Food-borne Illnesses Affect over 48 Million People Every Year
PLANO, TEXAS (Jan. 19, 2016) – You cooked a meal, ate it and all of a sudden you’re feeling queasy. The meal seemed safe to eat, so what is the problem? It could be food poisoning.
Each year, millions of people in the United States get sick from contaminated food. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick; 128,000 are hospitalized; and 3,000 die of food-borne diseases every year.
Jay Woody, M.D., co-founder and chief medical officer of Legacy ER & Urgent Care, notes that there are over 200 food-borne organisms that can cause food poisoning, and there are over 250 different diseases that are the result of food poisoning. Some of the most common are infections caused by bacteria, such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (E. coli), Listeria, Botulism and Norovirus.
“Food poisoning occurs when food or water contaminated with harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses or toxins is eaten or drunk. Most cases are caused by common bacteria such as Staphylococcus or E. coli. However, other symptoms or problems can be caused by eating contaminated food,” Dr. Woody explains.
Per the U.S. National Library of Medicine, food poisoning can occur after eating or drinking:
- Any food prepared by someone who does not wash their hands properly
- Any food prepared using cooking utensils, cutting boards and other tools that are not fully cleaned
- Dairy products or food containing mayonnaise (such as coleslaw or potato salad) that have been out of the refrigerator too long
- Frozen or refrigerated foods that are not stored at the proper temperature or are not reheated to the right temperature
- Raw fish or oysters
- Raw fruits or vegetables that have not been washed well
- Raw vegetable or fruit juices and dairy products (look for the word "pasteurized," which means the food has been treated to prevent contamination)
- Undercooked meats or eggs
- Water from a well or stream, or city or town water that has not been treated
How to detect food poisoning? The onset of symptoms, which can range from mild to severe and include upset stomach, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, fever and dehydration.
“Most of the time patients recover from the most common types of food poisoning within 12 – 48 hours,” Dr. Woody says. “The treatment we primarily prescribe is rehydration of fluids to help with dehydration, especially in children and the elderly. Some patients may benefit from medication to reduce nausea and vomiting.”
When is a doctor visit needed for food-borne illnesses? If a patient has high fever, blood in the stools, prolonged vomiting, extensive dehydration or a diarrheal illness that lasts more than three days, a doctor should be consulted.
“At Legacy ER & Urgent Care, we have medical professionals on staff around the clock who are ready to assist anyone dealing with food-borne illnesses,” says Dr. Woody. “Our average wait time to see a medical doctor is less than eight minutes, with most patients being seen, treated and released in less than one hour.”
Legacy ER & Urgent Care has seven operating emergency rooms and urgent cares in Allen, Coppell, Frisco, Keller, McKinney and North Richland Hills, Texas. Its urgent care hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and emergency room services are accessible 24/7, 365 days a year. The typical wait time before being seen is less than five minutes. Online check-in is available and walk-ins are welcome.
Founded in 2008, Legacy ER & Urgent Care is one of the nation’s first stand-alone health care models to offer both urgent care and emergency room treatment options under one roof. It has built an exceptional customer service program and rating by providing transparent billing, soothing environments and one-on-one service with board-certified, emergency-trained physicians. Patients have access to immediate, on-site emergency room equipment and only pay emergency care prices when it is truly an emergency.
For more information on Legacy ER & Urgent Care visit LegacyER.com, facebook.com/LegacyERandUrgentCare or twitter.com/LegacyERtx.
#LegacyER #LegacyUrgent Care
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Legacy ER & Urgent Care Locations:
1310 W. Exchange Parkway, Allen, Texas 75013: 972-678-4545
330 S. Denton Tap Road, Coppell, Texas 75019 469-312-7777 New
9205 Legacy Drive, Frisco, Texas 75033: 972-668-6020
16151 Eldorado Parkway, Frisco, Texas 75035: 972-731-5151 New
1220 Keller Parkway, Keller, Texas 76248: 817-898-8000 New
2810 Hardin Blvd. #100, McKinney, Texas 75070: 972-548-7277 New
8950 N. Tarrant Parkway, North Richland Hills, Texas 76182: 817-281-7277 New
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