Food poisoning in a child

Food poisoning in a child is a toxic infection, most often caused by food with microbial content. Intoxication in children is much more intense, more severe than in adult patients, since many of the baby's digestive functions are just beginning to form.

Poisons (toxins) overcome all obstacles faster, are absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract almost instantly, causing a serious condition. Toxins that cause food poisoning in a child are divided by origin into biological or non-biological and can cause the following types of intoxication:

• Food poisoning, microbial toxicoinfection.
• Poisoning by toxic secretions of animals, reptiles, plants.
• Intoxication with chemical components of various substances.

Strictly speaking, food poisoning in a child is poisoning from poisonous mushrooms, plants and berries, all other food problems belong to another type, called food toxicoinfection, that is, poisoning from poor-quality food products.

The causes of food poisoning in children are directly related to spoiled fish, meat, dairy dishes, which may contain various intestinal bacteria and bacteria - staphylococci, salmonella. Also, often intoxication can be caused by dirty fruits or vegetables.

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Food poisoning in a one year old child

This is a fairly common disease, explained not so much by the inattention of parents, but by the immaturity of the enzymatic system, and other protective properties of the gastrointestinal tract in the baby. Among the most common causes that cause food poisoning in a one-year-old child are the following:

• Food allergy accompanied by intoxication.
• Changing the diet when switching to more “adult” food, with which the digestive system is not yet familiar.
• The contact route of intestinal infections is a dirty toy, dirty hands, etc. Children at this age are extremely curious and active, so it is quite difficult to keep track of their independent attempts to explore the world around them.
• The contact route, when there is a patient with E. coli in the family, and this person has the opportunity to directly contact the baby, as a rule, these are the parents.
• Less often, poisoning can be caused by the illness of a nursing mother, when she herself suffers from food poisoning. The symptoms of poisoning in a newborn who is breastfed are also quite understandable.

Food poisoning in a one-year-old child most often manifests itself in the form of an upset stomach, usually diarrhea. Persistent diarrhea that lasts more than 2 days threatens severe dehydration of the baby's body. In addition, symptoms of intoxication can be elevated body temperature, lethargy, weakness, often nausea or vomiting. The peak of gastrointestinal poisoning in young children, and in all age categories, falls on the summer season. Temperature conditions, availability of vegetables and fruits, difficult storage conditions for food and other factors make summer the main "culprit" of seasonal intestinal poisoning. Most often, food poisoning in a one-year-old child is provoked by the following factors:

• Raw, unboiled water that the baby drinks with the consent of the parents or tries to get water on his own.
• Raw, unboiled milk, dairy products, which often contain E. coli, as well as unwashed fruits or vegetables, are the cause of poisoning.
• Cream puffs may contain staphylococci and should never be given to a one-year-old child.
• Sausages and raw eggs may contain salmonella. Sausages are generally contraindicated for babies.
• Some types of vegetables stored in basements (potatoes, carrots, cabbage) may contain Yersinia enterocolitica on their skins – an anaerobic bacillus carried by rodents.

To sum it up, the main reason for food poisoning in babies is banal dirt, the second reason is improper storage of food products.

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Symptoms of food poisoning in children

Symptoms of food poisoning in children are characterized by suddenness, it happens that against the background of complete health, the baby suddenly turns pale, becomes lethargic, capricious. This is due to the rapid spread of the causative agent of toxic infection in the intestinal tract. Pain, colic, colic in the abdomen, most often diarrhea with mucus, possibly blood, vomiting and elevated body temperature indicate an acute inflammatory nature of intoxication. If the spread of toxins in the digestive system of the body is not stopped in time, the baby develops a serious condition. Symptoms of food poisoning in children that require immediate emergency medical care:

• Loose stools, diarrhea that lasts more than 2 hours. If there is blood in the stool, help should be called immediately.
• Severe vomiting - more than once an hour.
• Rapid pulse.
• Paleness, cyanosis of the face and lips.
• The liquid drunk causes vomiting.
• General feeling of malaise.

Symptoms of food poisoning in children, which also require a visit to the doctor, but it is possible to simply call the doctor to the house:

• The baby complains of stomach pain. If the baby is small, he writhes, raises his legs to his stomach, tries to find a more comfortable position to relieve colic.
• Yellowing of the whites of the eyes.
• Body temperature above 37.5 degrees for 3-4 hours.
• Dark urine.
• Nausea, loss of appetite.
• Vomiting after eating.
• Periodic diarrhea (more than 2-3 times a day).
• Dry mouth, secretion of viscous saliva.

Treatment of food poisoning in children

Food poisoning in children requires immediate treatment, that is, at the first signs of illness in the baby, you should try to do a lavage. The sooner the toxins are removed from the body, the less severe the consequences will be for the baby's health. Please note that for children under one year, gastric lavage is most often done in a hospital or at home in the presence of a doctor. Children are shown lavage with warm boiled water in the following calculation:

• Age from 8 months to one year – 20 milliliters of water per kilogram of weight.
• Age 2 years – 5-6 years – 15 milliliters per kilogram of weight.
• Children from 6 to 14 years old – 10 milliliters per kilogram of weight.

As a rule, after drinking liquid, the baby vomits, which should not be frightening, this is a normal physiological reaction, this is how the body tries to "cleanse". If there is no vomiting, the liquid pours out of the mouth, this is a typical phenomenon for very young children, or for severe toxic infection. In such cases, you need to immediately call an ambulance. "Washing" in a hospital setting will be done more professionally, possibly with the help of intravenous drip solutions.

Regardless of the type of food poisoning in children, treatment requires taking sorbents. There is an excellent sorbent drug - Enterosgel, which is produced in the form of a paste and is indicated for use even for infants. In addition, if the baby's food intoxication is caused by poisoning of a nursing mother, then the mother should also take an appropriate dose of enterosorbent. You can also use "Smecta" or activated carbon, which is indicated for children over 7 years old.

Treatment of food poisoning in children is carried out using hydration procedures, that is, drinking plenty of fluids. There is an effective way to replenish lost fluid and prevent hypovolemic shock, this recipe for an oral solution was recommended for use by WHO back in 1960:

• 1 glass of purified or boiled water (250 ml).
• Three quarters of a teaspoon of salt.
• 3-4 tablespoons of sugar.
• 1 glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (can be replaced with a glass of water with added soluble vitamin C).

Thus, the resulting solution (500 ml) contains all the necessary substances to restore the water balance in the body. This recipe is suitable for children over 4-5 years old, for babies the Regidron solution will be more suitable. You need to drink in small sips, often, during the entire time of intoxication. Each time you need to prepare a fresh drink.

It should be noted that food poisoning in children is treated in hospital conditions. If the symptoms of intoxication are obvious and develop quickly, you should not hesitate, but urgently consult a doctor.

Helping a child with food poisoning

Help consists of immediate actions, careful monitoring of the baby's condition and calling emergency help in case of threatening symptoms (uncontrollable vomiting, diarrhea, cyanosis of the face, lips). The algorithm of actions in case of intoxication is standard:

1. Drinking regime to avoid dehydration
2. Sorbents that absorb toxins and remove them from the body
3. Strict diet during the entire period of poor health. In this sense, it is better to starve than to overfeed.

Helping a child with food poisoning involves replenishing the fluid lost through diarrhea and vomiting. This can be a pharmacy drug, such as Regidron, or water-salt solutions prepared independently. Children over 5 years old can be given chamomile decoction, weak green tea, rosehip decoction. Food is strictly excluded in the first two or three hours, after the acute symptoms subside, you can give light vegetable soups, rice broth, crackers, porridge cooked in water. The diet must be followed for at least a week, and sometimes two weeks after the onset of toxic infection. If the signs of intoxication become threatening, you must immediately call an ambulance, before it arrives, you should make a list of all the symptoms, think about the possible cause of the poisoning (this will help to quickly establish a diagnosis), collect the things needed in the hospital. You cannot give antibiotics or drugs that fix stool, such self-medication can only worsen the baby's condition.

Prevention of food poisoning in children

Prevention consists of observing basic hygiene rules, both personal and general, household. The main cause of food poisoning, both in children and adults, is dirt (unwashed hands, fruits, vegetables, etc.). In addition, stale or poor-quality food, especially in the summer, can be a provoking factor in terms of food poisoning. The rules that prevent food poisoning in children include the following:

• Frequent hand washing, after each visit to the toilet, public places, the street. It is necessary to remember the well-known expression "cleanliness is the key to health." If a child is accustomed from an early age to the habit of washing hands, the risk of food poisoning is reduced by half.
• All products prepared for children must undergo heat treatment. Fresh cottage cheese and milk bought at the market, fruits, vegetables must be disinfected. Something can be baked, boiled, something - just poured with boiling water.
• Perishable products must be stored in the appropriate mode, if it is violated, the food should be ruthlessly thrown away, the health of the newborn is incomparable with the loss of food products.
• A mother who has noticed symptoms of a food infection should seek immediate treatment and entrust cooking to other, healthy family members. Any contact between an infected adult and a baby carries a risk of infection.
• It is unacceptable to store food in the open, especially in summer. Food products on the table should be protected from insects and contact with air.

Thus, the main rules of prevention are frequent hand washing, general hygiene and a diet consisting only of fresh, processed and safe products. Prevention of food poisoning in children is the only reliable way to avoid serious consequences of intoxication, following simple rules does not require much time and effort, in addition, they are universal and will help to minimize the risk of poisoning in adults.