Abdominal pains, vomiting, diarrhea, and sometimes fever – all these are symptoms of food poisoning, which can hit us more often during the holiday season. “Eurovaistinė” pharmacist Fausta Barisevičienė says that simply consuming carbohydrates is not always enough. It is equally important to know what common mistakes should be avoided and what products can help you recover more easily.
Don’t start suppressing symptoms right away
After food poisoning, the body starts to fight with excess toxins, trying to eliminate them, says pharmacist Fausta Barisevičienė. According to her, one of the most common mistakes in such a situation is to immediately start taking medication to relieve vomiting or diarrhea.
“If we immediately take these symptom-relieving medications when we start to have diarrhea or vomiting, we’re sort of locking away the poisonous toxins in our body.” This can only make the condition worse. Therefore, it is recommended that at least the first hours of food poisoning allow the body to cleanse itself and additionally drink fluids – preferably water, although in small sips – and electrolytes. Activated carbon can also help to remove toxins from the body,” says pharmacist F. Barisevičienė.
A cold shower won’t help
The pharmacist says that it is not uncommon to hear of cases where people who have been poisoned by food or alcohol try to recover their strength under a cold shower.
“During poisoning, all our energy is used to remove toxins from the body. A cold shower following both food and alcohol poisoning is not good for our well-being. For those who have been poisoned by food, a cold shower will not help them to become intoxicated faster, and for those who have been poisoned by alcohol, it can even cause a loss of consciousness. In the same way, extremely hot showers and saunas should be avoided. The same applies to drinking water – in such cases it is best to choose a glass of warm – not hot or cold – water,” says F. Barisevičienė.
Try wormwood tea
“Wormwood tea is unnecessarily unpopular and not well liked by people. In fact, it has been known to everyone since ancient times as a means of stimulating the activity of the enzyme system. Most people don’t like it because of its specific taste, but in case of poisoning, it is advised to at least rinse the wormwood tea in the mouth and spit it out. This alone can be enough to activate the enzyme system and make the patient feel better faster,” says pharmacist F. Barisevičienė.
No coffee until you recover
The pharmacist would advise to avoid both coffee and other tonic drinks during poisoning, as these can irritate the intestines and stomach even more. In this case, it is recommended to choose mild herbal – mint or ginger – teas. The latter ginger alone is still too little known to everyone as a natural anti-emetic.
Electrolyte and glucose solutions
“When the body is intoxicated, we lose a lot of minerals. All this time, you should additionally use not only electrolytes, but also glucose solutions. In rare cases, you can find preparations that contain both electrolytes and glucose at once. They have a salty-sweet taste. After alcohol poisoning, glucose breaks it down faster in the body. If you don’t have a glucose solution in your home medicine cabinet, you can also drink tea with sugar or honey. This will help toxins break down faster,” says pharmacist F. Barisevičienė.
Good bacteria
“Good bacteria are both necessary for maintaining the digestive system and beneficial for supporting the immune system. The good bacteria taken following poisoning help to restore the normal state of the body. It is also worth absorbing them not only following getting sick, but also prophylactically. This is recommended especially for those who complain of bloating, because the good bacteria restore the microflora of our body,” says the pharmacist.
Food in diarrhea
The pharmacist says that bananas, rice, breadcrumbs, toast are the right food when diarrhea starts following poisoning. They are gentle on the stomach, easy to digest, and their starch content helps bind stools together, which can reduce the frequency of ongoing diarrhea.
“Yogurt should be consumed only natural, without sweeteners and only when you feel well. Natural broths, mild soups, to which you can add natural herbs such as fennel, ginger, mint, which contain natural anti-inflammatory properties that can help calm the stomach and help digestion, will also be useful in such a situation,” says pharmacist F. Barisevičienė.
