Food poisoning during early and late pregnancy

Food poisoning is one of the most common reasons for seeking emergency medical care at a medical facility. Moreover, only more or less severe cases are subject to registration. And how many people do not seek medical help, preferring to solve the problem on their own?! But it is one thing if you only expose yourself to danger, and quite another when you are responsible for the life and health of an unborn child. But food poisoning during pregnancy is a big risk not only for the mother, but also for her baby, connected to the mother by one umbilical cord.

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Epidemiology

Food poisoning with toxins is one of the most common pathologies, and the majority of poisonings during pregnancy occur due to the fault of the woman herself (eating suspicious products, including mushrooms, unwashed fruits and berries, failure to comply with hygiene requirements, etc.). This is a problem not only for pregnant women, but they bear the greatest responsibility.

The most common toxic infections are meat and dairy poisoning (staphylococci), the second most common are fish and egg poisoning (staphylococci, salmonella), as well as mushroom poisoning, and the third most common are fruit and vegetable poisoning. You can become infected with botulism by eating poor-quality canned food (in particular, canned meat and fish). But seafood can cause non-bacterial types of poisoning.

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Causes food poisoning in pregnancy

The expectant mother should eat well, because her body now works for two. The diet of a pregnant woman must necessarily include dairy and fermented milk products, fruits and vegetables, fish, meat and other healthy products from the point of view of nutritional value. But will all the food products she eats be healthy, because food poisoning both during pregnancy and at other times can be caused even by familiar dishes if they are stored incorrectly.

Yes, the most common cause of food poisoning during pregnancy is failure to comply with the terms and temperature conditions when storing various food products. Initially, the products may have been of good quality, but improper storage could lead to spoilage of the product, the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria in it, causing intestinal disorders, the accumulation of toxic substances formed during the life of the same pathogenic microorganisms.

The second cause of food poisoning is the consumption of potentially dangerous products, such as mushrooms, fish, meat, custard or protein cream, canned goods, cottage cheese, etc. For example, the health safety of mushrooms is determined not only by their type, but also by the place where they grow. Mushrooms collected near roads, within the boundaries of industrial cities, in close proximity to landfills and septic tanks, in radiation-hazardous zones are dangerous not only to human health, but often to human life, being the strongest source of intoxication or radiation.

Fresh meat and fish can initially be a source of bacterial infection, and even after exposure to high temperatures, it will leave a trace in the form of toxins, which are unlikely to be removed by boiling or other methods.

And that's not all. There is always a risk of buying meat or fish infected with parasites, which also cannot be identified by sight or smell. Insufficient heat treatment of such products can again lead to intestinal disorders and infection of the expectant mother with helminths.

As for creams used in confectionery, violation of the technology of their preparation leads to premature spoilage of the sweet product. So, when buying cakes or pastries with a normal shelf life, there is still a chance to buy a poor-quality product, which is so attractive to children and pregnant women with their sometimes irrepressible desire to eat something tasty. And even at home, the preparation of cream is not always subject to strict control by the "chef".

With canned goods, things are different. High prices for products significantly reduce demand for them, and dishonest manufacturers, distributors or sellers simply change the dates on stale goods. By purchasing goods with a fake expiration date, the expectant mother, of course, risks her health and the health of her unborn child.

And even when buying a quality product with normal expiration dates, you can easily get poisoned if you do not follow the storage conditions for open canned goods. We also take risks if we leave the canned goods to be stored in a tin after opening them.

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Risk factors

Well, let's sum it up. Risk factors for food poisoning include the consumption of the following foods, which under certain conditions are fertile ground for the growth of bacteria:

• Milk, dairy and fermented milk products, especially cottage cheese, poisoning with which is considered one of the most severe food poisonings, especially dangerous during pregnancy.
• Pastries with cream, homemade cream.
• Fresh meat and fish, as well as dishes prepared from them even after heat treatment.
• Sausage products if stored incorrectly.
• Meat broths, soups, borscht, fish soup, which are stored without refrigeration (or in the cold for a long time).
• Salads and vinaigrettes, especially if they have already been dressed with mayonnaise or sour cream.
• Canned goods (mold in the jar, swollen lids indicate spoilage of the product), canned fish, especially those with an almost expired shelf life.
• Berries, some types of vegetables and fruits if stored incorrectly.

Risk is, of course, a noble cause, but not in this situation, when it comes to the health of present and future generations.

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Pathogenesis

The development of symptoms of intoxication during food poisoning, including during pregnancy, occurs under the influence of one or more negative factors, united by the common name - toxins.

Based on pathogenesis, food poisoning can be divided into:

• Bacterial (microbial), when the product enters the body already with a certain type of bacteria (Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Clostridium botulism, Clostridium perfringens and other less common infections), which release toxins during their life processes. By the way, the bacteria themselves may no longer be there at the time of eating, but the toxins will not go anywhere.
• Non-bacterial (non-microbial), if the product contains toxins initially (potentially toxic products), received them from outside, or toxic compounds were formed as a result of a violation of food preparation technology.

Toxic contamination of products depends on the type of infection. Thus, staphylococci produce enterotoxin, salmonella secretes the toxin TTSS-1, which is dangerous even for itself, clostridium botulinum forms spores and produces a very strong and very dangerous exotoxin for humans, clostridium perfringens also forms spores and alpha-toxin.

The most common is still considered to be staphylococcal infection. At the same time, products contaminated with it do not differ in taste, smell and color from ordinary uninfected ones. Bacteria are quite resistant to aggressive factors: they withstand high concentrations of sugar and salt, and die at temperatures not lower than 80 degrees. Its toxin is even more resistant to temperature. Enterotoxin is destroyed if the product is boiled at 100 degrees for at least 1.5 or even 2 hours.

Enterotoxin, starting to act already in the stomach, is capable of increasing the motility of the gastrointestinal tract, which leads to vomiting and diarrhea, and has a negative effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system, greatly reducing blood pressure.

Salmonella are capable of releasing the toxin TTSS-1, which kills competitors, some of the bacteria themselves, and has a negative impact on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, causing intestinal inflammation and other pathologies.

Alpha-toxin produced by Clostridium perfringens damages the intestinal mucosa, impairs the absorption of nutrients, penetrates into other organs and causes damage to the vascular wall, liver, kidneys, spleen, and lungs.

Botulinum toxin does not withstand strong heating, but the spores of the Clostridium botulism bacteria die only after 5 hours of boiling. The exotoxin is not subject to destruction by digestive enzymes, it is absorbed both in the stomach and in the intestines with subsequent spread throughout the body. The cholinergic parts of the central nervous system are particularly affected, the suppression of the process of acetylcholine production in which leads to paralysis of various muscles.

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Symptoms food poisoning in pregnancy

General symptoms of food poisoning during pregnancy are no different from the manifestations of the disease in other periods of a woman's life. Only there is a high probability of not recognizing the disease right away, mistaking food poisoning for banal toxicosis in the early or late stages of pregnancy.

The main symptoms or first signs of food poisoning, reproduced in the order in which they appear:

• nausea followed by vomiting,
• stomach pain, cramps and colic
• the appearance of dyspeptic symptoms: bloating, belching like rotten eggs in a healthy person,
• diarrhea.

The appearance of the above symptoms may be accompanied by chills, increased temperature (in cases of severe poisoning, up to critical values), general malaise (weakness and dizziness, even fainting, decreased blood pressure, sometimes headaches).

Symptoms will largely depend on the severity of the poisoning. Food poisoning during pregnancy, especially in the early stages, occurring in a mild form is often confused with manifestations of early toxicosis. Mild poisoning often occurs with an incomplete symptomatic picture. One or two symptoms may be missing, such as vomiting, belching, fever, diarrhea. Blood pressure, as a rule, remains normal.

Unlike food poisoning, toxicosis is not associated with food intake, although attacks of nausea are often provoked by the taste, sight or smell of food. Toxicosis is characterized by attacks of morning vomiting, while diarrhea and fever are not observed.

The condition is unstable with recurring periods of improvement and deterioration of health, while in case of poisoning the malaise is long-term.

The onset of toxicosis cannot be called sudden, the symptoms gradually increase over several days. On the contrary, poisoning is characterized by suddenness. And, despite the fact that the first signs can appear both after half an hour or an hour, and several days after eating poor-quality food (it all depends on the incubation period of a certain type of bacterial infection), multiple symptoms actually appear one after another over several hours.

In the later stages of pregnancy, and especially before childbirth, the picture changes in the opposite direction. Some women experience vomiting, loose stools, and headaches on the eve of childbirth, which resembles the symptoms of poisoning. It is very important to differentiate between these two conditions by seeking help from specialists. After all, treating non-existent poisoning is no less dangerous for the pregnant woman and the fetus than the lack of appropriate treatment if poisoning does occur.

Stages

Any food poisoning goes through the following clinical stages in its development:

1. Latent period. It can also be called hidden, asymptomatic or even incubation period of development of pathological process. It lasts from the moment of consumption of poor quality food until the appearance of full clinical picture of pathology.

This stage is considered optimal for the beginning of treatment measures, since toxins have not yet entered the bloodstream, and intoxication of the entire body has not begun.

1. The toxicogenic period or period of developed symptoms, in which the main symptoms of poisoning come to the fore. It begins with the appearance of signs of poisoning and ends with the removal of bacteria and harmful toxins from the body.
2. The period of late complications. Toxins and bacteria have been removed from the body, but the pathological processes they started in various organs and systems of the body are in the stage of active development.
3. Recovery period (also known as the recovalescence period). The longest period, when the body slowly recovers from toxic exposure with treatment of its consequences, which often make themselves known over many years.

The greatest danger to the mother and fetus during food poisoning that occurs during pregnancy is the second toxicogenic stage, which causes the greatest number of complications, in some cases reminding of themselves throughout life. Therefore, it is so important to seek help as soon as possible, before the poison begins its destructive action.

At the slightest suspicion of poisoning, a pregnant woman should immediately contact a medical institution where she will receive the necessary assistance. In order to speed up the process by prescribing effective treatment, it is important to presumptively indicate which product could have caused such a condition.

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Forms

All food poisoning that occurs during pregnancy or at other times can be divided into:

• Bacterial food poisoning (both bacteria and their toxins have a negative impact): salmonellosis, staphylococcal food poisoning, botulism, toxic infections caused by Clostridium perfringens, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, necrotic enteritis, etc.
• Food poisoning of non-bacterial origin (the toxic effect of toxins without an infectious agent): poisoning by mushrooms, berries, herbs, solanine (a mixture of toxins that form under the skin of green or sprouted potatoes), fruits and vegetables grown in ecologically unfavorable areas, etc.
• Poisoning of unknown etiology.

A separate subtype of non-bacterial poisoning can be considered poisoning by certain types of fish, seafood and food additives to them. The appearance of poisons in the meat of mackerel fish, cyagutera, black mussels, sea scallops is associated with their food preferences. These poisons affect humans differently. Some can cause a kind of allergic reaction, others have a neuroparalytic effect and disrupt the digestive system.

Food additives often used in Chinese restaurants can cause an allergic reaction, accompanied by intestinal disorders, in an organism not accustomed to such food.

Most often, complaints from pregnant women include poisoning from dairy products, fish, meat, sausages, creams, compotes, and other products due to improper storage.

The latter is especially relevant in the summer, when food spoils very quickly. Hence the fairly frequent cases of watermelon poisoning during pregnancy. Under the influence of heat, fermentation processes begin quite quickly in the sweet berry, causing the growth of pathogenic bacteria. If the watermelon lies in the warmth for a couple of hours, there is a high probability of getting food poisoning.

It is important to remember that any type of food poisoning is considered dangerous during pregnancy. Bacterial and toxic effects on the mother's body pose a great threat to the fetus, both in terms of the course of pregnancy and in terms of the high probability of developmental abnormalities in the unborn baby.

Watermelon poisoning can be classified as both bacterial and non-microbial toxicosis. After all, it can be caused by bacteria that appear as a result of product spoilage, as well as the presence of harmful substances in the product - nitrates that come from fertilizers.

Another fairly common type of poisoning during pregnancy is poisoning from fish and seafood, most often due to improper storage.

Fish is an easily digestible and very healthy food product that can be prepared in all sorts of ways, including salting, smoking and drying. It is in the latter methods of preparation that lies the danger of catching botulism or salmonellosis, which are fraught with miscarriage. Not to mention Chinese delicacies in the form of fresh fish.

And even if the fish is subjected to prolonged heat treatment, but is then stored in unsuitable conditions, fertile ground is created for the growth of bacterial infection, which subsequently becomes the cause of food poisoning.

But the most dangerous case of toxic effects on the body during pregnancy is considered to be mushroom poisoning, which, fortunately, is not so rare. Nevertheless, mothers expecting the appearance of a baby become more careful in choosing products and dishes that are simultaneously a source of vitality for her and the child.

Very rare cases of poisoning by poisonous mushrooms are fraught with serious consequences for both, and in some cases even a fatal outcome for the pregnant woman and her baby. Non-poisonous mushrooms, due to various reasons, have accumulated toxins that penetrate the placenta, and will also leave their mark, causing a miscarriage, premature birth in a woman, or developmental pathologies in her child.

In addition, mushrooms are considered heavy food, which in itself can cause intoxication due to the slow passage through the digestive tract, forming toxins.

During pregnancy, food poisoning from berries and herbs often occurs. At such a delicate time, many people prefer herbal medicine, considering plants less safe for the future baby than synthetic drugs. All this is true, but not all medicinal herbs are so harmless. Take, for example, wolfberry, datura, celandine, immortelle, larkspur, wrestler, etc.

Some plants and their fruits are not poisonous (such as black elderberry), but during pregnancy it is better to refrain from traditional medicine and drinks based on them.

So before brewing a medicinal infusion, you need to consult a doctor about the possibility of using such a medicine and its safe dosage.

Complications and consequences

The consequences and complications of food poisoning usually appear during pregnancy, but can remind of themselves for many years. Moreover, the risk to the fetus from mushroom poisoning often significantly exceeds the likelihood of developing a severe pathology or a fatal outcome for the woman.

Severe food poisoning during early pregnancy can result in miscarriage (spontaneous abortion), delayed physical and mental development of the fetus due to dehydration, abnormal blood composition, and weakened cardiac function (drop in blood pressure), causing fetal hypoxia. Food poisoning can result in pregnancy fading in the early and middle stages.

If serious food poisoning occurs in the later stages, there are no fewer reasons to worry. Intoxication can cause premature birth, placental insufficiency, which is dangerous to the life and health of the child, developmental pathologies, manifested in the discrepancy between the weight, height and general development of the baby and the established gestational age.

It cannot be said that food poisoning will not affect the woman herself. But here the dependence of the consequences on the type of bacterial infection and the severity of the poisoning is clearly visible.

Doctors consider poisoning by poisonous mushrooms to be a particularly severe form of food poisoning during pregnancy, causing intoxication of the mother and fetus due to the passage of toxins through the placental barrier.

Clostridium bacteria cause particularly severe consequences in the form of botulism, characterized by paralysis of the respiratory system, or necrotic enteritis, in which the mucous membrane of the small intestine dies. Both diseases are considered life-threatening. The fatality rate in both cases is about 30%.

Dangerous complications of food poisoning include infectious toxic shock, which requires emergency care, various circulatory disorders (there is a risk of myocardial infarction and the development of cerebral ischemia), pneumonia, and acute renal failure.

But it's not just bacteria and toxins that are dangerous. Diarrhea and vomiting from any food poisoning invariably lead to dehydration to varying degrees. As a result, the risk of blood clots increases due to thickening of the blood.

Along with the loss of fluid in the body, there is an active process of loss of salts and minerals. As a result, the water-salt balance is disrupted, the expectant mother loses vitamins and minerals necessary for the normal development of the child.

Fluid loss leads to a decrease in the volume of circulating blood and an increase in the concentration of oxytocin, the hormone responsible for uterine contractions, which poses a threat of premature birth.

It is worth saying that if the intoxication process is caught at the very beginning, when toxic substances have not yet spread with the blood throughout the body, and all measures are taken to remove poisons from the body, various complications that affect not only the digestive system can be avoided. Otherwise, the nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, excretory systems, and first of all the main filter of the body - the liver, can suffer.

Diagnostics food poisoning in pregnancy

The health and life of not just one person, but two at once depend on the timeliness and correctness of the diagnosis of food poisoning during pregnancy. Taking on such responsibility, the doctor must not only make an accurate verdict, but also try to reduce the negative consequences of food poisoning as much as possible by prescribing effective and safe treatment for the unborn child.

The main areas of diagnostics for food poisoning during pregnancy are:

1. collecting anamnesis with study of the patient's complaints,
2. laboratory tests.

The first point seems to be clear. What did you eat, at what time, when did the first symptoms appear, what is the situation at the time of seeking help, etc. Answers to these questions will help to recreate the supposed picture of poisoning without specifying the pathogen. To combat mild to moderate intoxication, this would seem to be enough. But in severe cases and if there is a suspicion of intestinal infection, additional research is required.

In any case, laboratory tests will help clarify the picture:

• complete blood count
• blood biochemistry
• general urine analysis
• coprological examination of feces, including bacterial cultures to determine the pathogen and to identify possible disturbances in the intestinal microflora. They will also help to assess the efficiency of the digestive system, in particular the process of digestion.

General and biochemical blood tests, as well as urine analysis, are performed in order to detect possible inflammatory processes, disorders in the functioning of the liver, kidneys and other organs and systems of the body, which are determined during laboratory tests.

Instrumental diagnostics are not always used for food poisoning. However, in some cases, the doctor may prescribe an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and retromanoscopy (examination of the rectum and part of the sigmoid colon) to the expectant mother.

If there is every reason to suspect botulism, electromyography is prescribed to determine the likelihood of developing severe complications.

In mild cases, a diagnosis in a medical facility by a specialist doctor may not be necessary. The symptoms of food poisoning are quite obvious, and if there is a reason to suspect it, the issue resolves itself.

Mushroom poisoning during pregnancy is a special case that requires mandatory medical examination and immediate therapy before the toxins reach the fetus.

You should also seek medical help if you experience symptoms such as breathing and speech problems, heavy eyelids, and infrequent urination some time after eating. Also, suspicious symptoms include: diarrhea for more than 24 hours, yellow skin and whites of the eyes, rashes, swelling in the joints, signs of dehydration (too dry skin, cracked lips, sunken eyes, little or no urine).

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Differential diagnosis

The need for differential diagnostics in food poisoning stems from the similarity of intoxication symptoms with other pathologies. At the same time, some diseases are not even associated with the digestive system.

Symptoms similar to food poisoning are observed in acute appendicitis: constant pain in the lower abdomen on the right side, increasing during walking, bending, coughing, an increase in temperature some time after the onset of pain, stool with diarrhea is not watery, but in the form of gruel, vomiting is possible. Blood tests show an increased level of neutrophilic leukocytes.

Abdominal colic, vomiting, bloating due to increased gas formation, fever and diarrhea can also be observed with mesenteric thrombosis developing against the background of intestinal ischemia. But the stool is characterized by alternating constipation and diarrhea, and the feces often contain blood.

Food poisoning during pregnancy may resemble the symptoms of acute cholecystitis or cholecystopancreatitis. Abdominal colic, vomiting, and chills resemble poisoning, but diarrhea is usually absent, and the pain is localized in the right hypochondrium, radiating to the back.

Food poisoning must also be differentiated from manifestations of diabetes mellitus, cholera, shigellosis, acetonimic ketosis and other pathologies.

Some symptoms resembling poisoning may be observed in pregnant women on the eve of childbirth. And here too it is very important not to make a mistake.

Treatment food poisoning in pregnancy

Intoxication due to consumption of poor quality food is treated at home in most cases. Hospitalization may be required only in severe cases.

The effectiveness of treating any food poisoning depends primarily on the time of the start of therapeutic actions. Delaying here is more expensive. But overdoing it is also not worth it.

So, during pregnancy, you should not rush to wash your stomach if symptoms of food poisoning appear. If there is vomiting and diarrhea, harmful substances will leave the body on their own, the main thing is not to stop the above symptoms if their manifestation is not excessive.

Sorbent drugs will help reduce intoxication of the body. The most popular and accessible of them is activated carbon, however, to achieve a positive effect, you need to drink a decent amount of it (the recommended dose is 1 tablet per 10 kg of the patient's weight).

Any other medications that have the ability to bind and remove toxic substances from the body are also suitable: Enterosgel, White Coal, Polysorb, as well as antidiarrheal drugs with adsorbing and intestinal microflora regulating properties, Smecta and Enterol.

"Enterosgel" is an enterosorbent in the form of a paste, packaged in packs and tubes. It is effective against poisoning and intestinal infections. The drug should be taken in the amount of 1 sachet or 1 ½ tbsp., calculated for one dose. The frequency of taking the drug is 3 times a day. The drug should be taken one to two hours before or after meals, washed down with water. The therapeutic course is usually 3-5 days.

The drug is not prescribed for intestinal atony and in case of individual intolerance to the components of the drug. Nausea and constipation may occur while taking Enterosgel.

Enterosorbent "Polysorb" is produced in the form of powder in bags or jars. Before use, the powder is diluted in a quarter or half a glass of water. The dosage of the drug depends on the patient's weight and is determined at the rate of 0.1-0.2 g per 1 kg of the patient's body weight per day. It is recommended to take the drug 3 or 4 times a day 1 hour before meals or medications. On average, a single dose of the drug corresponds to 1 bag (3 g) or 1 heaped tablespoon.

Contraindications to the use of the drug are ulcerative lesions and bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, intestinal atony, hypersensitivity to the drug. Taking the drug may be accompanied by allergic reactions or constipation.

"Smecta" is an antidiarrheal drug in the form of a powder with orange and vanilla aroma. It is taken as part of a complex therapy for severe diarrhea caused by an intestinal infection or consumption of poor-quality food.

The suspension for oral administration is prepared by dissolving the contents of 3-6 packets in 0.5 glass of water. The daily dose is taken in 3 doses. The therapeutic course is from 3 days to a week.

The medicine is not prescribed in case of intestinal obstruction, fructose intolerance, or individual sensitivity to the components of the medicine.

The drug "Enterol" belongs to the category of antidiarrheal, antimicrobial and antiparasitic agents that normalize the intestinal microflora.

To treat diarrhea, it is enough to take 1-2 capsules of the drug 2 times a day for 3-5 days.

Pregnancy is not a contraindication to taking the drug, but consultation with a doctor is mandatory in this case.

Diarrhea and vomiting during food poisoning contribute to rapid loss of fluid and the onset of dehydration, which is especially dangerous during pregnancy. In addition, minerals that are so necessary for the fetus are lost along with water.

To replenish the fluid supply, non-carbonated mineral water is suitable, as well as special preparations "Hydrovit", "Regidron", "Normogidron", etc. But vitamins and vitamin-mineral complexes for pregnant women will replenish the nutrients lost with fluid.

Antibiotics are very rarely prescribed for bacterial poisoning, except in severe cases of botulism or salmonellosis. Sometimes they are used to treat persistent diarrhea and vomiting. But the selection of drugs during pregnancy is more careful than usual, because we are talking about the safety of the new life maturing in the womb of a woman.

Traditional medicine and homeopathy

When it comes to alternative treatment of food poisoning during pregnancy, it is important to understand that it is effective only in mild stages of the pathology. In severe situations, folk treatment is applicable only in conjunction with drug therapy.

And yet, traditional medicine recipes can significantly alleviate the condition of the expectant mother.

To eliminate nausea, a decoction of dill is excellent (1 teaspoon of the herb per glass of water, boil for a quarter of an hour), which should be drunk 30 minutes before a meal in the amount of ½ glass, adding half a tablespoon of honey.

To neutralize any toxins without medications, you can drink quality black tea with toasts made from black bread. For the same purpose, add pharmaceutical powder from seaweed to food.

The juice of 3 lemons with sugar will help quickly cope with most symptoms of food poisoning. It will also prevent the spread of the infectious process in the intestines.

Herbal treatment comes down to drinking tea based on chamomile, mint, flowers and leaves of marshmallow. Teas in the first days can replace other food, giving rest to the exhausted stomach and intestines.

But to start treating food poisoning during pregnancy, when it is undesirable to wash out the stomach or induce vomiting on your own due to the threat of miscarriage, it is better to use homeopathic preparations. An important condition in this case is a consultation with a homeopathic doctor and compliance with all his instructions regarding the dosage and method of administration of the drugs.

For any food poisoning accompanied by spastic abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, belching, chills, the drug Nux Vomica will be useful.

If meat or fish poisoning is accompanied by weakness and diarrhea, you can resort to the help of the homeopathic drug Arsenicum album.

In case of poisoning with meat, fish and seafood, accompanied by a feeling of heat or cold inside, you can take Carbo vegetalis or Pulsatilla. The latter is effective in case of poisoning with fatty foods, if the diarrhea has a different color and consistency.

If poisoning is accompanied by severe chills and a feeling of cold outside, Hina will come to the rescue.

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Prevention

As much as we would like to believe that food poisoning is not our fault, it will never be true. In most cases, we ourselves are to blame for all our troubles. The inattention and carelessness of the expectant mother leads to the fact that food poisoning occurs during pregnancy, when you need to be especially careful.

To avoid such an unpleasant and dangerous condition, you need to follow some preventive measures that prevent poisoning by 90%. These include:

• Careful selection of food products. You can't buy them at spontaneous markets, when buying you need to pay attention to the appearance of the product, smell, production date, storage periods and conditions.
• Compliance with hygiene requirements. You should wash your hands not only before eating and after visiting public places, but also before preparing food.
• Proper storage of products. Compliance with the temperature regime and permissible proximity. Raw products cannot be stored together with ready-made ones. Ready-made dishes can be stored outside the cold for no more than 2 hours.
• Cooking: Whenever possible, try to thoroughly cook most foods.
• Maintaining cleanliness in the living area and especially in the room for preparing and eating food.
• Food safety. Avoid eating potentially dangerous foods (dried fish, mushrooms, etc.).

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Forecast

The prognosis for food poisoning during pregnancy depends on the severity of the pathology and its pathogen. The prognosis for staphylococcal infections is considered favorable. But with salmonellosis, botulism and mushroom poisoning, the consequences can be disastrous.

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