In the United States alone, 1.4 million people are diagnosed with salmonella food poisoning and about one thousand of these cases lead to death. Most of these incidents happen from unclean and unsanitary practices at home. This article will discuss some of the symptoms of salmonella and what you can do to protect yourself and your family.
Salmonella is a bacteria that attacks the stomach and intestines. In serious cases, salmonella may go into the lymph tracts and blood. Normally, children and the elderly are the people whom this bacteria seriously hurt, but people of all ages can be affected by it. Most of the symptoms are diarrhea or constipation, stomach cramps, headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting, and possibly blood in the feces. Dehydration can also occur from the vomiting and diarrhea. If the diarrhea lasts more than 24 hours and is frequent and intense, or there is blood in the feces, a person needs to contact a doctor right away.
Some ways to reduce the chance of bacteria like salmonella from hurting your family is to always wash and dry hands after going to the bathroom and before preparing any food. If you are using a knife to cut meat, always wash it or exchange it for a clean one before cutting vegetables or fruit. Whether a person uses a plastic cutting board or a butcher block cutting board to cut meat doesn't matter. What matters is that the board is washed or changed for a different one, before a person cuts other food. A person should also change the dishcloths out every day and wash the dishcloths in hot water and an antibacterial soap. Always store food like meat, poultry, and fish in the refrigerator. Bacteria will easily grow on these foods if they are left out for long periods of time.
When cooking food, it is important to cook it thoroughly, as heat is the only way to kill the salmonella bacteria. Don't crack any eggs on the edge of a bowl. Salmonella only exist on the shell and it can contaminate other foods in the bowl.
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