Question

Mr. Yo has recently traveled to Mexico on vacation. While there on his last morning of vacation, he ordered a large cheese and spinach omelet. He flew home that afternoon, and by midnight, Mr. Yo became very ill and sought emergency care.

1. What symptoms would the nurse recognize that are consistent with food poisoning and rationale?

Mr. Yo is diagnosed with food poisoning (suspected salmonellosis). The physician treating Mr. Yo has given orders that he can be discharged home to rest while symptoms abate. Moaning, Mr. Yo asks, "How long am I going to feel like this, and why aren't you going to give me something to feel better?"

How should the doctor and/or nurse respond to Mr. Yo's questions and rationale?

Which additional symptoms should the doctor and/or nurse describe that would indicate that Mr. Yo should seek continued treatment and rationale?

Answer 1

Illness caused by food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites or toxins is known as food poisoning. Infectious organisms or their toxins are the most common causes of food poisoning. Contamination of food can happen at any point of production: growing, harvesting, processing, storing, shipping or preparing. Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful organisms from one surface to another is often the cause. This is especially troublesome for raw, ready-to-eat foods, such as salads or other produce. Because these foods aren't cooked, harmful organisms aren't destroyed before eating and can cause food poisoning. The main symptoms of food poisoning is given following.

• Diarrhea( the food is contaminated by bacteria, such as salmonella)
• Abdominal cramps(harmful organisms can produce toxins that irritate the lining of our stomach and intestines. This can result in painful inflammation in our stomach, which may cause pain in our abdomen.)
• Nausea and vomiting.(causing because of the toxins present in stomach)
• Fever(Body will fight against infection by making our body too hot for the bacteria or virus that caused the infection to thrive)
• Weakness and headache.( Caused due to excessive water loss from our body)
• Dehydration,Anuria,fever more than 101.5 degree and persistent diarrhea are th symptoms which needs immediate medical attention.

As the patient is a suspected case of salmonellosis ,the patient must have the symptoms of abdominal cramps,diarrhea,fever and vomitting.Here, the patient might taken raw spinach, the cheese of unpasteurized milk, and undercooked eggs. These are the common food sources for salmonellosis.Salmonellosis is a symptomatic infection caused by bacteria of the Salmonella type.The doctor and nurse should give good moral support if the patient is having less satisfaction about his progress. The nurse should advise the causes ,symptoms etc.Try to tell him this is the most common food poisoning and nothing to worry. Advise to take plenty of fluids.For healthy people, symptoms should go away within two to seven days. However, the bacteria can stay in the body longer. This means that even if you aren’t experiencing symptoms, you can still infect other people with Salmonella bacteria.If you have food poisoning, chances are it won’t go undetected. Symptoms can vary depending on the source of the infection. The length of time it takes for symptoms to appear also depends on the source of the infection, but it can range from as little as 1 hour to as long as 28 days.

Dehydration,Anuria,fever more than 101.5 degree and persistent diarrhea are th symptoms which needs immediate medical attention. These are the symptoms are life threatening. Persistent diarrhea and anuria may leads to shock and impaired kidney function.The main treatment for salmonella food poisoning is replacing fluids and electrolytes that you lose when you have diarrhea. Modify the diet to include only easily digestible foods. Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast are good options and  avoid dairy products and get plenty of rest.