Botulism – a serious and dangerous toxic-infectious disease that affects the nervous system down to muscle and respiratory paralysis. The main cause of death in patients with botulism, is respiratory failure, writes likar.info.
The causative agent of botulism bacteria Clostridium, which in 95% of cases fall into the body with food. Of Contracting botulism through food, contaminated with bacteria or spores of clostridia, if these products were poorly handled.
In most cases, the perpetrators infected with botulism become home-grown food and homemade preserves for the winter:
– Dried fish;
– canned meat and fish, especially self-made;
– canned meat, pate;
– marinated mushrooms;
– vegetable and fruit conservation;
sausage products, prepared without observance of the Standards.
Active Clostridium produce toxins in the absence of oxygen, so the marinated mushrooms and vegetables can be a source of infection, and food are not.
Is it possible to notice the causative agents of botulism in foods?
“The eye” to calculate threat from the standpoint of botulism to the product impossible. Almost all foods contain spore or vegetative forms of the bacteria that cause botulism. So they were destroyed, meat or fish must undergo special treatment. In industrial production this issue is successfully solved. In the home kitchen it is very difficult to achieve the ideal conditions of cooking. If you incorrectly zagotavlivali homemade foods (for example, making canned or other home preparations for the winter), it is not fully destroyed the spores rapidly multiply in a closed tin in the absence of oxygen.
It is possible to ache and canned vegetables if you are badly washed them from the earth and insufficiently sterilized jars. If the can is swollen, it must be discarded. Repeated boiling does not guarantee that you will be able to completely destroy the spore forms of bacteria pathogen.
The first signs of botulism
In most cases, the symptoms of botulism appear within 4-8 hours, but sometimes – and 7-10 days after eating contaminated pet food.
The early signs of botulism include weakness, fatigue, dizziness, pallor of the skin, dry mouth, vomiting, bloating, indigestion, blurred vision. These symptoms are caused by toxins that the bacterium produces-the causative agent of botulism. With the development of the disease manifest these symptoms:
– Muscle weakness, paralysis;
– respiratory failure. It becomes frequent and superficial;
– palpitations, increase in blood pressure;
violations of the movements of the tongue;
– violation of a facial expression caused by a lesion of the facial nerve:
– urinary retention.
Treatment of botulism
Man with suspected botulism need to be hospitalized immediately. At least 25% of patients die if the treatment of botulism is untimely or inadequate.
The objective is to neutralize and withdraw from the blood the toxins formed by bacteria. In addition, you need to deal with complications that have already developed. The patient undergoes gastric lavage and bowel. If necessary for the treatment of botulism antibiotic treatment. If disturbed breathing, used hyperbaric oxygenation or tracheotomy or patient connected to the ventilator.
In the first days of treatment effective to use the serum from the botulism. It will neutralize circulating botulinum toxin.
