BOTULISM

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	BOTULISM
	*BOTULISM*

BOTULISM

Botulism

Noncontagious a serious form of nourishing poisoning caused by the ingestion of food contaminated with a toxin that seriously affects the nervous system.

Prognosis

The loss of life index is from 10% to 25%.

The more elevated it is the dose of toxin and before the symptoms arise, the more dangerous is the process.

There are no complications if one treats quickly.

Complications

Pulmonary infections like turn out of the difficulty to swallow and choking with the food.

Respiratory failure caused by the weakening of respiratory muscles.

When it returns from intensive cares can experience weakness, blurred vision or difficulty to speak.

It could need one more week in treatment.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is made by the antecedent of ingestion of conserves in bad conditions or crude foods. He is very orientative the one that all the people who take the suspicious food become ill. Him analyses of blood, and suspicious foods will be able to be made.

Treatment

The treatment is doctor.

It requires the hospitalization in intensive cares.

It can need a respirator.

General Measures

To induce the vomit if they have not happened more of hours from the ingestion.

If botulism suspicion, tries to cool something of the contaminated food so that it is analyzed.

Medication

The injections of antitoxins of the botulism prevent the worsening with the process.

The antitoxin is derived from the horse serum that, although can save lives, has serious indirect effect.

Activity

It will remain in the bed during the hospitalization.

After the treatment, it returns gradually to its normal activities.

Diet

During the hospitalization, and due to the difficulties of swallowing, the administration of liquids and food by intravenous route usually is necessary.

After the treatment a special diet does not need.

Factors of risk and Prevention

Suckling babies.

Tinned homemade foods. The green beans are the vegetables that are contaminated with more facility. Cooked the very great pieces of meat to the furnace, as "roast-beef" can be too crude in their interior to destroy the toxin.

Prevention

Key points:

The Clostridium Botulinum or its esporas is ubicuas, are throughout.

The botulínica toxin is termolábil; the heating over 50ºC destroys it.

The amounts necessary to kill a person are very small, reason why it must make sure that ALL the food reaches the necessary temperature.

If a tin is convex or the content has peculiar scent or color, NOT EVEN IT PROVES IT, tirela directly.

It does not eat any food of which it does not trust the procedures of preparation and canning.

Year honey to the food of its children nor does not give medicines them against the cough that does not open at the same moment (it throws syrups after his use and respects his instructions of use).

To boil foods can help, but it asks about the safety measures for the correct preparation and food canning.

If it suspects that a conserve or commercial canning can have botulism, it warns the sanitary authorities, so that they confirm it and they retire contaminated foods of the points of sale.

Signs and symptoms

The following symptoms suddenly usually appear 18 to 36 hours after taking contaminated foods:

Blurred or double vision.

Palpebral Edema (swelling of the eyelids).

Dryness of mouth.

Difficulties of diction.

Vomits and diarrea.

Weakness in arms and legs followed of paralysis.

Without fever.

Without alterations of the mental faculties.

In the children they appear the following symptoms:

Severe constipation.

Weak weeping.

Incapacity to absorb.

Causes

Contamination of the food by the toxin, most powerful well-known, produced by the Clostridium Botulinum (become related with the bacterium that produces the tétanos), that grow in tinned foods contaminated or little cooked.

The toxin is absorbed by the digestive apparatus and affects the central nervous system.

The foods susceptible to cause the botulism include:

homemade canning of fruits and vegetables,

sausages little done,

smoky meats and

milky products.

In the smaller children of 1 year, the botulism can come by the crude honey or other foods without cooking.

The bacterium can contaminate a wound and also originate the toxin.

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