temperature is normal, the stomach is swollen, but there is no stool. A day later, signs of severe CNS damage appear: double vision, drooping of the upper eyelid, paralysis of the soft palate. Bloating increases, urinary retention is observed.

First aid for poisoning with botulinum bacilli also comes down to gastric lavage, taking drugs that bind toxins and laxatives. But the most important is the introduction of anti-botulinum serum, which is possible only in stationary conditions. And, therefore, the most important thing in such poisoning is to deliver the patient to a medical facility on time.

Poisoning occurs when toxic components are introduced into the body. This concept refers to the penetration of pathogenic organisms or toxic substances through the respiratory system, mouth, skin. The most dangerous is poisoning with animal products, confectionery, mushrooms, and chemicals. To prevent a serious health problem, you need to know how first aid is given for food poisoning, what can be done at home before the medical service arrives.

Options for poisoning

There are such types of poisoning:

  • food;
  • mushrooms (this option is distinguished into a separate category);
  • medicines;
  • pesticides;
  • alcoholic;
  • carbon monoxide, ammonia fumes.

In the process of aggressive exposure to toxic substances and toxins, all systems of the human body suffer, but the most negative impact is on the digestive, respiratory and central nervous systems. The consequences of poisoning are often the most serious, up to the death of the patient. It is professional first aid that will help save a person and his health.

First steps in case of poisoning

It does not matter which drug became the main irritant and provoked poisoning, there is a certain algorithm of actions:

  • exclude contact with a hazardous component;
  • try to remove the poison from the body as quickly as possible;
  • carry out resuscitation, if necessary;
  • maintain respiratory function;
  • call qualified help.

It is important to get information about what exactly was the cause of the current condition. This will help health workers build the right algorithm for therapeutic measures.

Despite the huge number of options for poisoning, food remains the leader. Let's figure out how to act in case of penetration of a food toxin into the body.

Various types of food poisoning

Acute food poisoning is a natural response of the body to the introduction of pathogenic organisms along with food. The reaction to the penetration of bacteria and toxins is specific for each individual. The greatest threat of food poisoning is death. This can happen when poisoning with fish products and mushrooms. Viruses, bacteria, toxins can provoke poisoning.

There are such types of food poisoning:

  1. Food poisoning - occur when using products with an expired shelf life, as well as those that have been stored in violation of standards.
  2. Non-infectious toxic poisoning - occur when natural or synthetic toxins enter the body with food. It can be poisons of dangerous berries, mushrooms and chemicals.

Toxic poisoning should only be treated in a hospital setting. This variant of poisoning is very dangerous with serious health consequences.

About Polisorb for babies

Symptoms of food poisoning

Given the product that provoked the poisoning, three main groups of symptoms can be distinguished. This is a symptomatology of dehydration, intoxication, an inflammatory process in the organs of the digestive system.

Let's look at each spectrum of symptoms in more detail.

With the manifestation of lesions of the digestive tract, the following painful symptoms are distinguished:

  • nausea, vomiting;
  • soreness of the abdomen;
  • discomfort in the digestive tract.

Symptoms of intoxication increase gradually, with the penetration of toxins into the bloodstream and spread to organs and systems.

The severity of the patient's condition depends on the degree of intoxication. The leading symptoms are the following manifestations:

  • weakness;
  • lethargy;
  • nausea;
  • chills;
  • frequent breathing;
  • aches in muscles and bones;
  • headache;
  • increased heartbeat;
  • drowsiness.

Symptoms can be expressed to a greater or lesser extent, on the basis of this, light, moderate and severe stages of poisoning are distinguished.

Dehydration is manifested by the following symptoms:

  • infrequent urination;
  • indigestion by the type of diarrhea;
  • nausea and vomiting;
  • tachycardia;
  • dry mucous membranes;
  • indomitable thirst;
  • marked weakness.

There are four degrees of dehydration, which are determined by the severity of the main symptoms.

First aid if food poisoning

Everyone has experienced food poisoning. Most likely, the reasons for this condition is the use of low-quality food.

The disease begins acutely: an hour and a half after the penetration of the toxin into the body. A person experiences discomfort in the abdomen, vomiting, headache. In the severe stage, the intensity of vomiting and diarrhea increases, the condition worsens, and a breakdown appears.

To improve the condition of the victim, it is necessary to implement the following set of measures:

  1. It is important to urgently wash the stomach. To do this, prepare a weakly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate. The victim must drink about a liter of liquid and provoke vomiting. To do this, press on the back of the tongue with a spoon or finger. This is done until the patient begins to vomit with clean water, without the admixture of food debris.
  2. The victim must be given an adsorbent. There are many high-quality drugs, but one of the most effective is still Activated Charcoal. The dosage calculation is simple: one tablet per ten kilograms of weight. If a person weighs seventy kilograms, he will need to take seven tablets of the drug. In addition to coal, Polyphepan, Sorbeks, Smekta, Enterosgel are widely used.
  3. Whether or not you have diarrhea, it is recommended that you give an enema to cleanse the lower intestines. If for some reason it is impossible to make an enema, you can take a saline solution. The effect of drinking will come in about an hour.
  4. The patient needs to be warmed, as most likely he will feel chills. For these purposes, put on warm socks, wrapped in a warm blanket.
  5. To replenish the lost fluid, it is recommended to give the patient a drink. If the use of liquid provokes vomiting, you need to drink in small doses, a teaspoonful.
  6. Do not feed the victim. After washing the stomach and stopping vomiting, it is allowed to drink warm tea or coffee.

mushroom poisoning

This situation can happen if unfamiliar mushrooms were eaten, when a poisonous specimen gets into the basket, when eating edible but spoiled mushrooms. Mushroom poisoning is possible when using the product out of season (in hot summer weather). Of particular danger is the use of pale grebe. A fatal outcome can happen even if the only dangerous edible mushroom is caught. Prolonged heat treatment does not destroy the toxic substances of grebes.

How to treat poisoning in adults

The first symptoms of poisoning may appear a couple of hours after eating mushrooms. Signs of intoxication are growing rapidly: a person suffers from debilitating vomiting, diarrhea, severe pain in the abdomen, head. There are symptoms of disturbances in the work of the central nervous system: restlessness, convulsions, hallucinations. The period of excitement is replaced by a decrease in activity, lethargy, indifference. There is a fading of the activity of the heart, a drop in blood pressure to critical numbers, a decrease in body temperature, symptoms of obstructive jaundice. If you do not provide professional assistance, there is a high probability that the victim will die. First aid is the most important action before the arrival of the medical team:

  • it is important to rinse the stomach with a solution of potassium permanganate as soon as possible and induce vomiting;
  • it is desirable to add preparations - adsorbents to the solution;
  • the patient is given an enema, laxatives are given;
  • after basic manipulations, it is required to warm the patient, give a hot drink;
  • it is necessary to deliver the victim to the hospital as quickly as possible, the outcome of the poisoning largely depends on this.

The essence of home therapy

The main goal of home treatment is to remove toxins and balance the water-alkaline balance. After cleansing the stomach and intestines, you need to think about replenishing the lost water and minerals. This can be done in two ways: through the mouth and intravenously. In mild and moderate conditions, it is recommended to use special solutions "Regidron", "Citraklyukosol", "Glyukosolan". The special composition of the preparations will make it possible to replenish the lost minerals and fluid. 1 drug is selected.

To reduce pain, take enterosorbents ("White Coal", "Enterosgel", "Polysorb"), antispasmodics ("No-shpa" "Duspitalin"), protective agents for the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract ("Kassirskogo Powder").

With diarrhea, it is recommended to take the antidiarrheal drug "Intestopan", "Inetriks". To restore the microflora, the enzymes "Mezim", "Festal", "Panzinorm" and preparations with microflora "Biococktail NK", "Normaze" are recommended.

About digitalis intoxication and methods of treatment

When providing emergency assistance, you cannot:

  • give the patient carbonated water to drink;
  • try to induce vomiting in an unconscious patient, in the presence of convulsive contractions of any intensity;
  • give yourself an antidote to neutralize toxins;
  • give laxatives if poisoned by chemicals.

Almost always, the patient must be treated in a hospital, and if the doctor insists on hospitalization, it is wrong to refuse this.

You should definitely call for medical help if:

  • the victim is a small child under the age of three, a pregnant woman or an elderly person;
  • the condition is characterized by repeated diarrhea or indomitable vomiting, worsening of the general condition;
  • the patient has severe comorbidities;
  • join atypical manifestations.

Poisoning is a rather serious condition that can lead to the most unfortunate consequences, so do not self-medicate, get qualified help.

Food poisoning is a very common occurrence among adults and children, especially during the hot season. The source of the disease is poor-quality or stale foods that a person has eaten. Such intoxication develops very quickly and exhausts the human body.. To minimize unpleasant consequences, it is necessary that actions in case of food poisoning be coordinated and clear.

The first signs of food poisoning

Any food poisoning is manifested by similar symptoms, so it is not difficult to recognize such intoxication:

  1. The person feels severe weakness and general malaise.
  2. Worried about nausea, which quickly develops into indomitable vomiting.
  3. Diarrhea develops. The stools are watery, fetid, sometimes with mucus and blood impurities.
  4. The temperature is rising. This condition is accompanied by severe chills and a feeling of pressure on the skull.
  5. Blood pressure drops, a person sweats a lot.

Help with food poisoning

All actions aimed at providing first aid for food poisoning are divided into several successive stages.

Gastric lavage

The first step in food intoxication is gastric lavage.. It is washed with a large volume of liquid. For the procedure, you can use the following solutions:

  • soda solution - a teaspoon without a mountain per liter of boiled water;
  • salt solution - a full teaspoon per liter of pure water;
  • slightly pinkish solution of potassium permanganate. Manganese is diluted in a small amount of water, and then added to the total volume for gastric lavage. This helps prevent burns of the mucosa with undissolved crystals.

The procedure is performed until the waste water is clean. without any leftover food.

Flushing is indicated even if there is vomiting. The gastric mucosa must be well cleansed.

Adsorbents

After the urge to vomit became less frequent, give any adsorbents that are at hand. It can be atoxyl, enterosgel, polysorb, smectite or activated carbon at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. It is more convenient for children to give more modern sorbents, since it will be difficult for a child to swallow the required amount of activated charcoal. If, after taking these drugs, vomiting resumed again, the reception is repeated at the same dosage.

Adsorbents neutralize the harmful effects of toxins and contribute to their gentle removal from the body.

Cleansing enema

Cleansing the intestines with an enema is necessary to prevent the absorption of toxins into the mucosa. and from there into the bloodstream. For a cleansing enema, you can use different liquids:

  • Starch water - a teaspoon of potato starch is brewed in one liter of water. Such a liquid well envelops the walls of the intestine.
  • Chamomile decoction - a tablespoon of pharmaceutical chamomile is poured into a liter of water, brought to a boil, insisted for 20 minutes and used for its intended purpose. The solution has an anti-inflammatory effect.
  • A solution of salt or soda - 0.5 teaspoon of a substance is dissolved in a liter of water.

It is possible to use a solution of the pharmaceutical drug rehydron for a cleansing enema, this tool helps to cleanse the intestines well and prevents dehydration.

Enema fluid should be at room temperature or slightly warmer. It is unacceptable to use hot water, which will promote the absorption of toxins into the intestinal mucosa.

Normalization of body temperature

Very often, food poisoning occurs with a strong increase in body temperature. This is a protective reaction of the body's immune system to the penetration of pathogens. Prolonged hyperthermia adversely affects organs and systems, therefore, urgent steps must be taken to normalize the temperature.

The patient is given tablet preparations containing paracetamol, ibuprofen or nimesulide. The dosage of medicines is standard, as indicated in the instructions for use.

It is not recommended to use antipyretic drugs in syrups, suspensions or soluble powders. All of these forms of medicine contain flavorings, colorants and flavor enhancers, which are not very good for an irritated stomach.

Dehydration Prevention

With food poisoning, the victim leaves a lot of fluid, which contributes to the development of dehydration and severe intoxication of the body. In order to prevent dehydration, the patient is often given a drink in small volumes. It can be decoctions of raisins or dried apricots, green apple compote. You can give ordinary clean water, the main thing is that it be without gas. For soldering, a solution of rehydron is used. This solution is given with caution, especially to children, it is very unpleasant in taste and may provoke vomiting. To replenish the fluid in a patient with intoxication, you can use a solution of honey in water, the resulting drink tastes good and allows you to quickly restore the electrolyte balance in the body.

Complete peace

The key to a quick recovery after food poisoning is to maintain a calm regimen. The patient is shielded from all negative emotions, put in a comfortable bed and warmly cover. You can draw the curtains on the windows so that the sunlight does not irritate your eyes.

A person with poisoning should lie on his side and be constantly under the supervision of household members - this will avoid choking with vomit.

Organization of dietary nutrition

The quick recovery of a poisoned person is directly related to a properly organized diet. On the first day after the onset of the acute phase of food poisoning, a person is not given food at all only offer a lot of drinking. For the victim, a day of fasting is not at all critical, he is not up to dinner at this time, especially since his appetite is completely absent. On the second day after the normalization of the condition, they begin to gradually introduce products:

  • The first day - crackers or biscuits with strong sweet tea. Baked apples of green varieties, you can give mashed ripe bananas.
  • The second day - viscous cereals on the water with a little salt and sugar. Use oatmeal, buckwheat, rice. Cereals before cooking can be chopped a little with a blender, then they will be better boiled and digested faster.
  • The third day - the second broths from chicken, veal, rabbit meat. You can cook low-fat soup, without the addition of spices and tomato.
  • Fourth day - mashed potatoes with a little butter, chicken steam cutlets.

Starting from the fifth day, you can slowly introduce dairy products into the diet - milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and bifidokefir. Milk is first diluted in half with water and boiled cereals and milk soups. Casseroles are made from cottage cheese.

In the rehabilitation period after poisoning, doctors recommend drinking bifidokefir. This delicious drink allows not only to quickly restore strength, but also to fill the gastrointestinal tract with beneficial microflora. You can drink up to one liter of bifidokefir per day.

During the recovery period, it is necessary to take drugs that contain bifidobacteria. They will help to quickly populate the stomach and intestines with beneficial microorganisms.

How to prevent food poisoning


Any disease is easier to prevent than to try to cure later.
. This rule is especially true for food intoxications. To protect yourself from poisoning, it is enough to follow the basic rules:

  1. Do not buy products in spontaneous markets and from hands in places not designated for trade.
  2. It is good to thermally process meat and dairy products, fish and eggs.
  3. Do not use expired products and products in which the tightness of the packaging is broken.
  4. Prepare food for one or two times, especially in the summer.
  5. Wash your hands frequently, especially after going to the toilet and outside.

By following the rules of hygiene, you can protect yourself and your family from severe food poisoning.. But even if trouble has occurred and someone in the family has been poisoned, you need to pull yourself together and quickly provide emergency assistance.

The cause of poisoning is the ingestion of toxic components into the body, which negatively affect not a person, and in some cases provoke a fatal outcome. The poison penetrates in different ways - through the oral cavity or mucous membranes of the nose and eyes, through the lungs, skin, after snake and insect bites. First aid for poisoning depends on the method of penetration of the poisonous substance into the human body.

Carbon monoxide poisoning

A feature of the gas is the absence of color, aroma, as well as its severity relative to air. He is able to quickly penetrate obstacles, and many types of respirators can not cope with him.

The danger of defeat is that it has the ability to bind to hemoglobin, harming red blood cells. When exposed to hemoglobin, the latter loses its ability to carry oxygen to human tissues and organs, which leads to oxygen starvation, and then to hypoxia.

Symptoms

  • a person has headaches with nausea and dizziness;
  • patients complain of heaviness in the head, disorientation, audibility of noises in the organs of hearing;
  • pulse quickens, muscle weakness appears with drowsiness;
  • consciousness is often confused with pre-syncope, in some cases an increase in anxiety or euphoria is likely;
  • the skin becomes pale, there is severe shortness of breath.

When providing first aid, it is necessary to adhere to the following algorithm of actions:

  1. Eliminate the cause of the lesion and take the person to clean air. In such a situation, an active flow of oxygen is required.
  2. Ease breathing by removing clothing or tight clothing items.
  3. Place the victim in a horizontal position on their side.
  4. When in a state of consciousness, you should drink sweetened hot tea or give coffee.
  5. If consciousness is absent, bring a cotton swab with ammonia to the nasal cavity.
  6. In the absence of vital signs, perform resuscitation.

To exclude cases of poisoning, it is necessary not to allow overnight stays in the garage and not to use a gas-type burner in confined spaces for heating. You can not spend the night in vehicles if the engine is running, especially in a closed room.

Such damage to the body is associated with a violation of the digestive processes due to the use of low-quality toxic products. appears in the form:

  1. Toxic infections of a food nature due to the intake of products that are affected by pathogenic microorganisms. This is observed when eating stale food or in case of non-compliance with hygiene requirements and sanitation standards.
  2. Toxic lesions of a non-infectious type - toxins that enter the body become a source of negative phenomena. In particular, we are talking about chemicals and poisonous mushrooms with plants.

Symptoms

Signs of poisoning are pronounced, they arise quite quickly and actively develop:

  • patients complain of spasms and pain in the abdomen, nausea and the urge to vomit;
  • there is diarrhea, deterioration in general well-being, weakness and lethargy;
  • with severe intoxication, body temperature rises to 39 ° C or exceeds this level;
  • the pulse becomes more frequent, active salivation is observed;
  • breathing may be difficult, loss of consciousness is likely.


First aid for food poisoning

After food poisoning:

  1. Rinse the stomach, removing the remnants of food with toxins from it. The procedure is carried out with a soda solution. For its preparation 1 tbsp. l. soda is diluted in 1.5-2 liters of warm water after boiling. After taking a small amount, induce vomiting, and then repeat the action.
  2. Use sorbent preparations to prevent the absorption of harmful components into the blood. The most commonly used is activated charcoal. Dosage 1 tab. per 10 kg of body weight. You can use Enterosgel, Laktofiltrum, Smekta.
  3. Give the victim more fluids to compensate for losses due to vomiting and diarrhea. The norm is up to 3 liters per day. It is necessary to dilute 1 tbsp. l. salt in 1 liter of water or take Regidron.
  4. Do not eat during the first days after poisoning, and then follow a strict diet.

At the same time, it is not allowed to provoke vomiting if the patient is unconscious or there are suggestions of damage by acids and alkalis. In the latter case, immediate hospitalization is required.

For prevention purposes, hygiene should be observed - washing hands and avoiding violations in storing food or cooking. When buying products, check the expiration dates, the integrity of the packages, and the appearance. Eliminate the use of unboiled water and visits to dubious catering establishments.

Chemical poisoning

Chemicals can affect the body when using household chemicals, after using medicines. You can get poisoned by paints, chemical production materials. Poisonous components enter through the respiratory channels, the digestive system, upon contact with the skin and mucous membranes.

Symptoms

Symptoms depend on the specific method of exposure:

  1. Contact with chemical fumes causes shortness of breath and breathing problems. Along with acute respiratory failure, the channels experience the effect of a burn, and respiratory activity is likely to stop. The skin turns pale and blue, hallucinations occur, and the victim loses consciousness.
  2. If poisons enter the esophagus, then the throat, the digestive tract hurts, since the mucous membranes are burned. There is nausea, and in the vomit there are clots from the blood that has coagulated. They also appear in loose stools. There is dehydration.
  3. Getting on the skin, acids with alkalis can burn the surface. Penetrating under the epithelium, they begin to be absorbed into the blood, harming the internal systems. Intense pain is felt in places of burns, an allergy manifests itself in the form of itching, rash, redness. If the impact is strong, then the respiratory function fails and the heart rhythm is disturbed.

First aid for chemical poisoning

With such a lesion, it is necessary to quickly provide first aid and send the patient to the hospital. If chemical vapors are exposed, then the victim is taken to fresh air. If the damaging factor is unknown, then it is necessary to find it out as quickly as possible.

In case of poisoning with drugs and their entry into the digestive organs, one should:

  • clean the stomach by repeatedly washing with a solution of soda, followed by vomiting;
  • take sorbents and means of enveloping action;
  • transport the victim to a medical facility.

First aid mistakes

If you do not follow the principles and pre-medical nature, there is a high probability of disastrous consequences for the victim. In this regard, it is prohibited:

  1. Carry out procedures for gastric lavage if acid or alkali is ingested.
  2. Induce a gag reflex if the person who has been poisoned is not conscious. Otherwise, there is a risk that the respiratory channels will be blocked by vomit.
  3. Stimulate the activation of vomiting in patients with heart problems, in pregnant women with seizures.
  4. Use a laxative for acid or alkali type toxins.
  5. Take acid for alkaline intoxication and alkali for acid poisoning.

It is necessary to ensure the fastest possible first aid and the participation of physicians in case of any type of poisoning. Very often, the victims themselves are responsible for the incident, not observing the safety rules when working with hazardous substances.

Almost all of us have experienced food poisoning. The consequences of the fact that a person ate "something wrong" can occur in different forms. However, in any case, intoxication for a certain time “turns off” us from life with various manifestations that we want to deal with as soon as possible. What can you do to help yourself as effectively as possible? Moreover, competent first aid for food poisoning can save the victim from many troubles that he will definitely face if he behaves incorrectly when the first signs of intoxication are detected.

Of course, when the poisoned person lost consciousness, he began to have convulsions or vomiting and diarrhea does not stop and even becomes more frequent, then it is very important to hospitalize the patient as soon as possible. The same should be done if a very small child was poisoned. It is extremely dangerous to wash the baby's stomach at home on your own.

It is worth noting that of all the types of poisoning, food intoxication is the most common. These are rather acute conditions arising from the use, for example, of food in which there are toxins of any origin.

Food intoxications are divided into three types:

  • arising from the ingestion of poisonous insects, animals, fish, plants,
  • caused by certain chemicals that have entered the stomach.

Of these three types, the most common is the second option - PTI caused by pathogenic microbes and their metabolic products, toxins. Their causative agents are quite often:

  • protea,
  • klebsiella,
  • staphylococci,
  • clostridia,
  • citrobacter and others.

The sources of these microbes can be sick or healthy people who are carriers of bacteria, as well as animals. Getting on the product, microbes begin to actively multiply, releasing toxins, which often do not change the appearance and smell of food, especially in the early stages of its infection.

Symptoms of food poisoning in adults

Basically, food poisoning in adults manifests itself in this way:

  • spasms, pain in the stomach and along the intestines,
  • constant nausea,
  • vomit,
  • diarrhea,
  • gases, feeling that the intestines are bursting,
  • weakness, dizziness,
  • headache,
  • tachycardia,
  • visual impairment - blurry outlines of objects, double vision, a feeling of fog in the eyes,
  • sometimes there is a subfebrile temperature (up to 38 ° C).

In especially severe cases, there are:

  • loss of consciousness,
  • a sharp drop in blood pressure,
  • convulsions.

In this case, first aid for food poisoning should be as follows:

  • lay the patient on a flat surface
  • put his head on one side so that he does not choke on vomit,
  • make sure that he does not hurt himself with convulsions,
  • call an ambulance.

How quickly can food poisoning manifest itself? It all depends on the type of toxins with which it is caused. If poisonous mushrooms, plants are eaten, then literally after 15 minutes the first signs of intoxication will make themselves felt. When we are dealing with PTI, on average, the most “interesting” begins about a couple of hours after eating spoiled food.

However, these figures are approximate, because a lot determines:

  • the health status of the poisoned person,
  • his lifestyle,
  • what did he eat before
  • what medications did you take
  • whether alcohol or drugs were present.

In any case, the signs of poisoning will still manifest themselves, and the person and / or those around him must determine whether he is able to cope on his own or whether qualified medical assistance is needed. So that it doesn’t turn out that an ambulance was called, but I don’t want to go to the hospital. Then why did they bother the doctors if they were not going to be treated? This means that the condition is not so bad as to go to the hospital and the home option for first aid for food poisoning will help.

It is quite another matter when a small child was poisoned. Here, parents should definitely call the doctor, but they themselves should take measures to help their baby cope with intoxication.

First aid for a child with food poisoning

How to determine that your crumbs have acute food poisoning and you need to urgently call the hospital:

  • high temperature, up to 38 ° C, which does not subside for two hours,
  • increasing pain, abdominal cramps that do not go away after bowel movements and / or vomiting,
  • persistent urge to vomit, diarrhea,
  • more than 4-5 hours no urination,
  • high salivation,
  • difficulty breathing and swallowing
  • the skin has a bluish tint,
  • fainting.

Even if your child is showing signs of mild food poisoning, it's still worth calling the doctor for advice on what's best to do.

What do we call mild intoxication in a baby?

  • stool disorder, urge no more than 3-5 times a day,
  • short term vomiting
  • mild and transient fever.

What should be done in any case while you are waiting for a doctor or an ambulance?

  • Provide the crumbs with plenty of fluids, the one-time volume of which depends on the age of the baby. If the baby is only 1 month old, one teaspoon as a single dose will be enough. Older children need to be given more fluids.
  • Try if he is over two years old; at home, you can cause a gag reflex in a baby by pressing it on the root of the tongue with a clean finger or a teaspoon. This action must be repeated until the emetic waters become clear.
  • After the next attack of vomiting, lay the child on its side so that there is no sudden aspiration (sucking) of the contents of the stomach into the lungs.
  • When the stomach is lavaged and there is no urge to vomit, dehydration must be prevented by frequently giving the crumbs to drink.
  • Give a sorbent designed specifically for babies. Older children, 5-6 years old, are allowed to give activated charcoal, crushed and dissolved in water, at the rate of a tablet per kilogram of weight.

After the main symptoms of poisoning in the baby are stopped - at home or in the hospital - it is necessary to support his gastrointestinal tract with a sparing diet. With this question, consult a doctor who will help you make a menu suitable for the child's age.

First aid for an adult with food poisoning

Rendering in this case is reduced, first of all, to gastric lavage. For this purpose, you can use both ordinary water and special solutions. If not in the first aid kit, prepare a glucose-salt solution at home. For example, mix a teaspoon of salt and sugar in a glass of water.

If vomiting does not occur by itself, it is necessary to cause it by pressing yourself on the root of the tongue with two fingers. After the emetic solution becomes clear, gastric lavage can be stopped.

Now care must be taken to stop the absorption of toxins through the intestinal wall. Sorbents will help with this. The most popular is activated charcoal, it is drunk from the following calculation: for every 10 kg of body weight, 1 tablet.

If, after taking coal, the patient feels vomiting, let him endure 20-30 minutes for the sorbent to begin its action. Then you can pull everything out, and when everything calms down, take coal again. Usually, after the second attempt, there is no urge to vomit, and coal actively collects the remnants of toxins in the intestines.

After that, lay the patient down, because poisoning provokes severe weakness. Put a towel soaked in salt water on his forehead, which will additionally “draw out” toxins and give a pleasant coolness, relieving tension.

After removing all the symptoms of poisoning, you need to drink a lot, because sorbents cause dehydration of the body.

At first, it is better to drink just pure warm water, then, if the patient does not get worse, you can switch to herbal anti-inflammatory infusions, tea with honey. On the first day, it is recommended to only drink and completely refuse to eat, even if the appetite has awakened. Such fasting will help the body to quickly restore strength and return a person to a better shape than any medicine and, especially, food.

What not to do with food poisoning

  • Induce a gag reflex in a pregnant woman or when the person has passed out.
  • Gastric lavage for children under two years of age.
  • if a person has convulsions or has cardiac diseases.
  • Put a heating pad on your stomach.
  • Give fixing decoctions or drugs for diarrhea.
  • Induce vomiting in case of poisoning with petroleum products, acid or alkali.
  • Do your own enema, especially for young children, pregnant women and the elderly.
  • Give drink soda water, milk.
  • Give acid solutions for alkali poisoning and vice versa.

Prevention of food poisoning

It is impossible to insure 100% against food poisoning, however, there are a number of rules, the observance of which minimizes the possibility of suffering from this kind of intoxication:

  • give preference to "safe" products that look and smell like they should,
  • observe the temperature regime when cooking,
  • do not store cooked food for a long time,
  • observe the storage rules for all products,
  • when reheating previously cooked food, bring it to the highest possible temperature,
  • make sure that raw and cooked foods do not come into contact with each other,
  • wash your hands often
  • keep your kitchen immaculately clean
  • keep all products out of the reach of pets and various pests,
  • take care of the purity of the water you use.

If food poisoning cannot be avoided, the first thing to take care of is gastric lavage. Then proceed according to the scheme given in this article, and, hopefully, recovery will not be long in coming.