Gastroenteritis or food diseases are possible unwelcome travel companions with similar symptoms: the time element can help understand its origin.
Stomach pain, nausea and a walk to the nearest toilet: it is a script feared by everyone and not so rare when traveling. But how do you understand if those debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms depend on a viral gastroenteritis or food poisoning? Knowing it can help us not to repeat some common mistakes that we make when we are hungry.
Intestinal influence or food poisoning: what is the difference?
Viral gastroenteritis or intestinal influence It is generally caused by such a virus norovirus or Rotavirus And it gives symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting. The transmission takes place from person to person by gold-fecal or through aerosol, but also through food, surfaces and contaminated objects (towels, sheets, toys). Gastrointestinal viruses are highly contagious, but the symptoms of viral gastroenteritis are generally resolved within 12-48 hours. The therapy simply provides to keep at rest and hydrated, since the loss of fluids through vomiting and diarrhea can lead to excessive loss of water and salts.
Food poisoning occurs instead when we ingest food contaminated with bacteria or bacterial toxins (harmful molecules produced by bacteria), proliferated on food for example because they have not been kept or cooked correctly, or because we have eaten them in inadequate hygiene conditions. The foods most at risk of these contaminations are milk and non -pasteurized dairy products (i.e. that have not faced pasteurization, a bactericidal thermal process that increases the food conservation time), eggs, raw meat and fish, raw vegetables not washed correctly.
Even mushrooms, poisonous plants, seafood, raw or non -edible parts of foods (peels, hazelnuts) can contain toxins that have negative effects on the digestive system or on other organs.
Even if most food toxions are resolved with “simple” gastrointestinal symptoms, the management of symptoms depends a lot on the type of contaminated food that has been ingested and it is good practice to refer to an emergency room to an anti -anti -center center referring what has been eaten, and in which quantities.
Viruses or contaminated food: change the incubation time
Generally viral gastroenteritis such as those from Norovirus begin to cause symptoms 24-48 hours after exposure to the virus, and ailments can last one or two days. Instead, normally the symptoms of food poisoning are presented Immediately after the ingestion of “suspicious” food ingestion: the bacterium Staphylococcus aureuswhich can be present in raw or not very cooked foods, begins to give symptoms within 30 minutes from the contaminated meal.
Usually you start feeling good after 24 hours.
How to prevent viral gastroenteritis and food infections
The good practices are the same regardless of the pathogen: Wash your hands well before cooking or eating, separating tools and work plans for raw and cooked foods, always wash your hands after using the toilet or changed the diaper of a child, cleanse the surfaces most often touched in case someone had shown gastrointestinal symptoms, avoid consuming unpacked or unseatorized foods.
