Digestive System Disorders Brought On By Food Borne Illnesses

Who has not seen the warning sign on a pack of steaks that warns to cook the meat until its inner temperature reaches a certain level? Those with proper bifocals will undoubtedly have noticed the notations on restaurant menus that offer to cook your burgers as raw as you like while the fine print suggests that certain food choices may result in the potential for food borne illness, which the restaurant suggests you avoid.

Digestive system disorders brought on by food borne illnesses are always fraught by discomfort and in many case cause the sufferer to despair whether to vomit first or relieve the severe diarrhea that has been plaguing her or him. Yet in some cases the food borne illnesses that might be contracted are by far more serious and may have much further reaching results and effects on the digestive system as a whole and even some of the accessory organs, such as the liver in particular.

Keep in mind that food borne illness and food poisoning are colloquially used interchangeably, yet this is a distinct misnomer in that the latter assumes the presence of a defined poison – natural or otherwise – while the former is the umbrella under which rest a plethora of conditions brought on by microbes, parasites, viruses, and anything else that might have contaminated the food sources.

Even though the majority of digestive system disorders brought on by food borne illnesses may be avoided by proper hygiene – always wash your hand after handling meat or fish and before touching anything else – and food storage – avoid cross contamination of foods at all costs by never storing raw meat above foods that are eaten raw, such as salads – there are also food choices that may be avoided.

Obviously the notion of going into the woods and cutting yourself a nice mushroom dinner might sound appealingly organic, but unless you know what you are doing with respect to separating mushrooms in edible and inedible sections, this is best left to professionals. In the same vein, eating food that is known to be potentially poisonous, such as blowfish, just for the sake of being able to brag about it should also be avoided.

When food borne illness in not avoided, then the sufferer will most likely present with severe abdominal cramping, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and flatulence, gastroenteritis, an overproduction of stomach acid and associated heartburn, and a host of other symptoms and signs that point to a general gastrointestinal upset. Death is possible when the food borne illness is traced back to beef stemming from cows infected with mad cow disease or reef fish found to have been instrumental in causing poisoning with tetrodotoxin.

Truth be told, digestive system disorders brought on by food borne illnesses are somewhat insidious in that in some cases symptoms will appear within a few short hours of ingestion, while in other cases the incubation period make be several days or weeks removed from the time of ingestion. Fecal cultures and blood work will assist in diagnosing accurately the illness and also the extent of exposure as well as treatment choices.

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