Stomachs Upset in the Summer Heat - pay attention to these factors

 Stomachs Upset in the Summer Heat - pay attention to these factors

In summer, we get stomach upset more often, and in more severe cases, food poisoning caused by improper storage or refrigeration of food. In Hungary, salmonellosis, an infectious disease caused by salmonella bacteria, often associated with high fever, vomiting and diarrhea, occurs most often.

One of the most common sources of food poisoning is improperly roasted meat and then stored improperly without refrigeration. Particular care must be taken when preparing poultry and minced meat - begins dr. Péter Torzsa is a family doctor.

An associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Semmelweis University adds: 

a foods containing raw eggs and egg-based sweets, such as tartar beefsteak, tiramisu, bird milk, and home-made mayonnaise, can also cause salmonella infection.

as well as unwashed, raw vegetables and fruits. You can also take care with traditional melted vanilla ice cream, and

an important rule of thumb is that once the ice cream has melted, it should not be re-frozen
- warns the specialist.

Symptoms of salmonella infection - high fever (in a milder case only fever), nausea , vomiting , watery diarrhea , abdominal pain around the navel , weakness , fatigue - appear 1-2 days after infection. Diarrhea usually lasts for 3-7 days, feverish for 3-4 days. After the course of the disease, in 80 percent of the cases, the excretion of salmonella bacteria in the feces ceases after 4-5 weeks, only 1-2 percent of the patients become a long-term carrier - explains dr. Péter Torzsa.

The family doctor also mentioned that in addition to food, bacteria most often get into the body through water or dirty hands . The pathogen is released into the outside of the faeces or eggs of a sick or asymptomatic infected person or animal, or even occurs on the meat of slaughtered animals. The disease can be prevented by following hygienic rules and cooling food properly, but thorough baking and cooking also kills salmonella bacteria.

Your GP will also give you some practical advice on how to prevent salmonella infection:

Always wash your hands before you start cooking and even when you have finished preparing the raw materials, especially the meats!
Put the remaining food in the refrigerator as soon as possible, as the pathogens will multiply in it after a few hours of storage at room temperature!
Reheat the food before use, it is not enough to heat it!
Always separate raw materials and finished products in the refrigerator.
Thorough hand disinfection is also important when caring for a salmonella-infected patient, and the patient should avoid cooking to avoid infecting others!


Speaking about the treatment, Dr. Péter Torzsa said that in such cases the replacement of fluid and electrolytes is primary, but

avoid eating foods, beverages such as milk, alcohol, or caffeine that cause abdominal cramps during meals.

The use of tummy tuck in children is not recommended. He added that salmonellosis is most often an infection that can be treated at home , with the patient healing on its own in the vast majority of cases. No antibiotic is needed in mild to moderate cases, it is only recommended in a small percentage of cases, such as in patients over 65 years of age or under one year of age with a weak immune system.

Source:  Semmelweis University