Botulism in conservation, the signs of which it is very difficult to notice at first glance, can seriously affect human health and, in some cases, lead to death. The microbe that causes its development can perfectly develop even without air. That is why most often this terrible diagnosis can be obtained after consuming canned food. The insidiousness of botulism lies in the fact that very often its symptoms resemble simple poisoning and the correct diagnosis is not immediately made. At this time, the disease can affect the human brain and lead to irreversible consequences. Questions about what botulism, signs of botulism, treatment and diagnosis of this disease will be discussed in detail in our article.
In order to protect yourself from infection, you must always remember that, in addition to conservation, a microbe can get to a person after consuming milk, meat and even vegetables if they have not undergone proper heat treatment.
Botulism: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prevention of botulism
This disease has an infectious origin and its causative agent is a microbe (Clostridium botullini), which can multiply even in the absence of oxygen. Once in the body, it begins to produce a special poison - botulinum toxin, which is 400,000 times stronger and more dangerous than a rattlesnake bite. Botulism, the conservation of which is very difficult to recognize, is able to affect the human brain and cause paralysis of absolutely all the muscles in the body.
Symptoms of this disease are very reminiscent of ordinary alcoholic or food poisoning. Botulism may be accompanied by:
- nausea
- abdominal pain;
- vomiting
- diarrhea.
Specific symptoms
The first signs may occur from 2 to 24 hours after ingestion of contaminated food. Body temperature rises, but not significantly. When contacting a doctor with such complaints, the patient can often be given the wrong diagnosis - namely, food poisoning. It is worth noting that canned food, which can cause botulism, is very often used as a snack when drinking alcohol. Therefore, the appeared nausea, vomiting, diarrhea can be perceived as symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
If no measures are taken in time, the microbe that has entered the body begins its toxic effect. A person may experience new, specific syndromes:
- a feeling of dry mouth;
- blurred vision;
- difficulty swallowing;
- voice change;
- severe weakness;
- change of speech.
Due to the fact that botulinum toxin begins to act on the nerve endings and muscles of the eyes, strabismus may be observed in some cases. When such signs appear, the doctor must be called very quickly.
Mandatory hospitalization for suspected botulism
Botulism, in conservation, the signs of which can be completely invisible, getting into the body, can very quickly affect the nervous system and lead to irreversible consequences. For this reason, at the slightest suspicion of infection with botulism, the patient is hospitalized in a hospital. In the hospital, the first thing they do is test for the determination of Clostridium botullini in the blood and, in order not to aggravate the situation without waiting for their results, they begin to take appropriate measures. First of all, it is necessary to detoxify the body and for this an urgent procedure is performed to cleanse the stomach. The patient is given a large amount of laxative in order to accelerate the passage of feces and thus reduce intestinal intoxication.
If a person's swallowing function is impaired, then they begin to feed him through a probe. In this case, it is very important to prevent the patient from breathing disorders. In the case of pulmonary spasm, a person is connected to an artificial ventilation apparatus.
After the type of toxin is determined by the results of the tests, the patient is immediately given anti-botulinum serum. With timely contact to a medical institution and with the right treatment, complete recovery occurs after 3 weeks.
How to recognize conservation hazards
Unfortunately, there is still no definite answer to the question of how to determine whether botulism is in conservation. Sometimes you can become infected with this disease after conserving, which had absolutely no signs that something was wrong with it.
The fact is that the microbe that provokes the development of the disease often lives in the soil and its spores are very tenacious and resistant to external factors. If at least one small grain of sand from this infected soil remains on the berry, vegetable or fruit that was used to prepare the preservation, then infection of a person after he tastes such a product will be inevitable.
The signs of botulism in conservation are sometimes simply impossible to notice, it does not affect the taste, smell or color of the product. Externally, the tin can may not be deformed, but, alas, this does not always mean that the product in it is safe.
External signs
Despite the fact that there is no exact instruction on how to recognize the signs of botulism in conservation, there are certain tips that will help to avoid the danger of infection:
- never buy home preservation from strangers;
- do not buy canned goods in deformed banks;
- if the lid on preservation is swollen - in no case do not eat the product in food;
- if there is clouding of liquid in the blanks, the formation of strange flakes, the growth of mushrooms - not sparing, throw out such canned food.
Proper heat treatment
In fact, killing the botulism microbe at home is very difficult. Even if you boil the product at a temperature of 100 ° C, you cannot get a guarantee that it will die. In industrial production, many products undergo long-term autoclaving before being preserved, especially meat and fish. But, in any case, with home preservation, sterilization of cans should last no less than 15 minutes.
If, however, preservation is carried out at home, before rolling it with a lid, it is necessary to boil for at least 20 minutes. Also, after the workpiece has been opened, it can be boiled again before use.
Vinegar and salt - helpers in the fight against botulism
One of the ways to protect against botulism is the addition of table vinegar to the preservation. It is believed that acetic acid is able to level Clostridium botullini. For this reason, it is very important to strictly adhere to the formulation and observe the specified amount of vinegar and salt when canning. Especially this product is recommended to be added when harvesting vegetables that do not contain their own acid (cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, squash).
How to protect yourself from illness
Indeed, the terrible consequences on human health can be affected by this rare disease - botulism. The preservation rules and precautions that must be observed during the preparation of the blanks can save you from unpleasant problems:
- do not use metal covers;
- do not shorten the sterilization time;
- if air bubbles form in the contents of the jar or strange turbidity appears, immediately dispose of such a workpiece;
- in no case do not eat canned food with a swollen lid (this may indicate that the cooking technique was violated during cooking);
- when preserving any products, especially mushrooms, clean and wash them thoroughly.
Botulism in conservation, the signs of which are almost invisible, is terrible in that there are no vaccinations from it, and the body does not at all produce immunity against its microbes. In the context of this disease, human health depends solely on his responsibility and the use of proven products in food.