How To Avoid Food Poisoning

It happens to people across Washington D.C. every day.

You visit a new restaurant with coworkers at lunch or you have dinner at your relative’s house on the the weekend. You take a big bite of whatever happens to be on the menu for that day and somewhere in the back of your mind, a little voice says, “This isn’t quite right.” Maybe it’s a funny twang of flavor or maybe it’s a weird texture that tips you off. You can’t quite put your finger on it, so you keep eating. You finish the meal, pay the tab or thank your host, and head out to finish your day.

Then you feel it. A twinge in your stomach that tells you your instincts were correct. Something was wrong with the food and your gastrointestinal system isn’t very happy about it. Like it or not, you’re about to get a crash course in the woes of food poisoning. But don’t worry, our urgent care clinics in Washington, D.C. is here to help.

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What Is Food Poisoning?

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in six Americans will contract some form of food poisoning every year. So what’s actually happening in your body when you (and thousands of other people) get food poisoning?

Food poisoning is what happens when humans eat food stuffs that have spoiled, been contaminated, or are toxic for some other reason. Food that is in this contaminated state contains bacteria, viruses, and/or parasites that cause a very definite and sudden when they enter your gastrointestinal system.

Signs Of Food Poisoning

Unlike other illnesses that might cause you to visit our Washington D.C. urgent care clinics, it’s pretty easy to know if you’ve contracted food poisoning. If you have three or more of the following, it’s likely that food poisoning is the cause:

cramps
diarrhea
vomiting
loss of appetite
mild fever
weakness
nausea
headaches

Ways To Avoid Getting (Or Giving) Food Poisoning

Those symptoms sound pretty awful, don’t they? If you’ve already gone through this process once, you probably never want to go through it again. So what’s the best way to avoid eating contaminated food?

Wash – Before or after you handle food, whether it’s meat or vegetables, you should always wash your hands with a high quality soap. Rinse and dry your hands well to ensure that you’re not simply moving contaminants from one side of the kitchen to the other. It’s important that all of your utensils, cutting boards, and dishes are properly washed before and after use as well.
Separate – Food safety must be considered during all phases of food handling, from shopping and transportation, to storing and preparation. Raw foods, especially meat, poultry, fish and shellfish, should be kept separate from prepared foods during all of these phases to prevent cross contamination.
Get A Thermometer – How do you know if a chicken breast or meatloaf is properly cooked (i.e. has been heated long enough and hot enough to kill all pathogens)? Most of us just make a judgement call based on look or feel, but the only truly safe way to know if food is properly cooked is to check its internal temperature with a thermometer. Keep these common cooking temps in mind:
Ground Beef – 160 F
Steaks, Roasts, Chops (Lamb, Pork, Veal) – 145 F
Chicken and Turkey – 165 F
Refrigerate – It’s always best to keep foods at their proper storage temperatures when not being actively cooked. This means refrigerating or freezing all perishable food stuffs within two hours of purchasing or cooking them. If it’s hot outside, say 90 degrees or above, perishable foods should be refrigerated within one hour.
Defrost Safely – Let’s say you purchase a chuck roast because it’s on sale but haven’t decided on a recipe yet, so you toss the roast in the freezer until you can decide how you’d like to cook it. Once you’ve decided to use the slow cooker instead of the oven, it’s time to defrost that roast before preparation. Don’t just leave it on the counter! Instead, defrost frozen items in the refrigerator. This can take some time, so it’s executed overnight.
When In Doubt, Toss It Out! – Sometimes you can’t be sure if a food has been prepared, served and stored safely. Even if it looks and smells OK, food that has been allowed to sit out at room temperature for too long can contain dangerous pathogens. It’s best to throw away or compost this food, rather than risk food poisoning.

Avoid Foods That Carry Increased Food Poisoning Risk

In addition to the safe handling and cooking tips listed above, you should be aware that certain foods carry a higher food poisoning risk than others. To avoid unexpected trips to the urgent care clinic, you might turn down offers of the following:

Rare meat and poultry
Undercooked fish or shellfish, including oysters, clams, mussels and scallops
Foods that contain undercooked eggs such as cookie dough and cake batter
Raw sprouts
Unpasteurized juices and ciders
Unpasteurized milk and milk products
Certain soft cheese, such as feta, Brie and Camembert
Rates and meat spreads
Uncooked hot dogs and deli meats

Visit An Urgent Care For Food Poisoning

If, despite your best efforts, you or someone you care about still falls victim to food poisoning, it’s important to take action right away. If you have diarrhea persisting for more than three days, a fever higher than 101.5°F, of signs of dehydration, visit your Washington D.C. urgent care right away. Medics USA has two convenient Washington D.C. locations to serve you–Dupont Circle and Columbia Heights–and you can even book an appointment online!