First aid: deal with food poisoning

Cooking for a large family over Christmas is a huge task so make sure you handle the food with care. If, for any reason, food poisoning occurs, take the following steps to make the person safeCooking for a large family over Christmas is a huge task so make sure you handle the food with care. If, for any reason, food poisoning occurs, take the following steps to make the person safe

By Dr Miriam Stoppard

Cooking for a large family over Christmas is a huge task so make sure you handle the food with care. If, for any reason, food poisoning occurs, take the following steps to make the person safe.

1. If they are vomiting and have diarrhoea, check their temperature to see if they have a fever.
    
2. Check the person’s stool for the presence of either mucus or blood.
   
3. Put them to bed and stop all foods but keep up their fluid levels by offering frequent small drinks of rehydration solution (available in powder form from all good chemists).
   
4. Try to determine what the person could have eaten to cause the sickness.

SHOULD I CONSULT THE DOCTOR?
Consult your doctor immediately or take the person to the nearest casualty department if vomiting and diarrhoea continues for more than six hours.

WHAT MIGHT THE DOCTOR DO?
In the majority of cases, there’s no special treatment for food poisoning except to replace fluid and salts that have been lost through diarrhoea and vomiting.

Source: Daily Mirror