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2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14
Intestinal infections bother almost all people from time to time. Children first encounter such pathologies in the first 5 years and then problems periodically arise throughout their lives.
This is due to the fact that the danger of infection lies in wait for people constantly: when communicating with carriers, eating raw or insufficiently processed foods, eating in public places. These diseases are often characterized by very unpleasant symptoms and have serious health consequences. For this reason, it is important to know how to protect yourself and loved ones from intestinal infections.
Prevention of intestinal infections: basic measures
These infections are much less common today than they were several centuries ago, and proper preventive measures are responsible for this positive trend. Despite the fact that mankind has been familiar with various types of such ailments for a long time, there are no vaccines for them to this day.
For this reason, more mundane measures are taken to avoid infection. Prevention of acute intestinal infections is the very case when cleanliness is really a guarantee of health, a way to prevent the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. Acute intestinal infections are diseases that are caused by viruses, bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. This group of pathologies occurs quite often, and children, the elderly and those who, for one reason or another, have reduced immunity, suffer the most.
Doctors distinguish between several types of intestinal infections that lead to disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, intoxication of the body, weakness and fever. They are most dangerous for young children, so they should be especially protected from acute intestinal infections.
However, adults will also find it helpful to learn how prevention is performed:
Infection usually occurs through poorly cooked vegetables and fruits, foods that have not been cooked for a long time. Therefore, it is recommended to minimize the risk of contamination by subjecting all products to prolonged cooking. In addition, pre-freezing can help reduce the risk of infection
Animal products carry the risk of salmonellosis. This is a bacteriological disease that develops due to the ingestion of live Salmonella. They can enter the intestines by eating meat, milk, chicken or duck eggs.
To avoid such troubles, all of these products must be properly heat treated. Meat should be boiled or roasted until fully cooked, unpasteurized milk should be boiled, and eggs should be thoroughly washed with water before cooking. Duck eggs should not be eaten raw or even cooked soft-boiled. They must cook for at least 15 minutes;
The main preventive measure is comprehensive hygiene, which includes a number of factors. First of all, you need to remember to clean your hands. They must be thoroughly washed with soap every time after using the toilet, after returning from the street or from public places, as infection often occurs from person to person. It is advisable to form such a habit not only in yourself, but in children. The sooner it is fixed in consciousness, the more firmly it will settle down in it
Antibacterial agents play a good service in the prevention of acute intestinal infections: soap and compact sanitizers. The latter are useful for food lovers, since they cannot always wash their hands properly in public places;
In addition, it is necessary to wash vegetables and fruits before eating. Ideally, special organic detergents are used for this, which are easily washed off with water, therefore, they are safe for washing products. They are hypoallergenic, so they are even suitable for cleaning products intended for children
Those who are afraid to use household chemicals can process fresh vegetables and fruits with hot water. This will help to destroy pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic microorganisms on vegetables and fruits, since many of them die already at a temperature of 60-80 degrees;
You also need to be careful about the expiration dates of the products. You need to pay attention to them both in the store before buying, and at home before cooking or eating. Dairy, fermented milk products, meat and fish are especially dangerous in this sense
After opening the package, many products can be stored for no more than 1-2 days. It is also necessary to pay attention to the statistics and opinions of the people around them, since unscrupulous sellers who sin by re-sticking labels with expiration dates quickly find themselves and are notorious among buyers;
Housewives should purchase separate cutting boards for meat, fish and other products. All these boards must be stored away from each other and each time after use they must be treated with antimicrobial agents and boiling water. In the refrigerator, raw meat and fish should also be kept separate from other foods, especially those that are ready to eat
Improper storage and preparation of meat and fish products increases the risk of salmonellosis. In case of infection, the person remains its carrier even after the symptoms have been eliminated;
Of course, it is very important to avoid the development of intestinal infections. However, if one of these diseases occurs in one of the family members, it is equally important to protect the rest of the household. It is not worth leaving the patient unattended, since the intoxication of the body makes him very weak. At the same time, patient care must be carried out carefully, because viruses and bacteria can easily migrate from one person to another, from an adult to a child
In order not to get infected, you cannot eat from the same dish with the sick person; all his cups and plates should be treated with boiling water. Alternatively, dishwasher safe at high temperatures.
Plumbing should be treated with aseptic detergents on a daily basis. In addition, all family members need to wash their hands frequently with antibacterial soap.
Prevention of acute intestinal infections is very important because it reduces the risk of serious and unpleasant illnesses. Even if they pass rather quickly, they leave behind long-term unpleasant phenomena.
They are dangerous not only in themselves, but also carry a number of complications, including pneumonia, allergic reactions and a violation of the intestinal microflora.